Georgian president blames Russia for protests

GEORGIAN President Mikhail Saakashvili blamed Russia yesterday for orchestrating six days of mass protests against him, hours after riot police beat and fired tear gas at opposition demonstrators.

“Georgia is facing a very serious threat of unrest,” Mr Saakashvili said in a televised address. “High-ranking officials in Russian special services are behind this.”

Georgia has recalled its ambassador to Moscow and will expel several Russian diplomats from Tbilisi, he said.

There was no immediate reaction from Russia, which has very poor relations with its southern neighbour.

In a sign of international concern, the European Union said it was sending its special envoy for the South Caucasus, Peter Semneby, to Georgia to meet “all the relevant parties”.

Earlier, Saakashvili’s government for the first time used force against the six-day-old mass protests, sending in riot police to combat protesters calling for the president’s resignation.

“We cannot let our country become a stage for dirty geopolitical escapades by other countries,” said Mr Saakashvili. “Our democracy needs a firm hand by the authorities.”

Protesters later regrouped in Tbilisi’s Old Town and were again dispersed by riot police. About 360 people were taken to hospital, officials said, and 109 remained hospitalised.

Mr Saakashvili has flatly rejected the protesters’ call for an early parliamentary election, but the government’s use of force to put down the demonstrations has inflamed passions further in the volatile former Soviet republic.

Opposition leaders said the actions of Mr Saakashvili, a staunch US ally who wants to join NATO, proved their accusations that he was an authoritarian and corrupt president.