GEORGIAN REACTION:AT LEAST 150,000 Georgians cheered President Mikheil Saakashvili yesterday as he vowed to punish Russia one day for launching the biggest military attack on Georgia since it split from its giant neighbour.
There was no hint of internal dissent in Tbilisi, where even the normally critical opposition have strongly backed the president.
Flanked by bodyguards, Mr Saakashvili arrived about an hour after the start of the rally to applause and cheers. "I promise you today that I'll remind them of everything they have done and one day we will win," he said.
The crowd roared: "Georgia, Georgia!" Speakers shook with anger and denounced Russia's aggression while the crowd waved Georgian flags and posters depicting Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin as a terrorist.
One placard showed Mr Putin in a mugshot with the caption: "Wanted: Crimes against humanity and the world".
The crowd ranged from pensioners, to businessmen, to students, to young reservists who had been called up to fight the separatists and their Russian allies.
An elderly lady leaned on a fence and wept; a young woman wearing a Georgian soccer shirt waved the national flag. Some people said they had never been to a political rally before but they gathered in front of Georgia's parliament to support their country and their leader. "We are a united nation; everybody is supporting Saakashvili. He has defended our country," 28-year-old Arteym Oganeyzov said as he stood on a step overlooking the crowd.
"Russia started this war and Saakashvili had to defend us," Irma Revazishvili (43) said at the rally.
For the crowd gathered in the hot sun, the Russians had not defeated their army. "Saakashvili loves this country, he is our president," 22-year-old student Shako Vezirishvili said as he stood with a national flag around his shoulders.
"If my country wants me to go to war, I will go." - ( Reuters)