Day 2: Saakashvili refuses to resign, calls for dialogue
President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili answered the second day of demands for his resignation with a call for dialogue, Friday.
“The world was watching and we proved once again that we are a European democracy”- stated Saakashvili.
In a press conference at noon, Saakashvili stated that “democracy in Georgia took a major step forward yesterday on April 9th. Thousands of protestors expressed their democratic rights by showing their concerns about their elected government.”
President Mikheil Saakashvili "I call on all demonstrators and all relevant Government agencies to act with the same care, respect, and peaceful approach, as they did yesterday "
Saakashvili expressed his satisfaction that violence didn’t take place during the demonstrations from none of the sides: neither from the demonstrators nor from the Police. He also pointed out that his plans for dealing with protesters was transparent, as he briefed partner governments and the press on his plans to maintain order during the demonstrations.
He challenged opposition leaders to sit down and discuss reforms to the electoral code, changing the constitution to strengthen parliament’s role, and instituting a direction election for the mayor of Tbilisi.
“These are all part of the democratic process and it is our collective responsibility to carry this transformation forward – together,” he said.
Alanaga's Blog 
April 10, 2009 at 12:36 pm
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April 10, 2009 at 2:15 pm
[…] up by the GIPA Journalism School especially for the protests, the Georgian president had made that quite clear earlier in the day. President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili answered the second day of demands for his resignation […]