Shevardnadze tries to sit out storm

One protester said a "velvet revolution" was under way

Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze has refused to resign after a row over media freedom brought thousands of protesters onto the streets of the capital, Tbilisi.

He appeared on TV to announce he had sacked his entire government but added that it would be "irresponsible" for him to resign himself.

It is unlikely that the incident at Rustavi-2 alone would have prompted tens of thousands of people to take to the streets and remain there for the second day running

Zurab Zhvania
Former parliamentary speaker

The immediate cause of the crisis was a police raid on an outspoken television station, Rustavi-2, but one of Mr Shevardnadze's leading political rivals, former parliamentary speaker Zurab Zhvania, said the real issue was the failure of Mr Shevardnadze's rule.

Mr Zhvania, who as parliamentary speaker had been tipped as a future president, added that it was Mr Shevardnadze's "duty" to stay in office as the alternative was an "abyss of instability".

"It is unlikely that the incident at Rustavi-2 alone would have prompted tens of thousands of people to take to the streets and remain there for the second day running," he told Russian TV.

Mr Shevardnadze says democracy is now at stake

There was, he said, a "common feeling of anger and protest against the country's leadership" over its failure to attack "corruption and lawlessness among officials".

The leadership needed to be changed, the ex-speaker said, but the immediate resignation of Mr Shevardnadze would "simply push Georgia into a real abyss, an abyss of instability".

Mr Zhvania, who leads a pro-Shevardnadze political party, resigned as speaker on Thursday. He had earlier condemned the raid on the TV station as an "open attack" on media freedom.

Revolutionary mood

Parliament had demanded top ministerial resignations after police raided the premises of Rustavi-2 on Tuesday and at one stage Mr Shevardnadze himself threatened to resign.

The TV station, which has been critical of the Georgian authorities, denied charges of tax evasion which were given as the reason for the raid.

Large demonstrations calling for President Shevardnadze's resignation were continuing on Thursday night in Tbilisi.

The anti-Shevardnadze protest continued after dark

"It's time for the old man to resign," Mzekala Khvichia, a law student from Tbilisi State University, told the Associated Press.

"If he doesn't step down of his own free will, a referendum must be held to force him out."

Mr Shevardnadze - who has headed Georgia for most of the past decade - is blamed for the country's continuing corruption and poverty and his popularity is at an all time low.

Protesters have been calling for him to be replaced by Misha Saakashvili - the former justice minister who resigned in protest at the government's failure to stamp out corruption.

Russia waits

Georgia's giant northern neighbour, Russia, has not intervened in the crisis despite recent frictions with Mr Shevardnadze.

But Russia was "closely watching events in Georgia" and "taking them to its heart", President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday.

The two ex-Soviet states have bickered for years over such issues as Russia's military presence in the region and Georgia's westward leanings.

Tensions have focused on separatist conflicts in Georgia's Abkhazia region and Russia's Chechnya.

Mr Zhvania visited Moscow last week and said he had held warm talks with Russian officials.

The United States has said it believes that Mr Shevardnadze can weather the current storm.

"We're confident that the political leadership in Tbilisi will successfully resolve the current situation," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said.