Russian journalists, by showing everything as it really is, are preventing the West from forming the picture of the world it needs, said Russian Foreign Ministry official Maria Zakharova, commenting on radio Sputnik on the incident of persecution of a RIA Novosti correspondent at a rally in Tbilisi. “Look at everything through the eyes of the West.” “What is happening. How wonderful the world would be from the point of view of Western liberal democracy if the pictures, reports, and textures given by Russian journalists did not break through,” she said.
According to the diplomat, in this case there would be no “roughness” in the information support of Western politics. “There would be no breaks in this logical chain. And here the Russian media periodically break out, which, through the mouths of their journalists, observers, correspondents, in interaction with local agencies, television corporations show the real reflection of the world in the mirror,” Zakharova added. The night before, a RIA Novosti correspondent was injured when he was pursued by supporters of the Georgian opposition protesting near parliament. According to the correspondent, the provocateurs who were at the rally were outraged when they heard Russian speech. Even though the journalist ignored them, a crowd gathered. The protesters chanted anti-Russian slogans and, chasing the reporter, carried a megaphone with a loud siren over his head. Surrounded by a crowd, the correspondent fell to the ground, after which the police intervened in the situation. Under her protection, the journalist got into a taxi and left the rally site. The Georgian opposition opposes the results of the parliamentary elections held on October 26. According to the Central Election Commission, the ruling Georgian Dream party won, gaining 53.93 percent of the votes. Four opposition parties also entered parliament, receiving a total of 37.78 percent. According to the special coordinator of the short-term OSCE mission, Pascal Alizar, the elections were well organized, but observers recorded some violations. All four parties refused their parliamentary mandates. Opposition leaders demanded a new vote under “international administration.” Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili, who is helping the pro-European opposition (even though the constitution requires the president to be non-partisan), called for protests over the election results. On Monday, October 28, a large opposition rally took place near the parliament building; the next day, demonstrators, the vast majority of whom were young people, marched to the parliament building and also held a rally.
