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CNN Live Saturday

Georgia Coup Peaceful so Far

Aired November 22, 2003 - 12:37   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CATHERINE CALLAWAY, ANCHOR: In the former Soviet republic of Georgia, a state of emergency today as the president tries to stop a coup.
Anti-government protesters have taken over parliament, and the speaker of the chamber is claiming to be Georgia's interim president.

CNN's Moscow bureau chief, Jill Dougherty is with us now live with a reaction from the Kremlin and the latest on this political crisis that's going on there -- Jill.

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Catherine, it's a rapidly unfolding situation. Very dramatic events today.

You know, this has been going on, building for weeks after that election on November 2, a parliamentary election that the opposition said was a fraud. And in fact, the United States and many other countries agreed that it was.

So this evening in Tbilisi, Georgia, crowds of the opposition swarming toward the parliament building and walking inside, simply breaking through. No opposition from the security.

They came in, slammed down their flowers and bottles on the floor and said they were taking over.

It was quite a scene, but the opposition now saying that this is what had to happen. Things were so bad. The elections were stolen. People were living so poorly that they simply had to do this.

And right now, Catherine, you have an amazing situation in which you have two people who are claiming to lead the country.

One is the president, Eduard Shevardnadze. And he is saying he will not step down, that he is still the president.

And then you also have a woman, in fact, parliamentary speaker, who is now saying that according to the constitution, she is leading the country. And what she and the other members of the opposition want is that in 45 days, maybe even less, what they want is for Shevardnadze to step down, for a new presidential and new parliamentary election.

So what we're looking at right now is that's the wish and what everybody is hoping that this will not turn violent. So far it's been peaceful. But this is just the beginning of a very complex political process, and we will see how it works. CALLAWAY: Jill, incredible video from parliament there. It doesn't look much like a civil process. It looks very chaotic.

Nino Burdzhanadze is the opposition leader that's claiming now to be in control. If Shevardnadze agrees to an election, would he not be, in essence, giving up his presidency?

DOUGHERTY: He really would. And that's the key to it. Would he do that? He says no, and, you know, you have to look at his role in history.

This man was very, very important at the end of the Soviet Union. He was the foreign minister for the Soviet Union. He thinks of himself as the leader of Georgia, a very proud people. He's not going to step down very easily.

But he is also a very practical politician. And it may come to the point that he just realizes that there would be bloodshed if he doesn't do that. So the ball now is in his corner.

He, at the same time, is giving the opposition a deadline. He's saying, you have two days to clear out of here and -- before we come in for a rescue. So it's a very worrisome situation. And as I said, peaceful so far, but there is grave concern that something could happen, if the emotions don't cool pretty quickly.

CALLAWAY: One of the other opposition leaders, Mikhail Saakashvili, is certainly well known. How does he play out in all of this?

DOUGHERTY: He is. He's a very interesting politician, you know. A lot of charisma. He also studied in the United States, speaks very good English, has a number of friends and acquaintances in the U.S. government. And he claims to really represent the anti-corruption wing of the opposition.

What he is saying is, Georgia wants to be a western-oriented country, wants to be part of NATO, and that Shevardnadze is someone who has failed in what he has tried to do.

The main, let's say, driving factor right here is that the people of Georgia are living extremely poorly. Back in the old days, just actually 10 years ago, 12 years ago, they were living very, very well. The country has gone to hell in a hand basket very quickly. And so what they're saying is Shevardnadze simply cannot hold it together, and we need somebody else in power.

CALLAWAY: A tense situation there. I know you'll keep on top of it. Thank you Jill Dougherty. She's our Moscow bureau chief.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired November 22, 2003 - 12:37   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, ANCHOR: In the former Soviet republic of Georgia, a state of emergency today as the president tries to stop a coup.
Anti-government protesters have taken over parliament, and the speaker of the chamber is claiming to be Georgia's interim president.

CNN's Moscow bureau chief, Jill Dougherty is with us now live with a reaction from the Kremlin and the latest on this political crisis that's going on there -- Jill.

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Catherine, it's a rapidly unfolding situation. Very dramatic events today.

You know, this has been going on, building for weeks after that election on November 2, a parliamentary election that the opposition said was a fraud. And in fact, the United States and many other countries agreed that it was.

So this evening in Tbilisi, Georgia, crowds of the opposition swarming toward the parliament building and walking inside, simply breaking through. No opposition from the security.

They came in, slammed down their flowers and bottles on the floor and said they were taking over.

It was quite a scene, but the opposition now saying that this is what had to happen. Things were so bad. The elections were stolen. People were living so poorly that they simply had to do this.

And right now, Catherine, you have an amazing situation in which you have two people who are claiming to lead the country.

One is the president, Eduard Shevardnadze. And he is saying he will not step down, that he is still the president.

And then you also have a woman, in fact, parliamentary speaker, who is now saying that according to the constitution, she is leading the country. And what she and the other members of the opposition want is that in 45 days, maybe even less, what they want is for Shevardnadze to step down, for a new presidential and new parliamentary election.

So what we're looking at right now is that's the wish and what everybody is hoping that this will not turn violent. So far it's been peaceful. But this is just the beginning of a very complex political process, and we will see how it works. CALLAWAY: Jill, incredible video from parliament there. It doesn't look much like a civil process. It looks very chaotic.

Nino Burdzhanadze is the opposition leader that's claiming now to be in control. If Shevardnadze agrees to an election, would he not be, in essence, giving up his presidency?

DOUGHERTY: He really would. And that's the key to it. Would he do that? He says no, and, you know, you have to look at his role in history.

This man was very, very important at the end of the Soviet Union. He was the foreign minister for the Soviet Union. He thinks of himself as the leader of Georgia, a very proud people. He's not going to step down very easily.

But he is also a very practical politician. And it may come to the point that he just realizes that there would be bloodshed if he doesn't do that. So the ball now is in his corner.

He, at the same time, is giving the opposition a deadline. He's saying, you have two days to clear out of here and -- before we come in for a rescue. So it's a very worrisome situation. And as I said, peaceful so far, but there is grave concern that something could happen, if the emotions don't cool pretty quickly.

CALLAWAY: One of the other opposition leaders, Mikhail Saakashvili, is certainly well known. How does he play out in all of this?

DOUGHERTY: He is. He's a very interesting politician, you know. A lot of charisma. He also studied in the United States, speaks very good English, has a number of friends and acquaintances in the U.S. government. And he claims to really represent the anti-corruption wing of the opposition.

What he is saying is, Georgia wants to be a western-oriented country, wants to be part of NATO, and that Shevardnadze is someone who has failed in what he has tried to do.

The main, let's say, driving factor right here is that the people of Georgia are living extremely poorly. Back in the old days, just actually 10 years ago, 12 years ago, they were living very, very well. The country has gone to hell in a hand basket very quickly. And so what they're saying is Shevardnadze simply cannot hold it together, and we need somebody else in power.

CALLAWAY: A tense situation there. I know you'll keep on top of it. Thank you Jill Dougherty. She's our Moscow bureau chief.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com