Violence In Georgia

Georgian soldiers patrol a street in central Tbilisi on November 9, 2007. Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili's chief of staff said that a nationwide state of emergency in Georgia will be lifted earlier than planned. Friday afternoon the Georgian parliament voted 149 to 0 in favor of endorsing the president's emergency decree.

Georgian soldiers patrol a street in central in Tbilisi on November 8, 2007. Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili announced that presidential elections and a referendum on moving up parliamentary elections will be held on January 5, 2008. The previous day he imposed a 15-day state of emergency after clashes between police and anti-government protesters. Saakashvili accuses Russia of backing the rallies. The opposition and its supporters requested holding parliamentary elections in the spring. According to analysts, it will only be possible to hold the elections in early January if the president resigns. (AFP photo)

Georgian soldiers patrol near the parliament building in central Tbilisi on November 8, 2007. The government state of emergency came after six days of opposition protests and violence. (AFP photo)

Georgian police fire tear gas to disperse opposition protesters at a rally in central Tbilisi on November 7, 2007. At about 5 a.m. CET on Wednesday the police assumed control over the square in front of the Georgian parliament building using force to disperse opposition members. (EPA photo)

A Georgian opposition supporter falls down as special police forces use water to disperse protesters in front of the parliament building in Tbilisi on November 7, 2007. (AFP photo)

A nurse assists victims of police clashes in a hospital in Tbilisi on November 7, 2007. Approximately 500 people were injured. (AFP photo)

Police stand guard in Tbilisi on November 07, 2007 at the Georgian opposition TV station Imedi. It led coverage of the anti-government protests. The station went off the air after the country's special forces stormed the building . Imedi is Tavisupleba's partner on radio and TV. Since the police intervention, Tavisupleba's broadcasts have also been off the air and all radio and TV broadcasts were stopped with the introduction of the state of emergency. Georgian Public Broadcast was the exception and continued broadcasting. (InterPressNews photo)

Journalists at the private TV channel Rustavi 2 were at work in their newsroom in Tbilisi on November 8, 2007. Rustavi 2 said good-bye to its audience and promised to return in two weeks. Camouflaged police patrolled the Georgian capital and news programs were shut down at the start of the state of emergency.(AFP photo)

Opposition supporters stand on the Monument for the victims of the April 9, 1989 protests. They were preparing for rallies in Tbilisi on November 2, 2007. (RFE/RL photo)

Opposition supporters gather outside the parliament building in Tbilisi on November 2, 2007. Six days of protests ended with a state of emergency in the country and the suspension of radio and television broadcasts for several media outlets. (RFE/RL photo)