Factbox: Why is Georgia Upset Over ‘Foreign Agents’ Law?

TBILISI, March 9 (Reuters) – Ruling lawmakers in the South Caucasus country of Georgia on Thursday scrapped plans to introduce a “foreign agent” law critics described as Russian-inspired, after two days of intense street protests in the capital Tbilisi.

Here’s a guide to what’s going on:

WHAT IS THE PROPOSED FOREIGN AGENTS LAW?

– Individuals, civil society organizations and media who receive 20% of their funding from abroad should have registered with the Ministry of Justice of Georgia as “agents with foreign influence”.

– Organizations would have to comply with what Human Rights Watch called “onerous reporting requirements and inspections,” and face fines of up to 25,000 Georgian lari (US$9,600) for non-compliance and up to five years in prison for repeat offenders.

– Sections of Georgian civil society, including election observers, corruption monitors and independent media, would have been covered by the law.

– Rights groups say Foreign Agent Day is designed to make it easier for the government to discredit its opponents.

WHY WAS IT INTRODUCED?

– Government officials said the proposals are necessary to root out “foreign influence” and “spies” and that Georgians have a right to know who is funding non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

– Parliament leaders have also said the bills would help expose critics of the influential Georgian Orthodox Church.

– Said to be modeled on the United States’ Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938, which primarily covers lobbyists and organizations working directly for or under the control of foreign governments.

WHAT DID CRITICS SAY?

– Opponents said the legislation was inspired by a 2012 Russian law that has been used extensively over the past decade to crack down on dissent. Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili, a former French diplomat who wants to bring the country closer to Europe, said she would veto it — although parliament could have overruled her.

– About 400 Georgian NGOs signed a letter saying that the draft law was “an attack on Georgian values” that would “hinder Georgia’s progress towards EU membership”.

– Human Rights Watch said that this “would have a serious chilling effect on groups and individuals working to protect human rights, democracy and the rule of law”.

– Georgian lawmakers clashed during a hearing on the law this week, and tens of thousands of people protested and chanted “No to the Russian law.”

HOW DID THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY RESPONSE?

– EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the draft law runs counter to EU values ​​and Georgia’s aim of joining the bloc, and its adoption “may have serious implications for our relations”.

– The US-Helsinki Commission, a US government agency, said the law shows “the increasing embrace of Russia by the current administration.”

– The State Department said Washington was “deeply concerned” by the bill. Washington has rejected comparisons with its own legislation.

WHAT ROLE IS RUSSIA?

– Georgian society is heavily anti-Moscow after years of conflict over the status of two Russian-backed breakaway regions that erupted into war in 2008. The two countries have no formal diplomatic relations.

– Opponents say the ruling Georgian Dream party has close ties with the Kremlin. Its founder, Bidzina Ivanishvili, is Georgia’s richest man, who amassed his wealth during Russia’s chaotic privatizations of the 1990s.

– The Kremlin on Thursday said it had nothing to do with events in Georgia, dismissing claims the laws were inspired by Russia and expressing concern over the unrest.

– “The Kremlin did not inspire anything there, the Kremlin has absolutely nothing to do with it. … If I understand correctly, one version was very similar to a corresponding law in the United States,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

– Tbilisi has not imposed sanctions on Moscow over the war in Ukraine, despite large-scale protests in the country calling for tougher crackdowns on the Russian invasion.

WHAT ABOUT EUROPE?

– Opinion polls regularly show that the majority of Georgians are pro-European.

– Georgia applied for EU “candidate status” last March, along with Ukraine and Moldova. But Brussels rejected Tbilisi’s offer, citing concerns about the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary, among other things.

– Critics say the ruling party pays only lip service to the idea of ​​EU membership.

– The EU Delegation to Georgia hailed the decision to withdraw the law and called on the country’s political leaders to resume pro-EU reforms.

WAS THE LAW KILLED?

– On Thursday, the government said it was putting the law through parliament on hold.

– She attacked the “radical opposition” and a “machine of lies that cast the bill in a negative light”.

– It said it would launch a public consultation period to “better explain to the public what the law is for and why it matters”.

– On Tuesday, lawmakers had sent the draft laws to the Venice Commission, a Council of Europe body that advises countries on the impact of draft laws on the functioning of democracy and human rights, and said they would await feedback.

– The opposition has called a new protest for Thursday at 19:00 (15:00 GMT) and is demanding that the government formally cancel the plans and release everyone detained during the demonstrations.

Reporting by Jake Cordell in Tbilisi; Edited by Mark Trevelyan and Alex Richardson

Our standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Jake Cordell

Thomson Reuters

Jake reports from Tbilisi on breaking news from Russia and across the CIS. He previously reported from Moscow for The Moscow Times, including own-initiative and investigative reporting on the coronavirus pandemic and the conflict in Ukraine. As a business correspondent, he also covered the UK’s Brexit referendum campaign and the implications for City AM in London.