TBILISI, April 28 (RIA Novosti) - The Georgian opposition, which has been holding protests since April 9 demanding the country's president resign, collected around $3,000 in donations over two days in the capital, the Conservative Party said Tuesday.
The opposition says that the donations are needed to fund the protests, which leaders say are increasing in scale, adding that they had made the contributions public to ensure transparency.
Earlier President Mikheil Saakashvili said he had information that part of the radical opposition was receiving funding from Russia who, he said, is trying to destabilize Georgia, but the opposition rejected the claims and accused the government of profiting from the sale of strategic facilities to Russia.
It was reported on Tuesday that people had tried to throw feces at protesters on the capital's Freedom Square, where the opposition has built wooden jail cells to symbolize the country's descent into a police state.
The opposition also said a "garbage demonstration" would take place on Wednesday at City Hall in response to the authorities' refusal to remove trash following a clash between opposition supporters and waste management services.
Levan Gachechiladze, who leads the United Opposition, proposed earlier gathering all the garbage and dropping it at the entrance to City Hall.
Later on Tuesday, Saakashvili said he was ready for talks with the opposition.
"We should forget hatred and standoffs... We should put our motherland first and ask each other for forgiveness... Hatred destroys small states. I am ready to resume the dialog, to overcome the difficulties and to save the country," the president said, shaking hands with opposition leader Irakli Alasania.
Saakashvili made the statement after attending a special prayer after Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia Ilia II declared Tuesday a day of nationwide repentance.
