Protest Organizers Will "Try to Make Sacrifices" to Escalate Demonstrations, SSS Says

"I would like to inform you that as soon as the intensity of protests near the Parliament building in Tbilisi begins to decrease, a certain group of local actors implementing a criminal plan becomes active. Their goal is to artificially reignite public outrage, which they believe can be used to overthrow the government through violent means. A clear indication of this is the frequent acts of violence, perpetrated by carefully disguised individuals, against law enforcement officers and civilians both at protest sites and elsewhere, occurring alongside the widespread protest sentiment," the SSS statement reads.

In this context, the agency references the attack on the camera crew of the TV company Pirveli on December 7, describing it as "one of the potential episodes of the criminal plan."

"The case is being investigated by the Special Investigation Service. We hereby express our readiness to actively cooperate with this service to uncover the objective truth in the case as swiftly as possible," the SSS added.

Based on "information received," the State Security Service reports that "the organizers of destructive and criminal activities are planning to obstruct the election of the President of Georgia on December 14, 2024, and to prevent, by all possible means, the election of the sixth President of Georgia. This would artificially trigger a governmental crisis."

"For this purpose, the organizers are considering intensifying the situation, particularly on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of the current week, as well as partially on Friday, with the goal of causing 2-3 casualties.

Through these sacrifices, they aim to escalate public outrage, foster radical attitudes, and incite uncontrolled processes while subtly placing the blame on the authorities.

The implementation of these plans is being carried out by local actors under the coordination of foreign special services. The current strategy follows well-established scenarios typical of so-called Color Revolutions, involving ritualized actions and gradual escalation, culminating in the killing of civilians to amplify the overall crisis.

This is corroborated by recent incidents of damage to external surveillance cameras by masked groups in the protest areas and surrounding regions. Such actions are solely intended to make it more difficult to identify perpetrators in the event of criminal acts," the SSS states.

The agency urges citizens to exercise extreme caution to avoid "knowingly or unknowingly becoming participants in or victims of the criminal plan."

Thousands of protests began in Tbilisi on November 28, after the illegitimate Prime Minister, Irakli Kobakhidze, announced at a briefing that Georgia would not prioritize opening negotiations on EU membership until the end of 2028 and would reject EU budget funding.

During the 12 days of protests, police forces repeatedly dispersed civilians opposing the shift in the country's pro-European course. Special forces physically assaulted both rally participants and media representatives. Approximately 500 people were arrested on various charges related to the demonstrations.

Leaders from the USA and the EU expressed their support for the Georgian people while condemning the use of excessive force against the protestors.

The decisions and actions of the Georgian Dream leaders have received approval from the Kremlin. Similar to Georgian government representatives, officials in Russia are referring to a coup d'état scenario and drawing parallels between the developments in Georgia and the Maidan revolution in Ukraine in 2014.