Tens of thousands of people were in the streets, shouting for President Eduard Shevardnadze to resign. His generals were waiting for an order. But Shevardnadze decided not to call in the military, certain that any effort to quell the protests would end in a bloodbath. "The eyes of these people showed they were not afraid of anything," the 75-year-old ex-president said Wednesday, three days after stepping down. "The only way out was my resignation."
| He didn't want to go out like Ceaucescu... |
Despite the swell of opposition that preceded his ouster, Shevardnadze speculated that forces other than the protesters were involved. He noted that U.S. ambassador to Georgia, Richard Miles, was posted in Yugoslavia before the overthrow of Slobodan Milosevic, and suggested the ambassador might have encouraged Georgia's opposition. "In relation to the ambassador, I have serious ... suspicions that this situation that happened in Tbilisi — it's an exact repetition of the events in Yugoslavia," Shevardnadze said. "Someone had a plan.
| "Do you think this tinfoil hat goes with my complexion? Or do I need a darker shade?" |
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