Opposition Supporters Rally In Tbilisi For Fourth Day

Protesters began rallying on April 9, demanding that President Saakashvili resign

Some 1,000 opposition supporters rallied in Tbilisi on April 12 demanding that President Mikheil Saakashvili resign.

It was the fourth day of protests by opposition supporters who accuse Saakashvili of becoming autocratic and of mishandling last year's war against Russia.

Protest organizers had initially called a one-day break from demonstrations on Apri 12, when Orthodox Christian Georgia marks the beginning of the week before Easter. But organizers later said they would hold a small protest after an incident at the opposition protest venue near parliament on April 11.

The opposition says unidentified assailants attacked their protest venue, smashing equipment and tearing down banners. Police, however, said protesters had set on street cleaners who arrived to clear the site of litter.

Thousands of opposition supporters demanding that Saakashvili step down have been rallying in Tbilisi since April 9, but numbers have fallen significantly, from some 60,000 to about 4,000 on April 11.

with agency reports