(10 Apr 2009) SHOTLIST
1. Wide pan across media to Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili at news conference
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Mikhail Saakashvili, Georgian President:
"I think today, yesterday, part of the Georgian population raised their voices. We listened and we heard. I want therefore to respond. I want to again reiterate our offer of a dialogue on strengthening our democratic institutions and I want to say that we mean it, this offer is real. This is profound, this is substantial and I am sure this is going to produce real results."
3. Cutaway of Georgian flag
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Mikhail Saakashvili, Georgian President:
"On this concrete issue (referring to the ultimatum) it's obviously a question and the answer is no and it has always been no because that is how it is under the constitution. We are country with rule of law and the way it works is that we listen to everybody. We respect everybody's opinion. We are here to protect media freedom, we are here protect freedom of assembly. We are here to protect every small group in their democratic demands, but we are also here to protect the institutions."
5. Cutaway of cameras
6. Wide of opposition gathering in front of the Parliament for a second day of protests calling for resignation of Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili
7. Mid of protesters in front of Parliament
8. Mid interior of opposition supporters putting a banner up
9. Close-up of opposition supporter preparing banner mocking Saakashvili
10. Close-up of flags
11. SOUNDBITE (Georgian) Zaza Adeishvili, opposition supporter:
"He was brought peacefully to his position and we want him to be taken away the same way, peacefully. We do not want any violence, we want him to get out of Georgia."
12. Opposition supporters in front of the Parliament
STORYLINE:
Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili on Friday said opposition protests in the capital Tbilisi were a sign of strength and democracy in Georgian society, amid mounting calls for him to step down as the country's leader.
He also reiterated his call to open dialogue with the opposition and called for unity, saying issuing ultimatums and threatening confrontations was "easy".
Saakashvili said the offer of dialogue with the opposition was "real" and "substantial".
"I am sure this is going to produce real results," he said.
Saakashvili's comments come as protests demanding the president's resignation entered their second day on Friday.
Several hundred demonstrators blocked the street in front of Georgia's parliament calling for Saakashvili to step down.
Thousands more were expected to join them during the day to continue the push to force Saakashvili from office.
Thursday's peaceful demonstration in Tbilisi drew tens of thousands.
The protesters' most bitter criticism is directed at the president's handling of the brief August war with Russia.
Georgia lost territory as separatists and their Russian allies took full control over two breakaway Georgian regions.
Protesters also accuse Saakashvili of betraying his promises of democratic reform and embarrassing his country with his erratic behaviour.
But Saakashvili, who was re-elected in 2008, has vowed to serve out his five-year term.
Georgians once widely admired Saakashvili, 41, as an energetic, pro-Western reformist, but many were disillusioned by what they describe as his authoritarian bent.
Criticism of his government was all but silenced during the war, as Georgians came together in the face of the Russian invasion, but opposition has slowly galvanised in recent months.
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