There was a late-night skirmish between Georgian security personnel and protestors outside the parliament building on Tuesday as legislators discussed a contentious “foreign agents” proposal. The opposition and western countries see this bill as authoritarian and influenced by Russia. Protestors attempting to block politicians from departing the parliament building via the rear entrance were forcibly dispersed by riot police wielding baton and pepper spray. Accusations of “slavery” and affiliations with Russia were hurled at the law enforcement personnel by demonstrators.
This legislation has heightened the divide in the politically fragmented southern Caucasus nation, pitting the ruling Georgian Dream party against a protest movement fuelled by opposition groups, civil society, popular personalities, and Georgia’s titular president. The parliament, dominated by the Georgian Dream and its comrades, is expected to endorse the bill, which needs to overcome two additional readings before it can be legislated. The legislative session on Tuesday ended without a vote and the discussion will recommence on Wednesday.
This proposed law mandates organisations that rely on more than 20% foreign funding to register as “foreign agents”. The proposal is derided as “the Russian law” by Georgian critics, drawing parallels with Moscow’s similar legislation used to suppress dissent.
Russia, condemned by a substantial number of Georgians for its backing of the separatist territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, was embroiled in a brief conflict with Georgia in 2008. The United States, Britain and the European Union, which dispatched Georgia candidate status in December, have denounced the bill. As per EU officials, Georgia’s stride towards EU integration might be jeopardised if the bill is enacted.
Tina Khidasheli, a one-time Georgian defence minister who was part of a Georgian Dream-led administration in 2015-2016, joined the protest against her former governmental associates on Tuesday, expressing her belief that the protestors will ultimately triumph. “The government is only delaying what is bound to happen. We may face numerous issues, but ultimately, the public will return home victorious,” she informed Reuters.
Since parliament approved the bill’s inaugural reading on April 17th, thousands of anti-government protestors have been protesting every night, blocking central streets in Tbilisi. A government-orchestrated rally supporting the controversial bill took place on Monday, attended by tens of thousands, many of whom were ferried from provincial towns by the dominant party.
In a public gathering, Bidzina Ivanishvili, Georgia’s ex-prime minister and the founder of Georgian Dream, launched a severe critique of the West, implying a potential clampdown on the opposition post the upcoming elections.
Mr Ivanishvili commented on what he called a “war-infused global faction” that has infiltrated both the EU and NATO, asserting that these entities were being employed to destabilise Georgia’s sovereignty.
Despite his expressed desire for Georgia to become an EU member, Mr Ivanishvili proposed that the foreign agent legislation would fortify the country’s sovereignty. He insinuated that foreign intelligence agencies manipulated Georgia’s pro-western opposition via grants to non-profit organisations.
The ex-prime minister went on to state that once the elections, projected for October are finished, the opposition, primarily governed by the United National Movement party of previous president Mikheil Saakashvili, will be subjected to “the stringent political and legal scrutiny they warrant”. – Reuters
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