Tblisi Protesters blockade President’s Residence and Office

TBILISI, Georgia –  Monday night, between 500-1000 demonstrators spent the night in front of President Mikheil Saakashvili’s residence office compound in the Avlabarineighborhood, leaving about 70 presidential staffers inside the building until 6 a.m. Tuesday morning.

 

Opposition leaders have announced a “second wave of protests,” including several gimmicks. Thirty tents were pitched in front of Avlabari Monday night, where opposition leaders like Koba Davitashvili, Eka Beselia and Levan Gachechiladze have pledged to stay until Saakshvili resigns.

 

Also included in the overnight Avlabari protest were two mini-prison cells, one of a seriesexpected to spring up at protest sites around the city. Another visual protest expected to happen Tuesday afternoon is the ’tie protest.’ In Avlabari they will fasten ties at fense and make a wish for Saakashvili to resign. The gimmick is a play on the “wishing tree,” in which Georgians traditionally hang items representing their wishes onto the branches of trees.

 

“It will be the wishing fence,” the Conservative party representative Kakha Kukava said. 

 

At it’s height Monday, about 15,000-20,000 demonstrators surrounded the main entrances to Saakashvili’s residence and office compound in Avlabari on Monday night, April 13, in an attempt to block anyone from entering or leaving the building.  It’s unknown whether Saakashvili was inside the building or not.

In April 13, 2009 protesters pitched tents in half an hour after they blocked President's administration

 

 

 

 

By 6 p.m., crowd estimates in front of the residence were estimated at about 20,000, and at 7 p.m., protesters had pitched tents in front of the residence. By 8 p.m., though the numbers had decreased to 2000-3000, possibly to join more protesters to listen to speeches scheduled for 9 p.m. in front of parliament.

 

“We’ve started our second wave of protest activity,” Eka Beselia, leader of the Movement for a United Georgia, told a crowd of about 15,000 people standing in front of Parliament at 3:45 p.m. Two hours later, that crowd was moving towards the President’s residence to join the blockade.

 

Many government officials including the Chief of the administration building and his deputies, the press center staff, and judicial staff were inside the compound, but government officials will not reveal Saakashvili’s whereabouts.

 

The so-called “second wave” has breathed new life into a protest that was dwindling in fervor by the day. Opposition leaders did not get the numbers they expected even at the height of the protest on April 9, and the crowds had decreased from tens of thousands to hundreds by Sunday.

 

“I can feel it today, that we will win the struggle,” admitted Levan Gachechiladze in front of Parliament on Monday afternoon, shouting into the crowd. “Before I couldn’t see the end.”

 

 

By Sako Kasradze, Ia Gavasheli, Marinka Gharibashvili, Giorgi Pkhachiashvili, Alana Gagloeva

Street Poll: Tbilisi-ites Dissatisfied with Saakashvili, But Won’t Protest

 

In spite of his surname Arsen Saakashvili is among the 63% of surveyed people who want President Mikheil Saakashvili to resign. 36-year-old economist has been looking for a job for years. He jokes that even his well-known surname is not helping him.

 

Students of Georgian Institute of Public Affairs (GIPA) held an informal street poll on April 7^th, 2009. 227 People of different ages and professions in Tbilisi were asked if they are participating in the protest of April 9^th  and whether they want president Saakashvili to resign. While not statistically significant, students made sure to ask an equal number of men and women and to vary the ages and neighborhoods of respondents.

 

Nodar Modebadze, 58, unemployed engineer, joins the demonstrators and demands president Saakashvili to resign. Photo by Gayane Avetisyan

 

 

 39% of those surveyed said they planned to participate in demonstration that is organized by more than a dozen main Georgian oppositional parties.

 

Together with politicians, people gathering in front of the Georgian Parliament, have one main demand – the resignation of president Mikheil Saakashvili.

 

 “Most of people of my age are still unemployed. The situation is getting worse in our country, and our President does nothing to improve it, ” said Arsen Saakashvili, 36 ashamed to tell his surname.

 

 19 % out of surveyed people are not going to join the protestors because of different reasons, but still support them.

 

 “I will not go, I am afraid that somebody may beat me in the crowd. But if I were young, I would definitely stand by Georgian people ”, said Ishkhan Kazaryan, 80-year-old shoe maker.

 

Nino Todua, 30, book-seller, does not participate in the demonstration of April 9, but supports the protestors. Photo by Gayane Avetisyan

 Though the April 9^th is a holiday, 30-year-old bookseller, Nino Todua still has to work. She is the only breadwinner in her family.

 

 “This is the only reason of not participating in the protest. I do agree with the main demand of the demonstration – Saakashvili must go.”

 

Among surveyed people, 30 % stated that they do not want president to resign. For some of them, Saakashvili is a perfect president; others do not see an alternative leader in oppositional parties, while some are just afraid of instability and violence that may take place on April 9^th.

 

 “ I can’t say that Saakashvili is a perfect president, but unfortunately we do not have other suitable candidates who can replace him” –said 50-year-old journalist, Keti Jakeli.

 

 All of the surveyed people were asked to rank the president Saakashvili’s work performance, giving him one point if they were unhappy and 5 being very happy with it. 80 people (35 % ) out of 227, ranked him with one point.

 

There were some who gave him even zero point. “ I have not met a person, who is happy with Saakashvili. He is the only opinion maker in every field. He does not listen to elderly competent people, who can give him valuable advices,’ said Vazha Sagaradze, 76.

 

 Opposite to this, 18 citizens (8 % ) ranked Saakashvili’s presidency with 5 points. Rezo Tsereteli, 74, said that compared with the former president of Georgia, Eduard Shevardnadze, Saakashvili managed to develop Georgia. “Roads are repaired, we have electricity, gas and now we feel more safe”.

