The Georgian State Security Service on Monday claimed the East-West Management Institute of USAID programme had invited Sinisa Sikman, Jelena Stojsic and Slobodan Djinovic from the Belgrade-based Canvas organisation in Tbilisi last month to “train” domestic NGOs and individuals for “planned unrest” this fall to “overthrow” the Government if the EU rejected Georgia’s EU candidacy. 

The body said the “stated goal” of the training between September 26-29 involved “nonviolent struggle” of culture people. However, it claimed a “large group” had been trained against “target groups”-  namely the Government, the Orthodox Church, the State Security Service and other agencies - and about “violent protests and resistance”. 

It also said the facilitators had been connected to Rose Revolution developments in Georgia in 2003, as well as in Ukraine and Serbia, and noted the individuals had rejected allegations in an interview in the agency on September 29, before their departure on the following day. 
SSS released a “video material” it said it had obtained during the investigation and had been disclosed by responsible agencies due to “high public interest” in the case

The agency on September 18 claimed the former officials under the United National Movement Government had been involved in an alleged revolutionary scenario in November and December, including Giorgi Lortkipanidze, the former UNM Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs and currently the Deputy Head of the Ukrainian military intelligence, Mikheil Baturin, a former member of the security detail of the former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, and Mamuka Mamulashvili, the commander of the Georgian Legion fighting in the ongoing Ukraine war. 

It claimed the potential unrest was “coordinated and funded” from abroad.