(Ebru News/AP) The US government has urged Georgia to abolish the state of emergency and restore all television broadcasts.
U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Bryza met Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Noghaideli in Tbilisi on Monday to press his government to uphold democratic reforms.
Speaking after the meeting in the State Chancellery, Bryza spelled out what the Georgian government has to do to satisfy the U.S. that elections set for early January will be free and fair.
"In order to do that, it's essential that a couple of steps are taken right away, which is lifting of the state of emergency and restoring all television broadcasts," he said.
Bryza arrived in Tbilisi on Sunday and will spend his four-day trip to Georgia meeting opposition leaders and media, as well as members of the government and the Georgian President, Mikhail Saakashvili.
Saakashvili's most serious political crisis in his four years in office began on November 2, when tens of thousands of people began noisy protests outside parliament to press for changes in the electoral system to give the opposition a bigger voice.
They also began calling for him to be forced out of office.
The protests led Saakashvili to introduce a 15-day nationwide state of emergency on Wednesday, hours after police clubbed and tear gassed opposition protesters in the capital.
The incidents have raised doubts about the US-allied Saakashvili's commitments to democracy and drawn strong criticism from the West.
Saakashvili, who sought to shed Russia's influence and integrate Georgia into the West, has defended the crackdown on protesters and the state of emergency order as a necessary response to what he described as a coup attempt staged by Moscow.
Russia rejected the allegations and the Georgian opposition denied having any links to the Kremlin.
Also on Monday a Georgian tycoon announced his intention to challenge Mikhail Saakashvili for the presidency and urged the West to intervene to force an end to the state of emergency and ensure a free election.
Badri Patarkatsishvili said in a statement from abroad that he would run in the Jan. 5 vote if the fragmented opposition is unable field a single candidate.
Patarkatsishvili is seen as a driving force behind anti-government protests in Georgia that led Saakashvili to introduce the 15-day nationwide state of emergency, hours after police clubbed and tear gassed opposition protesters in the capital, Tbilisi.
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US Official Urges to End State of Emergency
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