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In 2007, a series of anti-government protests took place across Georgia. The demonstrations peaked on 2 November 2007, when 50,000–100,000〔(Thousands Rally in Capital Against Georgia President ), The New York Times〕 rallied in downtown Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. People protested against the allegedly corrupt government of president Mikheil Saakashvili. Protests triggered by detention of Georgian politician Irakli Okruashvili on charges of extortion, money laundering, and abuse of office during his tenure as defense minister of the country〔(Former Defense Minister Detained In Georgia ). Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 27 September 2007.〕 were organized by the National Council, an ad-hoc coalition of ten opposition parties, and financed by the media tycoon Badri Patarkatsishvili.〔(Patarkatsishvili Pledges to Finance Protest Rallies ). Civil Georgia. 28 October 2007.〕 Demonstrations occurred both in September and November 2007 and were initially largely peaceful. The protests went downhill by 6 November 2007, but turned violent the next day when the police, using heavy-handed tactics, including tear gas and water cannon, unblocked Rustaveli Avenue, Tbilisi's main boulevard, dislodged the protesters from the territory adjoining to the House of Parliament, and prevented the demonstrators from resuming the protests. The government accused the Russian secret services of being involved in an attempted coup d'état and declared a nationwide state of emergency later that day which lasted until late 16 November 2007. On 8 November 2007, President Saakashvili announced a compromise solution to hold early presidential elections for 5 January 2008. He also proposed to hold a referendum in parallel to snap presidential elections about when to hold parliamentary polls – in spring as pushed for by the opposition parties, or in late 2008.〔(Saakashvili Calls Snap Presidential Polls, Referendum ). Civil Georgia. 8 November 2007.〕 It is said to have been the worst political crisis in Georgia since the Rose Revolution in 2003 that brought Saakashvili's government to power in the first place.〔 ==Background== Georgia in 2003 underwent a change of leadership that saw the coming to power of Mikheil Saakashvili in 2004. Saakashvili, a U.S. trained lawyer and staunch advocate for closer integration with the NATO and European Union, instituted reforms that saw the nations GDP triple and corruption drop since taking office.〔(Protesting the CEO of Georgia ) Newsweek 18 November 2007〕 In 2006, the World Bank named Georgia as the top reformer in the world.〔(FACTBOX: Georgia's Saakashvili divides country ). Reuters. 7 November 2007.〕 Despite the progress, a significant portion of Georgia's population still live below the poverty line and Georgia is one of the poorest countries in the CIS. Growing incomes are offset by rising inflation; radical economic reforms and a crackdown on the black market left thousands unemployed; and since the reforms, many Georgians are having to pay tax and utility bills in full. Although the Saakashvili government has declared war on corruption, its critics alleges corruption in Saakashvili's own team, including his uncle – the entrepreneur Temur Alasania – and several ministers. The opponents say the authorities use selective application of the law to sideline political opponents, and accuse Saakashvili of authoritarian rule. The government has also come under the fire of criticism due to the use of heavy-handed police against the 2006 prison riot, as well as due to the underinvestigated high-profile murder case involving police officers.〔 Saakashvili also inherited the issues of the Russian-backed unrecognized breakaway republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which seceded from Georgia in the early 1990s. As of the time of the demonstrations, they were de facto independent but de jure part of Georgia. Saakashvili had made it part of his agenda to reincorporate them through peaceful means. Others within Saakashvili's government, such as the defence minister Irakli Okruashvili had been pushing for a military solution for these de facto republics. Saaskashvili reassigned the portfolio of Okruashvili from defence to Minister of the Economy in November 2006. It was believed that the reassignment came due to Okruashvili’s aggressive stance on the secessionist conflicts.〔(Georgia: What Led To Defense Minister's Demotion? ) RadioFreeEurope RadioLiberty 14 November 2006 By Liz Fuller〕 Okruashvili subsequently resigned his post.〔(GEORGIA: FORMER DEFENSE MINISTER SUBMITS "SHOCK" RESIGNATION ) EURASIA INSIGHT Molly Corso 17 November 2006〕 On 25 September 2007, he announced the formation of the new opposition Movement for United Georgia and unleashed criticism on President Saakashvili, accusing him of corruption, incompetency and human rights violations. He also raised new concerns around Zurab Zhvania's death, challenging the official investigation point of view〔(Okruashvili Ups Ante on Former Allies ) – ''The Georgian Times''〕 and personally accused the Georgian president of planning the murder of businessman Badri Patarkatsishvili.〔(Georgia's Ex-Minister Assails President ) – Forbes, Associated Press〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「2007 Georgian demonstrations」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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