TBILISI, August 18 – A senior Georgian Dream lawmaker has claimed that Georgian youth are being trained abroad, with alleged backing from the UK, to prepare for violent protests ahead of the country’s October 4 local elections.
Irakli Zarkua, chair of parliament’s diaspora committee, told reporters that young activists were being coached in Lithuania, allegedly with support from the British Embassy and organizations such as the British-Georgian Society and the International Institute for Strategic Studies. He warned parents to ask themselves where their children are, and who is preparing them, and for what.
The claim appears to trace back to a report by the news portal Prime Time, which cited an unnamed source. The story describes training of activists in Lithuania for street protests, documenting police actions, and running online campaigns through platforms like Telegram.
As Georgia is preparing for local elections on October 4, the government and opposition are deeply divided. The opposition is calling for reforms, while the ruling GD party defends its policies as necessary to guard against outside interference, including the introduction of two ‘foreign agents‘ laws.
