March 9, 2023
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Demonstrators accused the Georgian government of wanting to dissuade the country from the EU
In the face of mass protests and widespread international criticism, Georgia’s ruling party has announced that it will withdraw a controversial draft law.
Thousands of protesters took to the streets in anger in Tbilisi this week as a Russian-style law began passage through parliament.
Under the draft law, non-governmental groups and media would be targeted if they source more than 20% of funding from abroad.
The main ruling party said it was withdrawing the law “unconditionally”.
Georgian Dream described itself as a governing party responsible to all members of society, citing the need to reduce “confrontation” in society.
Georgia has applied for candidate status for the European Union and is aiming to join NATO. EU officials had condemned the draft law as incompatible with EU values.
The government’s about-face was followed by a second night of clashes between riot police and protesters outside Parliament. Tear gas and water cannons were used to disperse the protesters as they shouted “No to the Russian law”.
According to the Interior Ministry, demonstrators arrested during the demonstrations have been released.
Officials said some have been brought to justice, but the rest have been “released due to the expiry of their terms in the pre-trial detention center.”
Meanwhile, Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili praised the protesters for speaking out against the proposal. Ms Zourabichvili had supported the demonstrations and vowed to veto the bill, although ultimately the government would have had the power to overrule her move.
“I would like to congratulate the company on their first win. I’m proud of the people who made their voices heard,” Ms. Zurabishvili said in a televised address from New York. “There is mistrust of the government as we pursue our European path.”
In its statement, Georgian Dream lamented that the proposal had been unfairly flagged, saying that if the “emotional background subsides,” it would explain to the public the importance of the bill and the transparency of foreign funding.
Despite the decision to drop the law, opposition parties said they had no plans to stop the protests. They called for clarity on how the proposals would be withdrawn and called for the release of the protesters who were jailed this week.
Armaz Akhvlediani, an independent opposition MP and former Georgian Dream secretary-general, welcomed the party’s pledge to withdraw the law but said it had “Russian interests” that ran counter to “democracy and the rule of law”.
Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili had previously condemned the “fuss” surrounding the bill. His party claimed that the legislation mimicked American laws from the 1930s, an argument also used by the Kremlin when it passed a similar law in 2012.
Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov said Russia had “absolutely nothing” to do with the bill as he was trying to distance his country from the protests.
He said the Kremlin did not inspire the proposal and that the US was “pioneering the introduction of these laws.”
Mr. Peskov also advised Russians living in Georgia to be “extremely careful” and stay away from street riots.
This Russian law has been gradually tightened and now represses Western-funded NGOs, independent media, journalists and bloggers from having to label their content with the sinister phrase “foreign agent.”
“They keep trying everything to distance us from the European Union and European values,” said 30-year-old protester Luka Kimeridze.
Eka Gigauri of Transparency International in Georgia told the BBC that NGOs are already subject to 10 different laws and the Treasury already has full access to accounts, funding and other information.
