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Georgian opposition starts round-the-clock protests at TV station - 2

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The Georgian opposition launched on Tuesday a "new front" outside the state television headquarters as street protests demanding President Mikheil Saakashvili's resignation continued for a sixth day.
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TBILISI, April 14 (RIA Novosti) - The Georgian opposition launched on Tuesday a "new front" outside the state television headquarters as street protests demanding President Mikheil Saakashvili's resignation continued for a sixth day.

"From today, another 24-hour action - near the Public Television building - opens. Kostava Avenue will be blocked," David Gamkrelidze, the leader of the New Rightists, told a briefing near parliament.

He said 10 mock jail cells would be installed in front of the TV building, symbolizing Georgia having turned into a police state. By Tuesday morning, the first cages had been erected near the presidential residence as part of a city-wide campaign.

Georgy Targamadze, the chairman of the Christian Democratic Party, a minority party in the parliament, has proposed a plan for the opposition and authorities to overcome the political crisis.

He suggests that the chairmen of the Supreme Court and Central Election Commission step down, and the work of TV companies and law enforcement agencies be monitored.

The Georgian opposition also began a "tie protest" near the presidential residence, decorating its fence with neckties of different colors.

"Everyone who hangs a tie here will be able to make a wish, and I am sure every one of us will have the same wish - for the president to step down," Conservative Party leader Kakha Kukava said.

Saakashvili was caught on camera in August 2008 nervously chewing his necktie while discussing the Georgian-Russian conflict over South Ossetia by telephone with a top Western official.

The leader of the For a United Georgia party, Eka Beseliya, said on Tuesday the opposition would start mobilizing its supporters in the regions in the next few days.

"We are mobilizing our supporters across the country to come to Tbilisi to make the scale of the national protest reach unprecedented levels," she said.

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