Tsiskarishvili: opposition's war on Saakashvili takes new level

The manifestations and political battles that took place on May 26 in Tbilisi gave grounds to cast a new look on the situation in the country. Politicians and observers note that the struggle of the oppositionists has passed over to a new level.

In the opinion of Soso Tsiskarishvili, a political scientist and president of an independent club of experts, the day of May 26 has shown that the impetus of protest in people has not decreased at all; and the authorities should understand that it cannot last for long.

We remind you that on May 26 the opposition held its "civil parade", and by the evening oppositionists demanded radical steps. The protesters blocked railway traffic at Tbilisi station. Several dozens of them occupied the rail track in front of Tbilisi-Batumi train. According to oppositionists' statements, the picketing of the station should have lasted till morning, however, the action was over earlier.

Elias II, Catholicos-Patriarch of all Georgia, called both the authorities and the opposition to "keep in memory the sin of arrogance, and try to listen and hear each other," treating Saakashvili's resignation as a "complex issue." Giorgiy Gachechiladze, an oppositional activist and a singer, said later that the authorities of Georgia had put pressure on the Patriarch and did not allow him to make the statement that he had planned to bring to people.

Mr Tsiskarishvili is sure that arrival of Interior Minister Merabishvili and Tbilisi Mayor Giga Ugulava to the Cathedral was not an attempt of their confession. "It was a fact of pressure on the Patriarch, and His Holiness could not take one side in this opposition inside his flock. He asked everybody to refrain from ultimatums and listen to each other," the political scientist has noted.

Eliso Chapidze, deputy editor-in-chief of the "Resonance" newspaper, is sure that yesterday's events will give a chance to the authorities to launch a true dialogue with the opposition. "If it fails to happen in the near future, then, the probability of the start of nationwide uprising, which can be beyond control, will be very great," she has noted.