Shevardnadze sacks Georgian government in media dispute

The President of Georgia, Eduard Shevardnadze, dismissed his government yesterday in a dispute over media freedoms, a decision that could plunge the former Soviet state into political turmoil.

The crisis began on Tuesday when police raided the independent Rustavi-2 television, which has been sharply critical of Mr Shevardnadze's policies on the economy, the separatist Abkhazia province and the alleged presence of Chechen rebels in Georgia.

Protesters were angered by the raid and called for the government to resign. Although Mr Shevardnadze accepted the resignation of Vakhtang Kutateladze, the Security Minister, he had said he would feel obliged to quit if his deputies voted to punish Kakha Targamadze, the Interior Minister, and Gia Meparishvili, the Prosecutor General.

Mr Shevardnadze has used veiled resignation threats to outmanoeuvre his opponents in the past. He gave no public explanation yesterday of his decision to throw out his government. The parliamentary speaker, Zurab Zhvania, the second-ranking politician in the country, also said he was resigning, but fresh elections did not appear imminent.

"I have made my decision," Mr Zhvania said. "Let us start consultations on finding a candidate for a new parliament speaker, who I think will be elected on Tuesday. And let us begin consultations as quickly as possible about the line-up of a new cabinet." Mr Zhvania is a Shevardnadze loyalist who was seen as a favourite to succeed him.

The President's star has faded since he was hailed as Georgia's saviour when he returned to power after the overthrow of President Zviad Gamsakhurdia in 1992. The loss of the Black Sea region of Abkhazia to separatists in a 1992-93 war that cost 10,000 lives was a political blow, compounded by the plight of 250,000 ethnic Georgians who fled the region.

A spokesman for Mr Shevardnadze said yesterday that Mr Shevardnadze would not step down. "It is absolutely ruled out. It would mean the collapse of the entire country," he said.

Street protesters, who for two days had demanded that Mr Targamadze and Mr Meparishvili follow Mr Kutateladze's example and resign, chanted anti-Shevardnadze slogans as deputies met in emergency session to discuss the latest crisis.

Mr Shevardnadze said on Wednesday that the street protests amounted to "signs of a coup". Under the constitution, he must step down in 2005 when presidential elections are due to be held. (Reuters)