Georgian opposition calls its supporters to new protest in Tbilisi

The Georgian opposition is planning another protest on the square in front of the parliament building in Tbilisi on March 8 afternoon.

Leader of the Strategy Aghmashenebeli pro-opposition party Giorgi Vashadze has said that the special forces and the police used disproportionate force against the expected peaceful demonstration, according to Interfax-Ukraine.

“Numerous protesters, among them leader of the Girchi opposition party Zurab Japaridze, were detained. Even more people than yesterday will gather on the square in front of the parliament several hours from now," he told reporters.

"The international community will definitely condemn the incumbent Georgian authorities for dispersing a peaceful demonstration," Vashadze said.

The standoff between the opposition and the police is continuing.

"The police and special forces are in full control of the square in front of the parliament building. Several dozen opposition members are standing on Rustaveli Avenue next to the police cordon. From time to time, police officers detain protesters who come close to them," an Interfax correspondent said in a report.

As the foreign agent bill passed the first reading in the Georgian parliament on March 7, opposition leaders called their supporters to a protest and a series of clashes with the police followed.