Military coup scenario on political forum

A user registered on the Georgian political forum website with the nickname Asds published materials on an alleged planned military coup in Georgia, Georgian media outlets reported on Tuesday. According to the internet portal presa.ge, the user registered as Asds is a Georgian journalist living in Russia, who “was making anti-Georgian statements and disseminating the videos compromising Georgian soldiers during the August war in 2008.” Presa.ge reported that he asked the de facto South Ossetian government for political asylum and reportedly lives in Tskhinvali.

According to the information posted by the forum user, the alleged plan envisages starting mass protest rallies throughout Georgia, setting up armed groups, storming administrative buildings and punishing “the servants of Saakashvili regime with death sentence.” The user writes that the military coup will start by the oppositional part of society mobilizing internet resources and starting mass rallies in several big cities of Georgia, including Tbilisi and Kutaisi.

“With the aim to defend a demonstrations in Kutaisi, about 500 armed people will go there and several armed groups will be established,” Asds writes in his post, adding “then the demonstrators give Saakashvili an ultimatum to resign within 5 hours, dissolve Parliament and appoint early presidential, parliamentary and local elections. Those planning the coup don't think that the demands will be met and immediately after this military action will start.”

According to the user, after taking over Kutaisi, under “strict discipline” the radical part of the population will create several thousand-strong military units and be divided in two parts: the first will “liberate” Samegrelo region and Adjara, and the second will head to Tbilisi. “During the military coup, Saakashvili will be still in Georgia; the people will find his location and eradicate him and his allies,” the forum user states. He continues, “Later an interim government will be formed, servants of the Saakashvili regime will be convicted and within a considerably short period of time early parliamentary and presidential elections will be appointed.”

The information posted on the political forum and widely covered by the Georgian media has received little reaction from officials or the oppositions. Georgian MPs have downplayed the “coup plan” saying “it is not serious in that anyone can write anything in social networks” and that “no comments should be made by politicians on this kind of information.”

The Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs has also refrained from commenting on the issue. Speaking to The Messenger, the head of the analytical department of the Interior Ministry, Shota Utiashvili said that the Ministry possesses no information on the post published by an anonymous user.