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Celebration as georgian leader quits { November 24 2003 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)    http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1069493435842 http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1069493435842 Celebration as Georgian leader quits By Tom Warner in Tbilisi Published: November 24 2003 4:00 | Last Updated: November 24 2003 4:00 Huge crowds in central Tbilisi celebrated victory in Georgia's "bloodless revolution" last night as President Eduard Shevardnadze resigned and turned over power to an opposition leader. Car horns blared around the city when the news was announced just after 8:20pm local time. Nino Burjanadze, the chairwoman of parliament and leader of the opposition United Democrats, is expected immediately to schedule presidential and parliamentary elections for January. Russia's foreign minister, Igor Ivanov, rushed to Tbilisi early yesterday and spent the entire day shuttling between meetings with Mr Shevardnadze and with Ms Burjanadze and her fellow opposition leader Mikheil Saakashvili. Mr Ivanov's eagerness to mediate in part reflected Russia's anxiousness over the new Georgian leader's strongly pro-western views. Among the thousands of Georgian national flags waved in front of parliament last night were a few stars and stripes. "America played a very big role in supporting these protests. And of course our states will be very close like brothers," said Nika Khidesheli, a graduate of Tbilisi's European School of Management. Mr Saakashvili said Mr Shevardnadze had made "a good move" in resigning and promised to guarantee his and his family's physical safety so that they can stay in Georgia. Mr Saakashvili had forced the president to flee parliament on Saturday when the opposition leader and groups of protesters broke into the session hall and seized the podium where he was speaking. The dramatic scene, which has been repeatedly replayed on Georgian television, put an end to Mr Shevardnadze's drive to form a new parliament based on the disputed results of elections on November 2. Ms Burjanadze had declared herself acting president on Saturday night. Mr Shevardnadze had initially threatened to use the army and police to restore his authority. But he climbed down as the crowds on the streets grew and it became clear the security forces would not support him. He was also flooded with messages from world leaders who urged him not to use violence against the protesters. Only Ukraine's President Leonid Kuchma, who survived a similar but smaller protest movement two years ago, voiced clear support for Mr Shevardnadze, saying the Georgian opposition's efforts to "seize power by unconstitutional means" were "strictly unacceptable". Police put up light resistance on Saturday as some 100,000 protesters first surrounded the state chancellery, where Mr Shevardnadze's office is located, and then sent smaller groups to occupy both the chancellery and parliament. "I'm very proud of my people," Mr Saakashvili said on television last night. "There hasn't been a single case of looting, for example." Latest news, www.ft.com

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