TBILISI, April 9 (RIA Novosti) - Tens of thousands of demonstrators began a rally on Thursday outside Georgia's parliament in Tbilisi, demanding President Mikheil Saakashvili's resignation.
Addressing the crowd from a stage put up outside the building, an opposition leader, Levan Gachechivadze, said: "We are here because we had no other option."
Protesters chanted for the president to "Get out!"
Saakashvili's popularity has plummeted since last August's disastrous war with Russia, and his failure to carry out the democratic reforms promised after the 2003 "Rose Revolution" that brought him to power.
Reporters in Tbilisi estimate that a total of 100,000 people have so far joined the rally, stretching along Rustaveli Avenue. Opposition members have put the figure at 150,000.
Hundreds of riot police have been deployed in front of the parliament building and the presidential administration. Fire crews are also at the ready, in apparent anticipation of arson attacks similar to those seen during this week's anti-government riots in Moldova.
The opposition Democratic Movement-United Georgia party, led by Saakashvili's former ally Nino Burjanadze, earlier said that 60 of its activists had been arrested during the night. The Interior Ministry denied the report.
Standing outside parliament, Burjanadze condemned Saakashvili's decision to strike South Ossetia last summer, provoking the war with Russia that caused the breakaway province, along with Abkhazia, to permanently split from Georgia.
"He still hasn't understood that that this nation has a sense of pride. He has not understood that a president who loses a war must resign," she told the crowd.
"Our sole demand and goal is Saakashvili's resignation. We must achieve this through peaceful means, so Georgia now needs our unity and dedication. Saakashvili bears responsibility for the [Russian] occupation the splitting of the country, and now are beginning the decisive battle."
Many fear the protests could escalate into violent riots similar to those in 2007, which were brutally dispersed, with police firing at protesters with rubber bullets and tear gas.
Opposition leaders earlier said the protests would continue until Saakashvili resigns and calls early elections.
