Georgia's Ministry of Internal Affairs special forces were sent to escort MPs in the Georgian parliament over a controversial law that has sparked a new wave of protests.
Several thousand demonstrators gathered this evening in the Georgian capital Tbilisi, hours after the start of the discussion in the parliament of a controversial bill on "foreign agents", which has already caused mass demonstrations in 2023, reported France Press, reported BTA.
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At the start of the rally, opponents of the text said it was too reminiscent of the Russian law used for years by the Kremlin to repress dissident voices. "No to the Russian law!" chanted several thousand protesters who gathered in the center of Tbilisi in front of the parliament building. The crowd blocked one of the main arteries of the Georgian capital, and riot police secured the entrances to the building, an AFP journalist reported.
„We, the peaceful demonstrators, will force the lackeys of Russia from the “Georgian Dream” (the ruling party, note AFP) to withdraw this law”, said the student Kote Tatishvili, who had also come to demonstrate.
Deputies started today to discuss the text in the first reading, but did not come to a vote at the end of the day. The ruling Georgian Dream party, which has a majority in parliament, has the necessary votes to pass it. Last night around 10,000 people protested against this bill and the police made 14 arrests during the rally. Also yesterday, MPs from the ruling party and from the opposition clashed during the discussion, which led to a brawl in the plenary hall.
If passed, the law would require organizations that receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as an "organization protecting the interests of a foreign power", under threat of fines. The government assures that this law will bring more "transparency" in funding the organizations, but its critics fear that it will be used as a tool for repression against NGOs and independent media.
The European Union, which Georgia is seeking to join, has called for the text to be withdrawn because it runs counter to the reform agenda the country must undertake to advance on the path to membership. The current bill "will push Georgia away from the EU, instead of bringing it closer to it," emphasized today in "X". the President of the European Council, Charles Michel. The first version of the bill was withdrawn in March 2023 after mass protest demonstrations that were dispersed by police with tear gas and water cannons.