AS many as 20,000 Georgians staged a “March for Europe” on Sunday, calling on the government to scrap a controversial bill on “foreign influence” that the EU has warned would undermine Tbilisi’s European aspirations.
Since mid-April, there have been mass anti-government protests as the ruling Georgian Dream party reintroduced plans to pass legislation that was criticized as resembling a Russian law used to silence opposing opinions.
A wave of similar street protests has forced the party to roll back similar measures in 2023. Police again clashed with demonstrators during the latest protests.
At least 20,000 people gathered in Tbilisi’s central Republic Square, according to AFP estimates. The kilometer-long procession, featuring a giant EU flag at its front, stretched along Tbilisi’s main street towards parliament.
“I’m here to protect Georgia’s European future,” said 19-year-old Lasha Chkheidze.
“No to Russia, no to Russian laws, yes to Europe.”
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The rally was organized by around 100 Georgian human rights groups and opposition parties, which have so far kept a low profile in daily protests dominated by young people.
“The authorities, who have introduced the Russian bill, went beyond the constitutional framework and changed the country’s orientation, betraying the unwavering determination of the people,” organizers said in a statement.
At one point during the largely peaceful protests, demonstrators tried to break through police lines outside the parliament building to raise an EU flag there, as an AFP journalist witnessed.
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Police used pepper spray without warning. The Interior Ministry said in a statement “the protests became violent” and that “demonstrators physically and verbally confronted law enforcement.”
After midnight, hundreds of riot police were deployed in the area.
To counter days of anti-government protests, Georgia’s ruling party announced its own protest Monday, as a parliamentary committee was scheduled to hold a second reading of the bill.
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If adopted, the law would require every independent NGO and media organization that receives more than 20% of its funding from abroad to register as “an organization pursuing the interests of a foreign power.”
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili – who is at odds with the ruling party – has said she would veto the law. But Georgia Dream has a strong majority in the legislature, allowing it to pass legislation and override presidential vetoes without needing support from any member of the opposition.
Georgia’s bid to become a member of the EU and NATO is enshrined in its constitution and – according to opinion polls – is supported by more than 80% of the population.
Georgia Dream insists it is strongly pro-Europe and that the proposed law only aims to “increase transparency” of NGOs’ foreign funding. But critics accused him of steering the former Soviet republic toward closer ties with Russia.
“This law, as well as this government, is incompatible with Georgia’s historical choice to become a member of the EU,” the leader of the opposition Akhali party, Nika Gvaramia, told AFP in protest.
EU chief Charles Michel has said the bill is “inconsistent” with Georgia’s bid for EU membership. This “will move Georgia further away from the EU and not closer to it,” he said.
In December, the EU granted Georgia official candidate status. But before membership negotiations can be officially launched, Tbilisi must reform its judicial and electoral systems, reduce political polarization, increase press freedom and limit the power of oligarchs, Brussels said.
Once seen as leading the democratic transformation of former Soviet states, Georgia has in recent years been criticized for its democratic backsliding. (AFP/Z-3)
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