Rally in Tbilisi demands to prevent signing Russian-Abkhazian treaty

Today, an oppositional rally was held in Tbilisi in the square in front of the Parliament, which stated "annexation of Abkhazia by Russia." The action was organized by activists of the oppositional "United National Movement" (UNM). According to various estimates, the rally was from 3 to 20 thousand strong.

The reason for the protest was the draft treaty on still closer integration of Russia and Abkhazia. The action was also directed against the current Georgian authorities, "who did nothing to counter the Russia’s occupation," said Giga Bokeriya, one of the organizers of the rally and the former Secretary of the Security Council of Georgia.

Starting the midday, the traffic in Rustaveli Avenue and adjacent streets was suspended because of the march of UNM supporters, which began from the Rose Revolution Square. The route of the march and the venue of the rally near the old parliament building were cordoned off by the police, the "News-Georgia" reports.

Some marchers carried portraits of Russian President Vladimir Putin with inscription "Let’s Stop Russia", the BBC reports.

Then, a rally took place in the square. By means of a video conference, the crowd was addressed from Kiev by Mikhail Saakashvili, the founder of the UNM and ex-President of Georgia, as well as by other leaders of the party. The event ended with a general performance of the anthems of Georgia and Europe.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.