The head of Georgia's rebel Adzhara province defied central government threats to depose him on Tuesday

The head of Georgia's rebel Adzhara province defied central government threats to depose him on Tuesday, vowing to tighten his grip on power and crushing student protests he said were engineered by Tbilisi. Adzharan leader Aslan Abashidze has declared a state of emergency in the Black Sea region, which includes the important oil shipping port of Batumi. Georgia's Rustavi-2 television said he had taken all Tbilisi-based channels off the air. Abashidze said he had ordered all schools and universities closed for a fortnight to prevent students creating "tension". Tbilisi, which already faces rebellion in two other regions, ordered Abashidze on Sunday to bow to central rule by May 12 after local militia blew up bridges linking Adzhara with the Georgian heartland. There was no sign of compliance. Adzhara police broke up a demonstration in Batumi in support of President Mikhail Saakashvili. Men in camouflage uniform set about protesters with metal bars. Saakashvili called an emergency meeting of his Security Council in response and ordered the army not to obey Abashidze.