Prime Minister dies
Prime Minister, Zurab Zhvania, died of carbon monoxide poisoning earlier last week. Thousands of mourners filed past his open coffin in the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Tbilisi. Speaking to mourners, President Mikhail Saakashvili told them of Zhvania’s role in helping to bring about political transformation in Georgia. Zhvania played an important role in Georgia’s peaceful uprising in November 2003, ousting President Eduard Shevardnadze in the Rose Revolution. In a symbolic gesture, the Netherlands sent 1,000 red roses to be strewn on the path of the funeral procession. Authorities say the Prime Minister’s death was caused by a faulty gas heater and officials have dismissed the suggestion of foul play.
