After two days of protests and clashes between police e protestersculminating in the night of Wednesday when tens of thousands of people took to the streets a Tbilisithe ruling party in Georgia (“Georgian Dream”) said it would withdraw the “foreign agents” law, measure passed on first reading at Parliament which filled the capital with protesters. The bill, considered pro-Putin by the opposition, provided for the introduction of a register of organizations considered as ‘agents of foreign influence’, on the model of what already happens in Russia. In practice, media and non-governmental organizations that receive more than 20% of their funding from foreign sources should register under this category. Announcing the withdrawal of the provision “without any reservations” and “after political consultations between the Georgian Dream and the deputies of majority”, the ruling party cited the “controversies in the society” triggered by legislative proposal. The president of the Georgia, Salome Zurabishvili, reiterated again, as he had already done in recent days, that he would veto the law. However, a decision that would be useless, because Sogno Georgiano, which controls over half of the seats in Parliament, could still make the law operational.
However, despite the announcement, the opposition party Girchi announced that a new protest rally will take place today in front of the Parliament Of Tbilisi. “Today there will definitely be a demonstration,” said the Girchi spokesman, Tsotne Copy it“there are many young who don’t trust ‘Georgian Dream’ and who believe that we are the guarantor that the country will become part of the West”. “We need clarity on how they intend to withdraw this law because their statements are vague“, added the opposition party spokesman, “they think they have an easy life. The protests they won’t stop until the Georgia it will not guarantee a pro-Western path.” During the briefing the release of the arrested demonstrators, around 133 according to the interior ministry, was also requested. On the other hand, he welcomes the announcement by the Georgian Dream of the representation of the European Union in the Caucasian country, which encourages “all the political leaders Georgians to resume pro-EU reforms, inclusively and constructively and in line with Georgia’s 12 priorities to achieve EU status candidate“.
In recent days the members of the European Parliament Maria Kaljurand e Sven Mikserleading figures in relations with the Georgia, had in fact declared that the law went “directly against the declared ambition of the Georgian authorities to receive the status of candidate for EU membership”. Meanwhile, before ‘Georgian Dream’ declared its intention to withdraw the law, the United States have sided with the demonstrators and in recent days the president of EU Council, Charles Michelhad pointed out that the adoption of the law “is not compatible with the EU path hoped for by the majority of Georgians”. Even the High Representative for Foreign Policy Joseph Borrell had observed that the normative could hinder EU entry Georgiawho submitted his candidacy a year ago.
Given the accusations of the opposition for the provision deemed pro-Putin, the Kremlin intervened to reiterate his total extraneousness. “Nothing has been inspired since Kremlin. Il Kremlin – said the spokesman Dmitry Peskov – has absolutely nothing to do with it. Do you know that the practice of introducing laws like these was started by the US in the 1930s,” he added referring to the Foreign Agents Registration Act on ‘foreign agents’ in force in the United States dal 1938. Peskov he then added that the situation in Georgiabeing a neighboring country, “can only arouse our concern” and that for Russia “it is important for us to be calm on our borders, and now the situation leaves much to be desired”.