Georgia rules out revolution ahead of mass rallies

By Margarita Antidze and Matt Robinson

TBILISI (Reuters) - Georgia's interior minister said on Wednesday there would be no new revolution in the former Soviet state on the eve of mass opposition protests to demand the resignation of President Mikheil Saakashvili.

The opposition plans to protest daily in the capital Tbilisi until Saakashvili quits, accusing him of an authoritarian streak that has stifled democratic reforms promised in the 2003 Rose Revolution that swept him to power.

War with Russia last year, when Moscow crushed a Georgian assault on breakaway South Ossetia, has emboldened critics who argue Saakashvili, 41, has made too many mistakes to continue ruling until 2013.

The West is watching closely for a possible repeat of a November 2007 crackdown, when police firing tear gas and rubber bullets dispersed the last big demonstrations against Saakashvili.

Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili, considered the power behind the throne, said police would be tolerant provided the demonstrations remained peaceful.

"There is no chance of a revolution in Georgia," he told Reuters. "It (the protest) cannot last for ever. The participants also have their own limits."

"If there is no threat to the lives of the citizens, our tactic will be to not intervene or impede members of the protest in expressing their will freely," he said.

"My position does not give me the liberty to exclude anything, but my mood tells me there will not be violence."

HARDLINERS

The head of the Georgian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Ilia II, urged security forces not to intervene. "Any person, any soldier, who raises his hand against his brother is unable to defend his motherland effectively," he said on Wednesday.

Ambassadors accredited in Tbilisi called on all sides to avoid violence, and moderate opposition leaders denied plotting a revolution.

"I personally can reassure you that what we are trying to do tomorrow ... is not to stage a revolution," Irakly Alasania, who quit as Georgia's U.N. ambassador after the war, told reporters.

"What we are trying to do is to demonstrate to the government and the international community that there is huge mistrust toward the government from the public."

Analysts say they have doubts about the unity of the opposition, its strength of leadership and the level of support for it beyond Tbilisi. A protracted stand-off, they add, could play into the hands of hardliners.

The authorities said last month they had uncovered a plot to overthrow the government, arresting 10 men alleged to have links with the opposition and releasing secretly filmed video of them apparently buying weapons.