US President George W. Bush, before a cheering crowd of tens of thousands of people, said yesterday that the former Soviet republic of Georgia is proving to the world that determined people can rise up and claim their freedom from oppressive rulers.
"Your courage is inspiring democratic reformers and sending a message that echoes across the world: Freedom will be the future of every nation and every people on Earth," Bush said in speech from the Freedom Square that symbolizes the city's democratic pursuits.
"You gathered here armed with nothing but roses and the power of your convictions and you claimed your liberty. and because you acted, Georgia is today both sovereign and free and a beacon of liberty for this region and the world."
PHOTO: AFP
In a line that appeared directed at Russian President Vladimir Putin, Bush declined to support the bid of two separatist regions aligned with Moscow to gain independence from Georgia.
"The sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia must be respected ... by all nations," he said.
Freedom Square is where hundreds of thousands gathered after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1989 and again last year when the protests ousted Eduard Shevardnadze from office.
Surging crowds broke through police lines at the square ahead of Bush's speech after tiring of elaborate security procedures, raising security concerns.
The buildings around the square were freshly painted for Bush's visit, the first from a U.S. president, and hundreds of people dressed in red, white and blue stood in a human formation of the US flag, with another group forming the red and white Georgian flag.
Bush delivered his open-air speech from a podium surrounded by a high wall of a clear bulletproof screen.
"When Georgians gathered here 16 years ago, this square had a different name," Bush said. "Under Lenin's steely gaze, thousands of Georgians prayed and sang and demanded their independence. The Soviet Army crushed that day of protest, but they could not crust the spirit of the Georgian people."
He hoped the speech would balance his presence a day earlier at a World War II victory celebration in Moscow's Red Square and close his four-nation trip on a high note.
Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili, who led the Rose Revolution in 2003 that overthrew a corrupt government, praised Bush as "a leader who has contributed as much to the cause of freedom as any man of our time. ... We welcome a freedom fighter."
"Eighteen months ago the Georgian people stood for liberty in this very place," Saakashvili said. "Today America is true to its word. You stood with us during our revolution and you stand with us today. On behalf of my nation I would like to say, `Thank you.'"
He was elected president in a landslide in January last year after leading mass street protests against a fraudulent election.
Seeking to shed Kremlin domination, the 36-year-old Saakashvili is looking West for help as he tries to remake a nation that gained a reputation under Soviet times and afterward as a poor, corruption-plagued backwater.
Bush encouraged further work to ensure democracy in Georgia.
"In this global struggle for liberty our duties begin at home," Bush said. "While peaceful revolutions can bring down repressive regimes, the real changes, the real challenge is to build up free institutions in their place. This is difficult work and you are undertaking it with dignity and determination."
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
Conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell, who pursued separate careers, interests and relationships during lives that defied medical expectations, died this month in Pennsylvania, funeral home officials said. They were 62. The twins, listed by Guinness World Records as the oldest living conjoined twins, died on April 7 at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, obituaries posted by Leibensperger Funeral Homes of Hamburg said. The cause of death was not detailed. “When we were born, the doctors didn’t think we’d make 30, but we proved them wrong,” Lori said in an interview when they turned 50, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of
IN PURSUIT: Israel’s defense minister said the revenge attacks by Israeli settlers would make it difficult for security forces to find those responsible for the 14-year-old’s death Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday condemned the “heinous murder” of an Israeli teenager in the occupied West Bank as attacks on Palestinian villages intensified following news of his death. After Benjamin Achimeir, 14, was reported missing near Ramallah on Friday, hundreds of Jewish settlers backed by Israeli forces raided nearby Palestinian villages, torching vehicles and homes, leaving at least one villager dead and dozens wounded. The attacks escalated in several villages on Saturday after Achimeir’s body was found near the Malachi Hashalom outpost. Agence France-Presse correspondents saw smoke rising from burned houses and fields. Mayor Amin Abu Alyah, of the