Georgia: Opposition Unblocks Road

Four days after holding talks with President Mikheil Saakashvili, Georgian opposition activists on May 15 decided to remove makeshift "prison cells" from one key Tbilisi thoroughfare.

Opposition parties leading the street protests against Saakashvili were split over the decision. Negotiations among the opposition alliance dragged on until late night on May 14. By pushing through the decision, Irakli Alasania, Georgia's former ambassador to the United Nations and leader of the moderate Alliance for Georgia opposition coalition invited the wrath of more hawkish allies and some activists.

"Irakli Alasania is not an opposition leader and he is a character sent by [US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs] Matthew Bryza," declared film director and opposition activist Giorgi Shengelaia, TV news broadcasts reported.

The Georgian capital's Rustaveli Avenue remains blocked and picketing of Georgian Public Broadcasting's headquarters will continue, opposition parties say.