Georgia, Tbilisi, May 23 / Trend, N. Kirtskhalia /
Georgian opposition failed to assemble the number of people that would be sufficient for President Mikheil Saakashvili's dismissal, Former Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze said today in an interview with the weekly "Asaval-Dasavali".
"The opposition succeeded in assembling about 60,000 people on May 26 last year, but after that the authorities managed to intimidate society, and today there is not the same activity. Fear of authority is stronger than the revolutionary charge," he said.
A lack of unity in the opposition does not contribute to the revolutionary mood, Shevardnadze said. "Unification of Nino Burjanadze and Levan Gachechiladze is a very important step towards the opposition's unity," he said.
Shevardnadze condemned Sunday's incident in front of the Georgian Public Television, where after protesters' attack on a police car, the police used rubber bullets and tear gas. "This is unacceptable, since no power is worth bloodshed," he said.
Shevardnadze stressed he would retire if he was in such a situation, but Saaakashvili "will not give up his post".
Georgian radical opposition is holding rallies demanding President Mikheil Saakashvili's resignation for three days already. Saakashvili's ex-associate, former defense minister Irakli Okruashvili, who has been hiding from the Georgian justice abroad for several years, promises to come and help the Georgian opposition.