‘Revolutionary process’ underway, opposition figure says

One of the organisers of today’s rally, Murtaz Zodelava, has said outside parliament that ‘a revolutionary process has begun in the country’ and that ‘it must be carried through to the end’.

‘There is no such thing as a two– or three-hour revolution. It is a process that requires several days of struggle, of confrontation, and the revolution will prevail’, he added, according to IPN.

‘I am ready today to throw my own body into the ranks of the special [police] forces, to sacrifice my body and my life for this’, he said.

Zodelava was the one who called on demonstrators earlier this evening to take control of the Presidential Palace.

Speeches at the parliament are sporadically continuing amid clear confusion and dissatisfaction among protesters, due to the lack of a concrete plan.

This comes despite the fact that today’s protest was far from spontaneous: a group of opposition figures — including opera singer Paata Burchuladze, as well as Zodelava and several others — had been announcing the gathering for weeks and fueling expectations of swift change, with Burchuladze saying:

‘We start at four and we finish at four’.