Road on Rustaveli Avenue blocked due to UNM rally

Road on central Rustaveli Avenue has been blocked as the opposition United National Movement is holding a rally there, demanding the release of imprisoned former president Mikheil Saakashvili on his 54th birthday. 

Saakashvili was arrested in Tbilisi on October 1 after eight years in political exile. 

He says he returned to remove the Georgian Dream government from power as ‘they stopped the country’s development.’ 

In his letter earlier today Saakashvili said that people should take to the streets to force the current government to appoint snap parliamentary elections. 

He also stated that Georgia must upgrade its naval infrastructure and build a new airport in Shiraki to achieve the deployment of the US and NATO forces on Georgian territory. 

Along with the calls for demonstrations, Saakashvili says that ‘national reconciliation’ is in ‘everyone’s interests.’