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05/05/2004:

"Tbilisi Offers Abashidze Safe Passage"

BATUMI, Georgia -- Thousands of people protested in the tense capital of Georgia's Adzharia region on Wednesday, calling for its defiant leader to resign amid signs he was losing support in his standoff with the central government over control of the Black Sea province.

Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili offered Aslan Abashidze safe passage if he resigned and left the country.

"I am ready to give full safety guarantees to Abashidze and members of his family if they leave Adzharia and go abroad," Saakashvili said in televised address.

Saakashvili said he had discussed offers of asylum for Abashidze with authorities in Russia and the United States. www.themoscowtimes.com