Georgia’s ruling party plans to withdraw foreign agents bill after protests

TBILISI, Georgia — Facing mounting pressure from protesters, Georgia’s ruling party said in a statement Thursday that it had decided to withdraw the “foreign agents” bill that critics said mimicked a law used by the Kremlin to thwart opposition media and civil society.

The decision came after a second consecutive night of large protests in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, with riot police using tear gas, water cannons and stun grenades to disperse a crowd after midnight. In a statement on Thursday, police said they arrested 133 protesters on charges of petty hooliganism and disobedience over the two days of protests.

The proposal, which received initial parliamentary approval on Tuesday, would require Georgian news outlets and non-governmental organizations that receive a substantial part of their funding from abroad to register as agents of influence. foreign. They would face a hefty fine if they failed to comply.

Georgian opposition members said the law was inspired by similar legislation introduced in 2012 in Russia aimed at pressuring civil society and pro-Western news media. Protesters in the streets chanted “No to Russian law” during the two nights of demonstrations.

Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili joined protesters in denouncing the legislation as a stealth effort to introduce one of the most powerful tools Russian President Vladimir V. Putin has used to crush dissent in his country. The measure that was under consideration in Georgia was also seen as hurting the country’s already stalled efforts to join the European Union.

Ms Zurabishvili has distanced herself from the Dream party since they initially backed her campaign in 2018. Experts disagreed on the extent to which the proposed ‘foreign agents law’ represents a sign that the Georgia has returned to Russia’s control orbit or if, for domestic political reasons after more than a decade in power, the ruling party adopts Mr. Putin’s tried and true methods to stay in power indefinitely.

A country of 3.6 million people, Georgia fought a painful war with Russia in 2008. Since then, Moscow has maintained military control over about 20% of Georgian territory.

According to Georgian political analyst Mikheil Kechaqmadze, the ruling party’s decision represents a “tactical victory” for the country’s opposition and civil society. However, he said, it is not certain that “this page with this law is actually closed”.

“There’s not a lot of trust between the government and its opponents,” he said.

Ny

Not all news on the site expresses the point of view of the site, but we transmit this news automatically and translate it through programmatic technology on the site and not from a human editor.

goadnews