 

  According to the results, the pre-demonstration mood of 225 surveyed people towards president Saakashvili, is negative. Numbers show that the majority of citizens of Tbilisi, are against Mikheil Saakashvili, though not all of them are planning to participate in the demonstration.

 

 “ It is obvious that Saakashvili should resign. But I want to ask both sides to be careful and   keep peace,” said 46-year-old Nana Khvedelidze. 

 

For more news on the April 9, 2009 protests, please go to our main blog:

http://caucasusreports.wordpress.com/

Entertainment for free

Elene Shiukashvili, 19, always complains that she can’t enjoy her free time. Shiukashvili thinks that for the youngsters life is getting uninteresting in Tbilisi. “Good entertainment needs a lot of money and my friends and I don’t have it. For us the best fun is to gather in someone’s house and held a miserable party.” Shiukashvili says she is not aware of Tbilisi City Hall’s youth department for student’s entertainment.

City Hall Social Services and Culture Department works on organizing events for the youth.  They have already planned events and also work on the individual offers that can be submitted by any citizen of Georgia as long as the ideas are interesting for the broader public. For example State Universities’ self-governments collect students’ initiatives and submit it to the Social Services and Culture Department, also independent groups of youngsters work with the department.

“The most important criterion is that the ideas must be superior and attractive. Students must be initiators of high quality arrangements and then we will do our best to realize them,” says Levan Ekhvaia, the Department deputy Head.

Website Adrenalin.ge administrators used this opportunity. They initiated a charitable event – celebration of Halloween, which was funded by the City Hall with 6000 Lari. On October 31 on Erekle Street about 800 people dressed up in different costumes gathered for the Halloween. Levan Ekhvaia, deputy Head of Social Services and Culture Department, says that funds allocated from their budget, were used for dancers, equipment and the presenter. As Levan Ekhvaia says Sharden Street and Erekle Street is for charity. Halloween was charitable too.  The web sites administration planned to give accumulated income to the foundation Iavnana.

“We suggested the City Hall Department we would sell tickets for the event. The price was 15 Lari. 900 Lari gathered after the party. We contacted the foundation Iavnana and they directed us to socially unprotected persons Tinatin Rekhviashvili and Maiko Gujabidze,” explains Sandro Gabisonia, Adrenalin.ge’s administrator.

 

 “It is very nice of them that they are doing some charitable events. We knew that Tinatin and Maia needed help, so we decided to direct Halloween organizators to them,” says Iavnana’s Art Manager Teona Jorbenadze.

“I am so happy that young people are doing charitable events. I would like to thank them for kindness,” joins appreciations one of the beneficiaries, 22-year-old Tinatin Rekhviashvili.

Although charitable, Halloween celebration was not greeted by all. According to Adrenalin.ge’s Gabisonia, Orthodox Parents’ Association that showed up at the event crushed their equipment causing substantial financial loss.

 

“Halloween participants insulted our Saints, sacred place, Sioni church. Their sinful activities are preaching about immorality. People who believe in God wouldn’t let them to continue doing this kind of events. Believers are majority of our society and they want to bring up their children in the moral environment,” says Orthodox Parents’ Association on their website.

 “What Orthodox Parents Association did that night, was hooliganism,” says Levan Ekhvaia.

Halloween organizers agree with him. They are planning to gather video and photo evidence of the crime and they want to send it to the prosecutor’s office.

Night Club

Place meets visitors with a smell of cigarettes; fume comes from machinery fixed in every corner of the ceiling. There are speakers everywhere and the music plays loudly, so people who want to talk to each other they cant do it withought shouting.
 This is the club Night Office.
 Though the sign says no one under 18 admitted, security lets in 15-year-olds… all of them have a cigarette and a drink in their hands.
 “Vodka is the best way to get drunk quickly. After that I can dance more energetically” – says Giorgi Gugushvili, 17-year-old student.
  Upstairs there is a hall with grey walls. Approximately 100 people can be fit there. Five Pictures that are captured in the several events are hanging on every wall showing dancing people, DJs, bar and people around it.
  In the middle of the club there is a bar and in front of it there is a dance floor. 500 people can dance there freely. In the end of the dance floor is DJ’s territory and people can’t reach there since it is raised up.
  People can dance and hear music in the club till sunrise. It closes when the last visitor leaves.

Natalie Nozadze

                                          Natalie Nozadze

Natalie Nozadze wears wedding ring already 2 month. This golden ring seems large for her thin and slim finger, but it suits her hand very much.
Noazdze is 22. She is from Tbilisi, Georgia.
She has been working since she was 16. She wasn’t sure what field she wanted to study and decided to take a part in competition announced by broadcasting company “Rustavi 2”. She was hired as a weather forecast anchor in morning program. She remembers her first live crossing. Nozadze was so nervous that she forgot what she had to say. But people from the studio helped her and she finished her program successfully.
Since then she fell in love with journalism.
Weather forecasting lasted half an year. She couldn’t continue working, because she had to prepare for entrance exams and become a student of Tbilisi State University – faculty of journalism.
In her second year as a student she started working for Georgian Public Broadcaster (GPB), again in the morning program, but this time as a journalist. Every day she has several live crossings, from different places, with different guest. At the moment her work seems interesting to her, but in the future she wants to work for news program.
Nozadze got married in August 2008. She says that she has a very lovely husband.
But she was not thinking the same way when she first met him. Giorgi Dzidziguri, now her husband and then one of the strictest producers of GBP, says:
“She didn’t want to marry me for a long time. Her only thought was her job and studies. She is workaholic person. I’m very happy that she is my wife now.”
Despite Nozadze thought a lot whether marry or not, today she’s satisfied with her decision.  
“I have a feeling that I’m the happiest woman in the whole world” says she.

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