Georgia: tens of thousands of demonstrators against the law on “foreign influence”
Tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets again on Wednesday evening in Georgia to protest against the controversial bill on “foreign influence”, adopted in second reading by Parliament despite the massive mobilization of its detractors.
This Caucasian country has been plagued by anti-government demonstrations since April 9, after the ruling party, the Georgian Dream, reintroduced this bill seen as an obstacle to Tbilisi’s aspirations to join the European Union.
The deputies voted on Wednesday 83 for and 23 against this text which the Georgian Dream intends to adopt definitively by mid-May, despite three weeks of mobilization in the streets by its opponents.
The text must still pass a third reading and President Salom Zourabichvili, in conflict with the ruling party, is expected to veto it. The Georgian Dream, however, has enough votes to be able to override it.
Like the day before, demonstrators gathered on Wednesday evening in front of Parliament brandishing Georgian and European flags, while the Ode to Joy, the EU anthem, resounded, noted an AFP journalist.
The police, who the day before had dispersed the demonstrators with tear gas and rubber bullets, this time dislodged a small group of demonstrators who were trying to block the side entrance to Parliament with pepper spray and water cannons.
The rest of the rally continued peacefully into the evening.
Their senseless violence is futile. The demonstration will only grow because popular anger is growing against our government, said one of the demonstrators, Tato Gachechiladz, 20 years old.
Staying on course towards the EU
Georgia belongs to Europe and we will not tolerate Russian laws and a pro-Russian government, he added.
The controversial text is inspired by Russian legislation used by the Kremlin to repress dissenting voices.
The Minister of the Interior assured that the police had used the special means provided for by law – pepper spray and water cannons – in order to restore public order.
The European Union condemned police violence the previous night during which journalists, including an AFP photographer, were targeted. Around sixty demonstrators were also arrested.
The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, indicated on Wednesday that she was following the demonstrations with great concern, calling on Tbilisi to stay on course towards the EU.
For the United States, this law and the anti-Western rhetoric of the Georgian Dream place Georgia on a “precarious trajectory.”
“The use of force to suppress peaceful assemblies and freedom of expression is unacceptable, and we urge the authorities to allow non-violent protesters to exercise their right to freedom of expression,” the spokesperson said in a statement. word from the US State Department, Matthew Miller.
For his part, the French Minister of Foreign Affairs said he was following the situation with concern and deplored the violence against demonstrators after the adoption of the law on foreign influence.
Georgia must continue its efforts to move closer to the European Union in accordance with the wishes of its population, declared the Quai d’Orsay on Thursday in a message published on X.
Similar rallies took place this week across the country, including Batumi, Georgia’s second city, and Kutassi, the main city in the western Imereti region.
If passed, the law would require any NGO or media organization receiving more than 20 percent of its funding from abroad to register as an “organization pursuing the interests of a foreign power.”
The government, for its part, assures that this measure is intended to force organizations to be more transparent about their funding.
A first version of the text was abandoned last year after large-scale street demonstrations.
These troubles occur a few months before legislative elections, in October, considered an important test for democracy in this former Soviet republic accustomed to political crises.
In December, the EU granted Georgia official candidate status, but said Tbilisi should carry out reforms to its judicial and electoral systems, increase press freedom and limit the power of oligarchs before EU negotiations. membership is officially launched.