Foreign countries candidate for EU membership
50,000 demonstrate in Georgia against “agent law”
As of: 04:11 a.m. | Reading time: 2 minutes
Protesters in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia
Source: dpa/Zurab Tsertsvadze
Organizations that receive a certain amount of funding from abroad will soon have to register as “agents” in Georgia. This is what the government is planning. Thousands of people have been demonstrating against the plan for weeks and warning of a “democratic regression”.
There was another major demonstration in Georgia against a planned law to classify certain organizations as “foreign agents”. Before the start of the final parliamentary deliberations next week, around 50,000 people peacefully took to the streets in heavy rain in the capital Tbilisi against the government’s plans on Saturday. Demonstrators waved flags of EU candidate country Georgia, the EU and Ukraine.
The bill stipulates that organizations in the former Soviet republic that receive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad must register as “agents of foreign influence.”
Critics see parallels to a similar law in Russia, with which the government takes action against the opposition and civil society. In the eyes of the demonstrators, their country’s EU prospects are also at risk. In addition to Georgian flags, many people also waved EU flags.
Independent media organizations would also be affected. The ruling Georgian Dream party is aiming for the law to come into force in mid-May – and defends the plan as strengthening transparency and national sovereignty.
Protesters use their smartphones to protest against the so-called “Russian law”.
Source: dpa/Zurab Tsertsvadze
The planned law is facing widespread resistance from opposition parties and civil society in Georgia. Criticism has also come from the EU and the USA. “We are deeply disturbed by the democratic backsliding in Georgia,” said White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan.
The Georgian parliament is faced with a decision between the Euro-Atlantic aspirations of the people and a law that runs counter to democratic values and is in Russia’s interest.
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The United Nations, the US and the EU have criticized Georgia’s legislative plans. The country has been a candidate for EU membership since December 2023. A first version of the legal text was dropped last year after massive street protests.