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Georgia vows to curb

terrorism after

attack on Shevardnadze

TBILISI: Georgia promised special measures to clamp down on terrorism on Wednesday after leader Eduard Shevardnadze survived an apparent assassination attempt with cuts and bruises.

"Special joint measures will be undertaken after consultations and meetings between the prosecutors office, the interior ministry and the defence ministry," Security Minister Igor Georgadze told local television.

He said the government had received hints that there might be an attack well before Tuesday's car bomb exploded outside the parliament building.

Shevardnadze, 67, the last foreign minister of the former Soviet Union, was hurt in the blast but released from hospital after treatment for minor injuries.

Tbilisi's main Rustaveli Avenue, a treelined street of government buildings, was opened again to traffic on Wednesday, but security remained tight. Nervous soldiers checked documents carefully and armoured personel carriers stood at key buildings.

Interfax news agency said all interior ministry personnel had been placed on full alert after the attack.

The government and parliament held an extraordinary joint session on Tuesday night and local television and radio reports said several deputies demanded that a state of emergency be introduced, at least in the capital.

"This terrorist act is a grave crime against Shevardnadze and against the state," said a statement by parliamentary deputies read out on local television.

"Its aim was to destabilise the republic, ruin the state system and unleash chaos."

A separate statement by the government urged people to remain calm but to be vigilant. It said the new constitution would be enforced and parliamentary and presidential elections held according to the basic law.-Reuter