Nineteen-year-old George Lomouri was one of the first who appeared on Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi at 6 a.m. Tuesday morning to see US president George W. Bush. His inspiration was to get into Freedom Square with his poster with the words "We love USA." "Someone must do it for Georgia and I am happy to be the one," Lomouri said. 

Lomouri was happy when he saw Bush dancing to Georgian folklore music the previous evening. "I am happy that he likes our songs, dances, and national food," Lomouri said. (The first thing Bush did Monday night was visit Abanotubani, an old part of Tbilisi, where a concert was held in his honor). "If you want you can hold the poster with me," Lomouri said and disappeared into the crowd of people. 

Starting at 6 am, people began to collect outside Freedom Square in the center of Tbilisi. They were standing in front of metal detectors waiting get into the square. Young and old, many with flags of America, they were waiting to see the President of the United States.
The queue was becoming longer every minute and people were losing patience. The noise was increasing, "My son is lying in the hospital and I have no money to take care of him," said one old woman who was trying to get through the crowd of people. "Give me a way. I want to meet George Bush." 

"Back up!" shouted some American security guards. (For security reasons no one knows the exact number of guards who were in Tbilisi for Bush’s visit.) At about 8:15 am, guards began to check people and let them in. Six huge metal detector booths across Rustaveli Avenue were making signal noises from all metal items people had in their pockets.
Freedom Square itself was full of iron fences that distributed the flow of people into separate sections of the square. Two large screens, one for concerts and the other for official speeches, were standing so that people could see both of them. Another huge monitor was standing in front of city council. 

On one edge of the square, Borjomi water was distributed free of charge. Also free were small flags of Georgia and America. "Wait! We can’t give them to you yet!" shouted one young person to the people who were standing in rows waiting to get flags. 

At about 10 am the concert began. Several Georgian singers came up to the stage. Lela Tsurtsumia, Liza Bagrationi and Nato Metonidze represented Georgian folk music. There were Georgian boy choruses, and some other pop music representatives were trying to encourage people who were standing in the sun, which was becoming stronger. Some brave girls in the crowd began to dance, and people formed circles around them and encouraged them with claps and shouts. 

In the center of the crowd, 15 Azeri young men, representatives of the opposition movement OX, (which means "no" in Azeri and is patterned after the Kmara (Enough) opposition group in Georgia), had laid out a large piece of paper and were painting with eyeliner the words: "Democracy for Azerbaijan." These young people had arrive in Tbilisi on Monday, the same day as Bush. 

"Can you come with us?" said a Georgian policemen who wasn’t dressed in a uniform to Arzum, who was the leader of Azeri group. They took Arzum and three other boys to a police station and left them there until the speeches were over. They didn’t touch the others but took from them their posters and flags of Azerbaijan. 

One of the policemen, who said his name was Levan, said they had information that representatives of the OX Movement were going to make protest proclamations. "Why didn’t they express their position in Moscow when their own president together with George Bush was celebrating the May 9 holiday (end of World War II)?" Levan said

"We want a fair election in our country, not necessarily a revolution," said OX member Ali. "We just want to have the right to choose the leader that people want." 

On Monday, the OX Movement members met Kmara activists at the Kmara office. A discussion was held about how they could express their demands and positions in front of the media." We have got information that they won’t let you express your position; you have no chance," said George, one of the members of the Kmara movement. But despite his words, he helped the Azeri activists draw a poster. 

The heat was becoming unbearable, but people were patiently standing in the square watching the concerts and waiting for Bush to appear. Meanwhile, Bush was holding meetings in the parliament. He also met with representatives of ethnic minorities. 

At about 1:10 pm, there was an announcement that Georgian president Mikhail Saakashvili and Bush were coming. Tired and sunburned people began shouting: "Georgia!" "Misha!" "Bush!"
The presidents came together and greeted the people. First to speak was Saakashvili. 

"We are gathered here today to discuss the purpose of our future. The presence of George W. Bush here is just one more confirmation of how much we have achieved and how much we can do when we are united as a nation. In order to make Georgia strong, whole and prosperous, all of us need to do more. For the task ahead cannot be done by one man or one cabinet member or one political party. It can only be done when all of you participate in rebuilding Georgia’s future," Saakashvili said. 

"Eighteen months ago, when the Georgian nation rose up to defend freedom and democracy, and when saving democracy in Georgian required support, America stood next to the Georgian people, and its support was crucial for the victory of the Rose Revolution. And we thank you for that, Mister President." 

As he spoke, people with excited faces were shouting. 

"I think this visit will bring to Georgia huge benefits. This will popularize our country around the world. Besides, it will help us to resolve the problems about Russian bases and conflict regions, and attitudes toward Georgia will be more respectful," said Vajiv Akhmedov, a 17-year-old Azeri who added, "I am proud that I’m a Georgian citizen." 

"We trust Saakashvili. Whom else can we trust?" say Anzor Bardzimashvili, who was at the rally with his wife Venera. "In one year, he couldn’t change all that was spoiled during many years. We were happy to be Georgians yesterday when President Bush was dancing to Georgian folk songs. When we saw Bush acting like that, we knew he liked us, our country, and our culture, and we were happy." 

The last words at the rally were from Bush 

"You are making many important contribution to freedom’s cause. Hopeful changes are taking places from Baghdad to Beirut to Bishkek. But before there was a Purple Revolution in Iraq or Orange Revolution in Ukraine or a Cedar Revolution in Lebanon, there was a Rose Revolution in Georgia. Your courage is inspiring democratic reforms and sending a message across the world, that freedom will be in the future of each nation and every people on earth." 

Tamar Khachaturova, an ethnic Armenian, wasn’t at the rally. "I couldn’t leave my job, but I wanted to be there," she said from her newspaper sales box on Rustaveli Avenue. "God gives us guests like this. It will help Georgia a lot." 

The meeting ended the same way it began, with hymns of Georgia and America. One emergency situation appeared when the tape of a Georgian hymn malfunctioned. DJs were trying to resolve the problem, but without success, when suddenly the huge chorus dressed in the colors of American and Georgian flags began to sing it without the tape. Silence in the crowd turned into shouts of excitement. 

As for the Azerbaijan OX representatives, they were freed from the police station. "They treated us quite well, gave us tea and apologized for arresting us, but they took our posters and pictures which we made yesterday," said 25-year-old Ali Musa. 

"The Georgian government doesn’t want to have bad relations with the Azerbaijan government," said Arzuma, who didn’t want to give his last name. "That’s why they don’t give us the right to make opposition posters. Azerbaijan is an oil-rich country. No one needs to have an unstable situation there." But the OX members said they think that Azerbaijan will do its best to support real democracy, which they think will bring a good to ordinary people.