PM says two party activists march onto beach, while party-aligned TV spins it as popular Georgian protest against Russian tourists

“Because we see that the Deep State is paying special attention to this Russophobic campaign, we too must devote special attention to it and provide the public with full information regarding this matter,” stated Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze in response to a journalist’s question.

According to him, this entire phenomenon represents a coordinated campaign orchestrated from abroad.

“This Russophobic campaign demands close attention; it demands special attention for one simple reason. We see that this is a newly planned campaign by the Deep State, involving, I repeat, their entire political activist base, foreign agents in the form of political parties, politicians, NGOs, and party-aligned television channels, not least because they provide the media coverage for this Russophobic agenda. Consequently, because we see that the Deep State is paying special attention to this Russophobic campaign, we too must devote special attention to it and provide the public with full information regarding this matter.

When your party activists confronted that cruise ship and you covered it with such agitation, that was not societal Russophobia; it was the Russophobia of foreign agents, that is, your Russophobia, your party’s Russophobia. The general public is not involved in this.

First, foreign agents stage the protests; then, their counterparts in the media step in to provide coverage. That is how a Russophobic campaign is run. It is happening again today. For example, two foreign agents and party activists march onto the beach, and then a party-aligned television channel covers it, spinning the situation to make it appear as though Georgian society is protesting against Russian tourists.

In short, you are involved; the public has nothing to do with it. That is precisely what we are saying: Russophobia is alien to Georgian society and to the culture of Georgian society, whereas it is native to you, by which I mean the foreign network of agents. This encompasses the political parties as well as the party activists who roam around with banners harassing Russian tourists on the beach, as well as you, the representatives of party-aligned TV channels. Therefore, this is a coordinated campaign, and it is, of course, entirely directed from abroad,” noted the Prime Minister.