Word: ioseliani
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...Georgian Military Council vowed to turn over power "in the very near future" to a provisional civilian government led by former Prime Minister Tengiz Sigua, a onetime Gamsakhurdia ally who was pushed out of office in a political squabble. But Military Council member Dzhaba Ioseliani, head of the anti-Gamsakhurdia Mkhedrioni, or White Horsemen, paramilitary squads, suggested that the timetable would depend on how quickly life in the republic returned to normal. "Power is now in our hands," he said. "Until things calm down and until democratic institutions take root, we will keep power...
There was widespread skepticism about Ioseliani's claim. Said a senior British diplomat: "The new leaders barely control the center of Tbilisi, let alone the republic. The place is in the throes of anarchy." As word of Gamsakhurdia's downfall spread, thousands of the ousted leader's supporters gathered at the capital's train station for a march through the city. For the second time since the conflict began, gunmen tossed smoke bombs and opened fire on the crowd, scattering the demonstrators. Ioseliani defended the use of terror to enforce a state of emergency in Tbilisi...
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