After molotov cocktails and an attempt to break into parliament to protest the “foreign agents” bill, protesters gathered in front of the Georgian parliament in Tbilisi were dispersed. According to local media reports, the special forces – who used tear gas and water cannons – made several arrests and now the police “have taken control of the square”.
In the previous hours, the demonstrators broke through the barriers set up by the police and tried to break into the Parliament building where today the text was approved in first reading. Local media released images of the protests, which went on until after 1 am local time.
The demonstrators gathered in the evening in the center of Tbilisi, after the Parliament approved, in first reading, a draft law on “foreign agents” which according to human rights activists represents an authoritarian turning point in the country. The law, supported by the ruling ‘Georgian Dream’ party, would require all NGOs that receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as “foreign agents”, on pain of hefty fines.
Detractors of the initiative liken it to the 2012 Russian law, which has since been used by Moscow to crack down on dissent. Georgian television showed protesters angrily protesting outside Parliament as police armed with riot shields fired tear gas and water cannons. Some of the demonstrators who took to the streets waved the flag of the European Union and the United States and shouted: “No to the Russian law”.
The president supports the protests
The President of Georgia, Salome Zurabishvili, from New York, where she is currently visiting, addressed the participants of the protests against the controversial “foreign agents” bill and expressed her support for them. Ukrainska Pravda reports it. “I’m speaking to you who represent free Georgia. Georgia which sees its future in Europe and will not allow anyone to deprive it of this future », the president underlined, specifying that her country does not need the bill on “foreign agents” and promising to veto it . However, the parliament in Tbilisi has the possibility of overruling the presidential veto, as it did last year on the so-called wiretapping law, which had been criticized by the European Union and human rights activists.
Borrell, foreign agents law incompatible with EU
«Today the Georgian Parliament adopted the new law on transparency of foreign influence in its first reading. This is a very negative development for Georgia and its people,” EU High Representative Josep Borrell said in a statement. “The law in its current form risks having a dissuasive effect on civil society and media organisations, with negative consequences for the many Georgians who benefit from their work. This law is incompatible with EU values and standards – continues Borrell -. It goes against Georgia’s stated goal of joining the European Union, which is supported by a large majority of Georgian citizens. Its definitive adoption could have serious repercussions on our relations. “The European Union urges Georgia to maintain its commitment to the promotion of democracy, the rule of law and human rights and recalls the right of people to peaceful protest,” the statement concludes.
Ukraine – Russia, the news on today’s war 8 March