Thousands of Georgians Rally to Support Saakashvili

Source: Reuters

TBILISI (Reuters) - At least 150,000 Georgians cheered President Mikheil Saakashvili on Tuesday as he vowed to one day punish Russia for launching the biggest military attack on Georgia since it split from its giant neighbor.

Russia blames Saakashvili for starting the war over the breakaway region of South Ossetia on August 7 but there was no hint of internal dissent in Tbilisi, where even the normally critical opposition have strongly backed the president.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/GCA-Georgia/idUSLC55337920080812

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Weren't there some DUers who claimed Saakashvili would be lucky to last the week because Georgians would be so PO'ed at him?

Jay

I did not read the article, but did he also mention HOW he intends to do that?

counting on RatBastard and co. to protect him before
they've been admitted to NATO. This entire mess is
just a game between Putin/Medvedev and Saakashvili,
who's acting as a U.S. proxy. Neither side has com-
pletely clean hands.

But I wold rather side with a Democracy over the newly authoritarian Russia. From what I can tell this was spontaneous show of support for the current government in Georgia.

some sort of 'beacon of Democracy'? Are you aware of how Saakasvili governs? Furthermore, are you aware of the history between Georgia and South Ossetia (predating the Soviet Union)?

By trying to take South Ossetia by the use of military force, Georgia basically showed that it would use the same tactics that Russia has used in the past.

Pot meet Kettle

As for "Democracy":

Democracy requires that you have the will to keep going even in the face of total destruction, and that you are willing to make the sacrifices required, because even if help comes it is your responsibility in the end to make it work. And depending on someone else to do your fighting for you just shows that maybe you're not ready for the responsibilities that being a Democracy require.

Maybe Georgia isn't ready for Democracy and the responsibility that comes with it?

:shrug:

Jay

That is not something he or the Georgians can be proud of, IMO.

Georgian elections appear to be significantly corupt.

http://www.geotimes.ge/index.php?m=home&newsid=8860


Election results contested: Whose president is he?


The results of elections showed that although Saakashvili won his second term presidency, he did not win elections by nearly the margin he had in 2004. He lost in the capital but won by a landslide in regions populated with ethnic (national) minorities, like Marneuli. The results evoked cynical statements from the opposition that Saakashvili is not a president for everyone, but a president for Marneuli.

A member of the opposition coalition, Kakha Kukava states Saakasvvili received the majority of votes in Marneuli (50,000). “They say that it is not important who won in Tbilisi, Samegrelo, Imereti, or Adjara, but everything is decided in Marneuli. Marneuli outweighed all other regions. That is why I am saying that Saakashvili is the president of Marneuli,” he explained.

According to Kukava, while elections were held with more or less transparency in Poti, Batumi and other parts, they were entirely falsified in Marneuli and other ethnically populated regions.

Kukava argues that the CEC showed an unrealistically high turnout in Marneuli region: “We know that majority of Azery women do not participate in elections, and mainly only one representative of the family-a man- is voting. It would have been more realistic if they stated that three or four thousand people came to the elections.”

...

I do think Georgians have a reason to celebrate. They are not part of Russia right now. Defied my predictions.

The behaved like Russia without its might.

Although I'm not arguing that its not close. I would say a lot of this goes back to the missile incident in 2007. I think Russia has been egging this on for some time.

what a dumb thing to do...I can see if the were under assault