Georgian protesters call for Olympic boycott

TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — Several hundred protesters are rallying in the capital of Georgia to protest the Winter Olympics, which will begin in neighboring Russia on Feb. 7.

Around three hundred people gathered in downtown Tbilisi on Saturday, calling for a boycott of the games which will be held in the Black Sea resort town of Sochi, only 290 miles (460 kilometers) from the Georgian capital.

While the Georgian team in Sochi will have only four athletes, the games have touched a nerve in Georgia, a small nation in the Caucasus mountains that borders Russia. Many in the country remain bitter over a brief 2008 war with Russia, which left two separatist territories outside of Georgia’s control, including Abkhazia, a territory just south of Sochi.