Around 10,000 people protested in the Georgian capital Tbilisi on Monday against a controversial foreign influence bill, dubbed the “Russian law” by critics.
The ruling Georgian Dream party re-introduced the bill to parliament earlier this month, a year after forcing it to drop an almost identical proposal amid protests.
The law would require non-governmental organizations and media that receive more than 20% of foreign funding to register as organizations “working for the benefit of a foreign country”. That phrase is the only difference from the version withdrawn last year, which said these groups would have to register as “agents of foreign influence”.
Opponents of the bill refer to it as “Russia’s law” and argue that passing the law would prevent Georgia from achieving its goal of joining the European Union. (EU), which granted the country desirable candidate status last year.
Chanting “No to Russian law!” and waving Georgian and European Union flags, protesters gathered outside the parliament building where the justice committee held its first hearing on the bill. Before that, the deputies had a fight in the committee hall.
“We reject this law, which is anti-European, it is a copy of the magical Russian law,” said one of the demonstrators.
“With such anti-democratic laws, Georgia will not be admitted to the EU, so we will not allow it,” said another activist. “Georgia belongs to Europe, it will never be a garden back to Russia again,” he said.
Last week, around 8,000 people gathered in the center of Tbilisi after the ruling party’s surprise announcement that they planned to adopt the bill in May.
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili has announced that she will not sign the bill if the parliament approves it. But the president’s veto may not last long. Zurabishvili’s term ends this year, and under constitutional changes, the next president will be appointed by an electoral college made up of all members of parliament.
2024-04-15 19:53:36
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