Georgian leader Eduard Shevardnadze extended emergency rule in the troubled former Soviet republic on Saturday and asked increasingly disenchanted lawmakers to swiftly ratify his decision.
The state of emergency, introduced two months ago to combat lawlessness and an insurrection in western Georgia, had been scheduled to expire Saturday. But Shevardnadze issued a decree extending it until Jan. 20.Things have not gone well for Shevardnadze since he first imposed a state of emergency - including a curfew, a ban on public rallies and strict censorship.
The loss of the breakaway Abkhazia region to separatists in September, and Shevardnadze's subsequent decision to take Georgia into the Moscow-dominated Commonwealth of Independent States, have led many of Shevardnadze's political allies to break with him publicly.
His supporters say emergency rule is required to control a continuing crime wave and stamp out guerrilla activity in the west of the country, where Georgian troops put down a separate rebellion by supporters of ousted President Zviad Gamsakhurdia.
Akaki Assatiani, leader of the Traditionalist Party and a critic of Shevardnadze, said the head of Georgia's ruling council "fears he no longer can command a majority in parliament and will block it reconvening so they cannot vote on his decisions about the CIS or Abkhazia."
Armored personnel carriers have reappeared in the past three days on the streets of the capital, Tbilisi.