Several thousand demonstrators took to the streets tonight in the Georgian capital Tbilisi to once again protest against the controversial bill on &bdquo "foreign influence", supported by the government, but criticized by the US and the European Union, reported France Press, quoted by BTA.
The crowd that gathered in "Europe" square waved the flags of Georgia and the European Union.
Tbilisi says it wants to join the community, despite the bill, which its opponents say is similar to Russian legislation used against the opposition.
"Georgia! Georgia!" chanted the numerous demonstrators who walked along the Kura River, notes an AFP journalist.
Protest participant Mariam Meunargia said she came to show that her country “just wants to be part of European society”.
„We are protecting our European future”, said Meunargia.
Since early April, Georgia, a small country in the Caucasus, has been gripped by anti-government protests after the ruling party's "Georgian Dream" again submitted for discussion in the parliament a bill considered an obstacle to Tbilisi's aspirations to join the EU.
Text is borrowed from Russian legislation used for several years by the Kremlin to suppress dissident voices.
The bill must pass a third reading in parliament in the coming days and President Salome Zurabishvili, who is at odds with the ruling party, is expected to veto it. “The Georgian Dream“ however, it has enough votes to override a presidential veto.
In the center of Tbilisi, where a large police force had been deployed earlier in the day, an impressive crowd gathered after nightfall to express their position.
“No to the Russian law!”, “No to the Russian dictatorship!”, chanted the demonstrators.
Wrapped in the Ukrainian flag, 46-year-old Viktoria Sarveladze said she came because her husband was fighting at the front against the Russian army. “We are both fighting against Russia”, the woman summed up.
„We don't need to go back to the Soviet Union,” said 38-year-old Georgian teacher Lela Tsiklauri, condemningly, and warned that “everything will get worse in our country if this law is passed”.
In recent days, many activists working for NGOs and other human rights groups have said they have received phone threats.
Earlier today, feminist activist Baya Pataraya showed AFP orange graffiti on the door of her house and inside the building, which read “lesbian slapping grants”.
„This is to terrorize us,” she declared in her apartment, saying she was not surprised by such provocations but was still determined to participate in the big gathering tonight.
If the controversial law is passed, it would require any NGO or media organization that receives more than 20 percent of its funding from abroad to register as a “organization defending the interests of a foreign power”.
The government assures that this measure aims to force organizations to demonstrate greater “transparency“ regarding its funding.
The law on “foreign influence“ was first imported by “Georgian Dream“ in 2023. But mass demonstrations then forced the government to withdraw it.
His reimportation in early April surprised and angered many Georgians.
These problems come months before legislative elections in October, seen as an important test of democracy in this former Soviet republic accustomed to political crises.
In December 2023, the EU granted Georgia official candidate status, but said Tbilisi must reform its judicial and electoral systems, increase press freedom and curb the power of oligarchs before officially starting membership negotiations.