DISINFO: West is interfering in Georgian protests
SUMMARY
The West is trying to block the adoption of the foreign agents law through the expansion of public protests, and seems clearly interested in the development of actions until the overthrow of the Garibashvili government, which avoids confrontation with Russia and does not join sanctions and in creating another conflict next to Russia's borders.
RESPONSE
Disinformation around the March 2023 protests in Georgia claiming that the collective West is escalating the protests because the Garibashvili government does not join it in sanctioning Russia. Fits into a recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about colour revolutions, portraying popular protests in the former Soviet republics as Western-instigated coup d'état.
There is no evidence that recent protests in Georgia were a Western-orchestrated attempt to forcibly change power. Massive protests erupted in Tbilisi after the Georgian parliament passed the first reading of a controversial bill requiring some organizations receiving foreign funding to register as “foreign agents”.
Many protesters saw the draft law as a legal step being inspired by similar laws in Russia and they protested against it. Further, the draft law caused fears that it could impede Georgia’s hopes for closer ties with the European Union, following local and international criticism, including from the US, EU and its member states, as well as the UN. Notably, the protests were met with tear gas, pepper spray and water cannons from the riot police that dispersed the rally using force.
As a result of the mass protests, the Georgian Parliament dropped the “foreign agents” bill after the ruling party withdrew support.
The pro-Kremlin media frequently falsely portray popular protests around the world as instigated from abroad, often by the US and the West. The disinformation narrative has been applied, among others, to reports about protests in Georgia, Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Belarus, Venezuela, Slovakia, Hong Kong, with the aim of portraying protest movements as aggressive actors who constantly prepare new coups.
Pro-Kremlin outlets falsely portray as a coup d’état the Euromaidan revolution. The spontaneous onset of the Euromaidan protests was a reaction by numerous segments of the Ukrainian population to former president Viktor Yanukovych’s sudden departure from the promised Association Agreement with the European Union in November 2013.
Read a similar disinformation case claiming that The US is behind attempts to "shake" the situation in Georgia.