Charlie Rose Science Series
Click here to watch previous episodes of the Charlie Rose Science Series
09/28/2007
Mikhail Saakashvili
A conversation with President of the Republic of Georgia Mikhail Saakashvili
Keywords:
A conversation with President of the Republic of Georgia Mikhail Saakashvili.
DVD
Charlie Rose DVDs on Amazon.
Charlie Rose DVDs on Amazon.
Audio
Audio available through Audible.com.
Audio available through Audible.com.
Transcripts
Transcripts available through Voxant.
Transcripts available through Voxant.
Moreover, dear SB, if you follow the things that happen around the world, always ask the question â??why?â?? before you make any judgment on any matter. And ask that question to yourself and do researches before you say, â??â?¦shuts down independent TV and then proposes presidential electionâ?? (SB). When you get the facts in your answer after you have asked that question, only then you should make your voice heard, otherwise the voice has no credibility.
Dear friend SB, Saakashvili did not order the Special Forces to break the protest until after the protesters decided to disrupt the lives of other civilians. Protesters tried to block the streets disrupting others who did not wish to get involved in the protest from their normal daily lives. Moreover, Saakashvili did not order to break the protest until the leaders of the opposition decided to build a shelter in front of the parliament to guard them from rain, from getting wet. Would any democratic country, for instance, the US, allow protesters to build a shelter in front of The White House? I think whatever Saakashvili did was the right thing to do. He allowed people to protest as long as they did not break the rules of the democratic nation. I know how it is in the US. When there is a protest there is a line set according to the cityâ??s rules where the protest takes place. The protesters are not allowed to cross that line. And that is what happened during the recent protest in Georgia. Protesters along their leaders broke that line set by the city, Tbilisi, where the protest took place. Therefore, the government had to get involve to bring the order to the nation.
well, now we see real mishico the fuhrer... he crushes the opposition, decrees martial law, shuts down independent TV and then proposes presidential election... democracy, saakashvili's way
well, mr rose... this is your second miss in a row... first, ahmadinejad, and now saakashvili... your portraying saakashvili as a democrat at best is pathetic, at worst is misinformed... you are not doing your homework mr rose... last night the georgia's fuhrer has sent special troops to crush the rally against his regime in tbilisi... and you know what his had said: that's how democratic country, like america, disperse demonstrations... would you agree, mr rose? or perhaps you don't follow up the life of dictators...
He is absolutely right when he talks about change in Georgia. You can not compare Georgia now and before Saakashvili, economically, politically, human rights everything. It was horrbile before him, now we are moving quite quickly towards normality. It is just 4 years he is ruling georgia and he has done so much. It is incredible. But i must admit, there are some problems with judical systems. There is no independent judical review. That is the main problem. When it is solved Georgia will be far more forward to democracy. Human rights is complicated issue. Not especially Saakashvili is the problem, but the people have little cultur of respekting freedom of individual rights. But both people and the president are ready to lern and that is important. He is not like Putin or any other monster. Long live to georgia and georgian people.
Charlie: I´ve arrived from Chile to spend one year studying in US, Houston. This interview to President Mikhail Saakashvili is a good source to understand the process of growing and insertion of Georgia. Thanks for this good example. All the best for you and your team.
Artem Smolin, you are probably another one of Putin's agents trying to instill bad things about Georgian government to American people, because Putin dislikes that we have such a good relationship with the US. American people are not stupid not to understand where you are coming from. You accused our president of lying when all he said was true. In fact, you are the one who lied in your comments. You said there are 3 000 000 Georgians who are working illegally in Russia, which is absurd! The whole Georgian population is 5 000 000. And never in Russian history, even during the communist times, Russia had seen greater number of Georgians, living let alone, doing business in Russia, than 600 000. Today, that number is no more than 300 000. Maybe you did, but the world didn't forget how unethically and brutally Russian government deported Georgians from Russian soil. I don't know the facts about "gas problems" that you had mentioned, but one thing I know for sure is that not only Russia wouldn't give gas to Georgians for half price, but it wouldn't give snow to Georgians in the winter for half price. Secondly, Mr. Liar! there is no International George Bush Airport in georgia. There is a street named after the US president, Mr. G. W. Bush. It was a historical moment for all the Georgians to host an American president, and that was the sole reason why we named the street after Mr. Bush. It was a landmark visit by the US president. I guess you are mad because we didnâ??t name any street in Georgia after Mr. Putin. Speaking of Putin, corruption is at the lowest ever in Georgia. Our president is committed to eliminate corruption in Georgia! Moreover, sir, keep your kind words for your president, because he is going to need them at some point of his presidency. And I, as a Georgian, despise people like you who come out and lash out things which are not even close to the truth. Bottom-line is you are a pathetic lier!
Thanks to Charlie for bringing Georgia to our attention, which apparently is up and coming in spite of active Russian interference and separatists in two provinces. It has a terrain and climate ideally suited for agriculture and a key oil pipeline passes through Georgia, which perhaps accounts for Bush's interest.
Dear Artem, Georgia pays $235 per 1000 cubic metre of Russian natural gas, that's about the same price as for Western Europe. For comparison, Georgias neighbour Armenia only pays $110. 3 mln Georgians working in Russia? Why not 3 bln? How do you come up with these numbers? They are 2-3 hundred thousand at most, and please don't say that Russians "feel for them", you are being ridiculous. http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/42173000/jpg/_42173078_school_afp.jpg This is how Russians feel for them. You may not want to acknowledge it, but todays Russia is just one step from fascism. BTW, Tbilisi International Airport is not named after George Bush, only street near it is.
Bravo!!! The guy sells himself as a savior of the region and as a fighter for freedom against this huge and scary USSR-like Russia. Let me point out few things from Russian economist's view: 1. If you study the "gas problem" in Russian-Georgian relationships you will find that Georgians still buy it from us at a half price of what other Europeans do. Is that a pressure of a "dangerous neighbor"? If the prices were close to what the Europe pays, Misha would be wiped away by the "Revolution of roses. Part II". 2. The corruption in Georgia is tremendous. It's not just judicial system - it's absolutely everything. Try to come there to do business. Compare it to Russia. That is really night and day. Guess whose party has monopolized all the "black income"â?¦ 3. 3 000 000 Georgians work illegally in Russia. They don't earn a lot here, but they make a living and provide their families with enough money only because they are not being deported from our country. For some reason we really feel for those people. Russian government presses the Saakashvili's regime, this is true. This does not have to do anything with Georgian people which really have many historical ties with us. And they have great wine too. Can't argue with that. I would recommend everybody to come to Georgia, talk to people and see everything by themselves. The first thing you are going to see will be an International George Bush Airport and you will drive the street named after George Bush. In the Soviet Union only Stalin would have his name standing by geographical objects. What a shame! To me, this interview stands in line with Ahmadinejad's by the amount of lies. Charlie, you were unusually quiet in it. All comments and questions are welcome. smolin@yahoo.com