Political analysts point to weak revolutionary sentiments in Georgia

Georgian political analysts have ruled out any possibility of the country's progress along a revolutionary scenario, despite the return of Mikheil (Mikhail) Saakashvili, and suggested that early parliamentary elections would be held next year.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that Mikhail Saakashvili, a former President of Georgia, returned to his homeland on October 1, the day before the elections. On the same day, he was detained and placed into the Rustavi Prison, where he went on a hunger strike. On October 4, a rally of Saakashvili's supporters was held near the prison.

Saakashvili is kept in the special prison for former high-ranking officials, said Gela Nikolaishvili, the spokesman of the NGO "Former Political Prisoners for Human Rights".

In 2003, during the "Revolution of Roses", the country supported Saakashvili; now, there are his supporters and opponents; besides, the European Union (EU) and the USA don't support revolutionary processes, Nika Chitadze, the head of the "Centre for Security and International Relations Studies", has noted.

The EU and the USA do not take any side in the confrontation of the ruling party with the opposition, but Europeans can increase pressure in order to hold elections under European standards, said Valery Chechelashvili, an analyst with the Georgian Fund for Strategic and International Studies.

Irakli Menagarishvili, another analyst of the Fund, has pointed out that the EU and the USA have no serious contradictions with the current Georgian leadership, just some critical points, but they must be resolved through discussions.