Thousands of people came to the Georgian parliament to protest the passing of the Foreign Agents Law. Despite warnings from the Interior Ministry, the crowd refuses to disperse, following clashes between protesters and police, there are casualties. Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili supported the protesters and said she would veto the law.
What happened
On the evening of March 7, thousands of people gathered in front of the Georgian Parliament building on Rustaveli Avenue in central Tbilisi, expressing their disagreement with the adoption in the first reading of the law on foreign agents, which was adopted at first reading on March 7. Protesters chanted “Sakartvelo!” (Georgia) and anti-Russian slogans and displayed the flags of Georgia and the European Union, reports an RTVI correspondent.
Georgia’s Interior Ministry says protest rally near parliament in Tbilisi ‘took violent character’ as security forces tried to push protesters back from parliament building using tear gas, correspondent reports from RTVI. Protesters threw Molotov cocktails at Georgian special forces, police also used water cannons in response.
At 01:00 Moscow time on March 8, security forces from Freedom Square reached the parliament, they are accompanied by a water cannon. The demonstrators are dispersed with tear gas, and they threw fireworks at the police, reports an RTVI correspondent.
Zurab Tsertsvadze / AP
Why are protesters upset?
In February, deputies from the People’s Power movement suggested two bills dealing with requirements for organizations receiving foreign funding:
If the share of foreign funding of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and mass media (media) exceeds 20%, they must be registered in a special register as “agents of foreign influence” and declare their income. In the event of refusal or evasion of registration, “foreign agents” expose themselves to a fine of up to 25,000 lari (about 9,500 dollars). You do not need to publicly state your “foreign agency”.
It was this version of the initiative on foreign agents approved by Georgian deputies on March 7 that provoked protests. 76 deputies voted “for” and 13 “against”.
It applies not only to NGOs and the media, but to all natural and legal persons. This version is similar to the US Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). The vote on the second version of the Foreign Agents Bill will take place on March 9.
People Power, behind both bills, has a majority in Parliament and is known in the media as an “anti-Western” political force. The ruling Georgian Dream party said it supported both initiatives on foreign agents and stressed the need to make the situation in the country more transparent. They also indicated that their bill is based on the American experience. “On the one hand, we are told that the polarization must stop, and on the other, someone, sometimes the same entity, is financing this polarization. I think this (foreign agency laws) will be preventive in nature. Some people will refrain from funding polarization. declared Chairman of the ruling party Irakli Kobakhidze.
Opponents of the bill compare it to Russia’s similar law and fear such moves could hurt the country’s chances of gaining EU candidate status.
State Department spokesman Ned Price called comparisons between the Georgia bill and FARA “fake”. “Statements that the Georgian bill is based on FARA are misrepresentations. And in fact, this bill appears to be based on similar Russian and Hungarian legislation, not FARA or any other US legislation. noted He.
LESTER declared that the Foreign Agents Bill “causes concern”, and its approval would be incompatible with the values of the European Union.
PA
What the president said
President and independent politician Salome Zurabishvili defended the protesters and called the bill unconstitutional because Georgia’s desire to join the European Union fixed in the fundamental law of the country (article 78). Zurabishvili also said she would impose a veto on the initiative of foreign officials, which could however be overcome by a majority vote in parliament.
In September last year, Zurabishvili vetoed a bill to expand the powers of investigating authorities, but his parliament overcome .
