In Pointed Message to Putin, Bush Hails Freedom in Georgia

NY Times ^ | May 10, 2005 | ELISABETH BUMILLER

[neverdem]

TBILISI, Georgia, May 10 - President Bush told tens of thousands of cheering Georgians packed into the city's Freedom Square today that the United States would stand with the former Soviet republic as it built its young democracy, and then pointedly warned President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia that the sovereignty of Georgia "must be respected by all nations."

On the last stop of a five-day trip that also included visits to Russia, Latvia and the Netherlands, Mr. Bush sought to tie the democratic movements in Georgia and other former Soviet republics to his vision for democracy in the Middle East and around the world. He spoke from the square where Georgians gathered in November 2003 for the "Rose Revolution," when Mikheil Saakashvili carried roses as he stormed into Parliament and displaced President Eduard A. Shevardnadze in a bloodless coup.

"We are living in historic times when freedom is advancing, from the Black Sea to the Caspian, and to the Persian Gulf and beyond," Mr. Bush said. "As you watch free people gathering in squares like this across the world, waving their nations' flags and demanding their God-given rights, you can take pride in this fact: They have been inspired by your example and they take hope in your success."

The White House, which has often scheduled the last stops on Mr. Bush's European trips in the former Communist countries where the president remains highly popular, had planned the Tbilisi speech to serve as a final feel-good picture before Mr. Bush headed west across Europe and the Atlantic for home.

The Georgians did not disappoint. The boisterous, largely youthful crowd on a hot spring day was said to be the largest of any in Georgia and one of the largest of Mr. Bush's presidency, stretching from Freedom Square far up into Rustaveli Avenue, the main boulevard of the capital. Mr. Saakashvili, a 37-year-old lawyer who studied at Columbia University and who is the main benefactor of Mr. Bush's visit, estimated that as many as 150,000 people had come to see and hear the first American president to visit his country.

Behind the president was Tbilisi's City Hall, its windows draped with American and Georgian flags. To Mr. Bush's right, carefully positioned for the television cameras, was an enormous White House-created backdrop emblazoned with the words "Celebrating Freedom and Democracy." Throughout the square were banners and pictures of roses. Mr. Bush spoke from an outdoor stage that appeared to be protected by bullet-proof glass.

Only 24 hours before, Mr. Putin had played host to Mr. Bush and other world leaders at the 60th anniversary celebration of the defeat of Nazi Germany in Red Square. Mr. Bush's warning to Mr. Putin today was focused on two separatist enclaves within Georgia's borders - Abkhazia and South Ossetia - that are aligned with Moscow. Earlier in the day, at a joint news conference with Mr. Saakashvili in the Parliament building, Mr. Bush embraced the Georgian president's plan that the enclaves become autonomous and self-governing, but not independent. He approvingly said that Mr. Saakashvili "wants the country to remain intact."

Mr. Bush's words were immediately criticized by the president of Abkhazia, Sergei Bagapsh, who told the Interfax news agency that "the Abkhaz people have already opted for an independent state at a referendum, and this choice should be respected."

Mr. Bush took a careful stance on the biggest conflict right now between Russia and Georgia, the two Russian military bases on Georgian soil that the Georgians want removed. The two countries are in negotiations, but Mr. Saakashvili boycotted the celebration in Red Square to protest a lack of progress. Mr. Bush said at the news conference that he had spoken to Mr. Putin about the matter.

"He reminded me that there is an agreement in place - a 1999 agreement," Mr. Bush said. "He said that the Russians want to work with the government to fulfill their obligations in terms of that agreement. I think that's a commitment that's important for the people of Georgia to hear. It shows there's grounds to work to get this issue resolved."

The big event of the day in Freedom Square was marred at times by technical problems in a country that has struggled to bring its infrastructure and utilities up to 21st century standards. A speech that Mr. Saakashvili delivered before Mr. Bush spoke went largely unheard because the loudspeaker system failed and was not fixed until the close of his remarks.

The loudspeakers failed again when the Georgian national anthem was played, and for a moment the crowd stood there in silence. But then people began to spontaneously sing it out loud, and the rest of the crowd joined in.

In his remarks, Mr. Bush warned Georgians that for all their recent success, elections were only the beginning. "While peaceful revolutions can bring down repressive regimes, the real changes and the real challenge is to build up free institutions in their place," Mr. Bush said. "This is difficult work, and you are undertaking it with dignity and determination."

Mr. Saakashvili has been praised for attacking the country's long-term corruption, modernizing the military, increasing tax collection and instituting standardized testing in schools, but his country has also been criticized by Human Rights Watch for the use of torture and a plea-bargaining system that allows defendants in criminal cases to pay the government to avoid trial.

In his remarks at the news conference, Mr. Bush said that "Georgia has come a long way very quickly," but "the president recognizes there's a lot of work to be done to leave the foundations, institutional foundations in place, so that no one will ever be able to overturn democracy. That's an independent judiciary, rule of law, free media."

In his speech, Mr. Bush thanked Georgia for its contributions in Iraq, where some 800 Georgian troops are currently stationed. "Last year, when terrorist violence in Iraq was escalating, Georgia showed her courage," Mr. Bush said. "You increased your troop commitment in Iraq fivefold. The Iraqi people are grateful, and so are your American and coalition allies."

At the end of his speech, Mr. Bush told the crowd, "sakartvelos gaumarjos," or "glory to Georgia."

[neverdem]

Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
President Bush, with Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili, said that the former Soviet republic is proving to the world that determined people can rise up and claim their freedom from oppressive rulers.

[BringBackMyHUAC]

Putin is openly siding with the Soviet side of Russia's history. President Bush is acknowledging this, not so much in his words, but in deed (where it counts). Good for him!

[Neville72]

Sharp looking unis those soldier boys have on.

[A. Pole]

Saakashvili was elected head of state in early January with more than 96 percent of the vote. What a freedom!