By Lucas Leiroz, researcher in Social Sciences at the Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro; geopolitical consultant.
A color revolution seems to be underway in Georgia. Strong and violent protests against the national parliament were started by supporters of the country’s president and enthusiasts of a pro-Western foreign policy. The apparent objective of the demonstrations is to coerce congressmen to veto a bill against foreign agents, however, if investigated in depth, the case seems to indicate a much larger move, heading towards the absolute alignment of Georgia with NATO in the midst of the current conflict scenario.
Protests began on the night of March 7, after Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili passed a bill requiring foreign-funded organizations operating in Georgia to be registered within local authorities. The purpose of the project is to thwart foreign intelligence agents, saboteurs, and spies, ensuring that only well-intentioned institutions work inside Georgia. Obviously, the measure displeased the West.
Large media outlets began to spread a narrative about a possible „authoritarianism“ on the part of the Prime Minister and his allied congressmen, when, in fact, the measure had the sole objective of protecting Georgia’s sovereignty against foreign threats. Curiously, such narratives were endorsed by the country’s president, Salome Zurabishvili.
Zurabishvili was in New York visiting UN headquarters when the protests broke out. Even so, she recorded a video in support of the protesters and criticizing Garibashvili. According to her, the Prime Minister is aligned with Russia. In doing so, she echoes a common discourse among Western propagandists that Georgia should play a more active role in the Ukrainian conflict, adhering to open enmity towards Moscow.
Recently, there has been strong international pressure for Georgia to carry out an armed intervention in the autonomous regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. This pressure is intended to lead to the internationalization of the current war between Russia and the West. Moscow would have to open a new combat front in the Caucasus, forming a situation similar to that of Ukraine, in which Tbilisi would function as a NATO proxy against Russia. Indeed, the West has been pressing all its non-NATO allies to join the anti-Russian war, which allows the Atlantic alliance to fight Moscow without the obligation to send its regular military troops into a formal war.
However, there is yet another point to be emphasized, which is Salome Zurabishvili’s citizenship. The Georgian president was born in France and served as French ambassador to Georgia until 2004. She received Georgian citizenship at the time, due to a series of political maneuvers that occurred as a result of the 2003 color revolution – called the „Rose Revolution“, which sought for more integration with EU and NATO. Interestingly, shortly after becoming a Georgian citizen, Zurabishvili was appointed to the office of Minister of Foreign Affairs of the country, becoming one of the main pro-NATO players within the Georgian political system. Now, as President, she has even more power to advance her anti-Russian agenda.
It is curious to think about the reasons why the President of Georgia would be currently leading a campaign to boycott the Prime Minister due to his stance in favor of peace and against foreign espionage: Zurabishvili is literally a foreign agent herself, whose function is to promote anti-Russian and pro-Western policies in Georgia. Zurabishvili’s support for the protests shows that there is indeed an intention to remove Garibashvili and his supporters from Parliament, putting some pro-war politician in his place.
The demonstrations continue, although the focus of intensity on the night of the 7th has been reasonably dispersed. Several attempts to invade the Parliament were blocked by local police. Demonstrators chant anti-Russian hymns and graffiti messages in support of NATO and Kiev across the country’s streets. And, as expected, the leader of the Ukrainian neo-Nazi regime went public in support of the riots, saying:
„I want to thank everyone who put up Ukrainian flags on the squares and streets of Georgia (…) I want to thank [you] for our national anthem, which was heard in Tbilisi. This is respect for Ukraine, and I want to express my sincere respect for Georgia (…) There is no Ukrainian who would not want the success of our friendly Georgia. Democratic success. European success.“
As a result of the violence of the protests, dozens of people were arrested by local authorities. More than fifty police officers were injured by the demonstrators. In fact, the case has already escalated from a simple wave of widespread demonstrations to a real anti-government rebellion. Furthermore, for fear that the situation will escalate into civil conflict, hundreds of people are seeking asylum in Russia. In recent hours, the Russia-Georgia border has faced a serious road traffic problem, with Georgian cars desperately seeking to get out of the country.
For now, the Georgian authorities seem strong enough to deter the protesters. However, it is known that in cases of color revolution, after the failure of unarmed demonstrations, it is common for the situation to escalate to armed insurrections. In this sense, the best thing to do is to immediately begin a profound campaign of investigation and punishment against all foreign agents who incite chaos in Georgia.