Georgia's opposition called on its supporters yesterday to press forward the "velvet revolution" by seizing state television and the police headquarters, while a growing number of security forces and other officials loyal to President Eduard Shevardnadze defected to the opposition.
Protest leader Mikhail Saakashvili gave Shevardnadze a half-hour to resign, threatening that the opposition would march on his residence on the outskirts of Tbilisi if he doesn't go.
``We will go and take the last presidential residence,'' Saakashvili told protesters,
Shevardnadze said earlier that he was willing to talk with opposition protesters but only if they left the parliament building they stormed the day before.
"It is a necessary demand. It is, if you wish, an ultimatum. I must demand they leave the buildings which have been seized by force immediately. And then we will meet and talk," he told reporters.
"Until later tonight or tomorrow, the state of emergency does not come into effect," he said.
Earlier his defense minister said the veteran leader had not given any orders to use force to block the opposition, but the army was ready to stop the political crisis from escalating.
Shevardnadze also sacked Tedo Dzhaparidze, his top security aide, who had publicly acknowledged fraud in the Nov. 2 parliamentary elections and called for a new vote, the president's office said.
Meanwhile, dozens of members of the national guard joined an opposition rally outside parliament yesterday, adding their voices to demands for Shevardnadze to step down or hold new elections.
The group of up to 200 men and women said they were members of the national guard.
"The guys are still coming and the whole of the national guard will be here," one colonel said.
Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, who flew into Tbilisi before dawn yesterday, met the opposition and Shevardnadze to try to broker a solution. One opposition leader said talks on a "reasonable compromise" were possible.
Saakashvili urged his supporters to seize the Interior Ministry headquarters if Shevardnadze tries to convene a new parliament there, and ordered them to take control of the state television, which he accused of airing "pro-Shevardnadze propaganda."
Saakashvili, speaking to more than 50,000 boisterous supporters outside parliament, also told them to begin ousting local administrators appointed by Shevardnadze.
The crowd swelled under bright, sunny skies as the day went on _ to such an extent that the opposition leaders encouraged them to spread out to other areas of the city to avoid a stampede. Its members sang soulful Georgian folk songs, danced and shouted their approval as their leaders announced each new advance.
On Saturday, tens of thousands took to the streets to demand Shevardnadze step down. As with the "people power" protests that swept eastern Europe in 1989, the military stood aside, even when protesters stormed parliament.
Shevardnadze was forced to flee the legislature and has been holed up in his private residence on the outskirts of the capital ever since.
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