Roses for everyone: Georgia goes wild for George W. Bush
A BBC reporter explained the wildly enthusiastic welcome for President Bush last night in Tbilisi, the Georgian capital:
“If your country had been occupied for 200 years by Russian troops, you’d think the Americans are your best friends,” Natalia Antelava reported this morning.
Antelava said most of Georgia’s 5 million people love the United States and are proud to have 900 troops working with the Americans to establish democracy in Iraq.
Revolution honored. Waving American and Georgian flags, Georgians cheered Bush and his wife, Laura, all the way from the airport to the center of Old Tbilisi, where buildings are decorated with red roses, representing Georgia’s Rose Revolution for democracy.
Bush’s smiling face also is plastered on posters and billboards throughout the capital. Other signs read, “George Bush Is Georgian” and “We All Love You.”
After a red-carpet reception at the Parliament building, President Mikhail Saakashvili and his wife, Sandra, escorted the Bushes to a joyous celebration.
As Bush watched and clapped, musicians played traditional tunes with a lively beat. Dancers in red, white and black performed with fervor. The festivities seemed to take on a life of their own until Bush himself was dancing.
Bush parties. The Washington Post described Bush as “getting wiggly.” He bobbed his head, waved his arms and wiggled his hips. “I would never dance like that,” joked Saakashvili. And as the merriment continued, Bush extended his schedule to 10 p.m. - late for this president.
After the Bushes and the Saakashvilis dined at Gorgasali Restaurant, they went back outside, where they found more music and a sky filled with fireworks.
At a press conference this morning, Bush said Gorgasali’s food was great, but he should have eaten before he danced. Later today, he’ll speak at Tbilisi’s Freedom Square, formerly Lenin Square. Hours before Bush's address, the square is filling with tens of thousands.
Democratic progress. For Saakashvili, Bush’s visit is a chance to further consolidate the democratic progress his country has made since the Rose Revolution overthrew an authoritarian dictatorship through elections and protests 18 months ago.
“This visit means a lot,” Giga Bokeria, a Georgian parliamentarian and close Saakashvili associate, told Reuters.
“It is a message that we are not alone in our struggle to become a decent democracy ... a sovereign country on which no one can impose their will. I am talking about Russia here.”
Giorgi Arveladze, another member of parliament, told the BBC:
“This visit is enormously historic. A real recognition of the progress that Georgia is making and it shows that the country is on the right path. So we are going to do our best to host Mr. Bush.”
Russian troops. Keep in mind that Georgia is a former “republic” of the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and today, 14 years after the end of the “evil empire,” Russia still has soldiers stationed on two bases in Georgia.
On April 4, 1989, when Freedom Square still was Lenin Square, Georgian demonstrators gathered to demand independence from the Soviet Union. The rally continued until April 9, when Soviet troops swung batons and shovels, killing 20 protesters as they dispersed the crowd. Another Georgian was shot to death on April 10. Georgia’s liberation had to wait two more years.
For Georgians, America has been the beacon of hope for more than half a century. Today, Bush represents their longing for a nation fully free and independent, and their first real chance to achieve that goal.
No wonder they’re going wild.
Frank Warner
Update: In a speech delivered in the brilliant sunshine of Freedom Square, Bush told an ecstatic crowd of more than 100,000 that Georgia is a “beacon of liberty for this region and for the world.”
"If your country had been occupied for 200 years by Russian troops, you’d think the Americans are your best friends," Natalia Antelava reported this morning.
Translation:
"If you were SHIT on, then having someone PISS on you would make you feel a lot better. Don't you think?"
Posted by: Red Star | May 10, 2005 at 02:53 PM
ABC Report: Grenade thrown near President:
http://www.katu.com/stories/77045.html
Posted by: Carl | May 10, 2005 at 07:15 PM
Possible explosive device hurled near Bush
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7781473/
Posted by: Carl | May 10, 2005 at 08:41 PM
I heard of people throwing flowers and roses to show admiration. So, a grenade shows....?
Posted by: Red Star | May 11, 2005 at 09:41 AM
It shows that in every crowd of 150,000 free people, there is one grenade-tossing fool who would have them all enslaved.
A relative, Red?
Posted by: Frank Warner | May 11, 2005 at 12:05 PM