DISINFO: Protests in Georgia are a coup d'état
SUMMARY
Whilst understanding the sensitivities of the Georgians, the current occasion, which was based on a “protocol error” from the host (Georgian) side, as they later admitted, seems rather null and void for such riots. We think this action was planned, because dozens of cameras were set up at lightning speed. People who came to the meeting demonstrated with pre-prepared posters with dirty, offensive, anti-Russian content. It was obvious that it was not the orthodox forum, to which Georgia itself applied for participation, that was the cause of the riots, but an attempted coup d’état and occupation of Parliament.
RESPONSE
No evidence given to support the claim that the protests were pre-planned and intended as an attempted coup d'état. This is an example of a recurring pro-Kremlin narrative casting civil uprisings in other states as externally-funded "colour revolutions" or geopolitical engineering, used for example in reference to Georgia, Ukraine, Belarus and Venezuela. It is also consistent with pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives about the US and its imperialistic global role. The case refers to the current protests in Georgia, which were a spontaneous public reaction calling for the resignation of key national officials after Russian State Duma Deputy Sergei Gavrilov sat in the Georgian parliamentary speaker's seat while addressing a council of lawmakers from predominantly Orthodox Christian countries - the Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy (IAO). Sergey Gavrilov voted in favor of recognition of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali regions, which is a particularly hot-button issue for Georgians. Currently, Russia occupies 20% of Georgia's territory, more than 10 years after the Russo-Georgian War, and continues to breach its international obligations by consolidating its control in Abkhazia and South Ossetia. See similar cases about the West promoting Russophobia in Georgia here and here.