The 2011 Georgian protests were a series of anti-government protests in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

against President

Mikheil Saakashvili Mikheil Saakashvili ( ka, მიხეილ სააკაშვილი ; uk, Міхеіл Саакашвілі ; born 21 December 1967) is a Georgian and Ukrainian politician and jurist.

Events

The protests began on 21 May 2011 when over 10,000 Georgians attended a demonstration in

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million p ...

demanding Georgian President

's resignation. In the southwestern city of

Batumi Batumi (; ka, ბათუმი ) is the second largest city of Georgia and the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, located on the coast of the Black Sea in Georgia's southwest. It is situated in a subtropical zone at the foot of t ...

some demonstrations also occurred with some protesters attempting to break into television building.

Nino Burjanadze Nino Burjanadze ( Georgian: ნინო ბურჯანაძე , also romanized Burdzhanadze or Burdjanadze, born 16 July 1964) is a Georgian politician and lawyer who served as Chairperson of the Parliament of Georgia from November 2001 ...

, an ex-parliamentary speaker and leader of the Democratic Movement-United Georgia party, has been a lead figure in the demonstrations. The protesters in

briefly clashed with police. On 26 May at about 00:15, Georgian police began to suppress the protests with tear gas and rubber bullets, and the protests soon ended. On 28 May, a separate demonstration was held with thousands of participants, protesting against violence both by the protesters and by the police.

Arrests

In early June, Georgian authorities arrested and charged

Badri Bitsadze Badri Bitsadze ( ka, ბადრი ბიწაძე) (born 27 April 1960) is the former Chief of the Border Police of Georgia. He holds the rank of Lieutenant General, and previously held the posts of Chief Military Prosecutor, Deputy General ...

, husband of former parliament speaker Nino Burdzhanadze, with attempting to orchestrate the government takeover using paramilitary groups during the violent anti-government protests. There have been 105 other arrests of protesters.

Reactions

Mikheil Saakashvilli stated that he believed the protestors were backed by Russia and had provoked the violence. Likewise John R. Bass, the American ambassador to Georgia, stated that "here were clearly a number of people included in that protest who were not interested in peacefully protesting, but were looking to spark a violent confrontation." The Georgian Interior Ministry released video recordings that it claims show opposition members discussing how to instigate clashes with policeGeorgian Interior MinistryGeorgian Interior Ministry
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The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Eco ...

, meanwhile, spoke of an attempt by Burjanadze to "claw her way back to power".

Irakli Alasania Irakli Alasania ( ka, ირაკლი ალასანია) (born 21 December 1973) is a Georgian politician, soldier and former diplomat who served as the Minister of Defense of Georgia from 2012 to 2014. He was Georgia's Ambassador to th ...

(an opposition leader who disassociated himself from the protests early on) opined that the protests were doomed to failure because:

References

{{Georgia topics 2011 in Georgia (country) Protests in Georgia (country)

Georgian Georgian may refer to: Common meanings * Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country) ** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group ** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians **Georgian scripts, three scrip ...

History of Tbilisi 2010s in Tbilisi

Events

Arrests

Reactions

See also

References