Demonstrators are angry at the government’s efforts to pass a law against “foreign agents” that mirrors Russia’s repressive laws.
Thousands of Georgians protested against the Russian-style “foreign agent” bill in Tbilisi, as the government insisted it would push ahead with the bill even after some of the largest protests since independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. participated in new protests against the
Protesters began gathering around 10pm (18:00 local time) on Sunday, with many vowing to spend the night outside to prevent MPs from entering the building during Monday’s third reading of the bill. .
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze earlier said he aimed to pass the bill this week and threatened to prosecute protesters.
The bill would require organizations that receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as agents of foreign influence or face punitive fines.
The European Demonstrators carrying Union and Georgian flags poured into Tbilisi’s main thoroughfare, Rustaveli Street.
Authorities threatened to arrest anyone who tried to disrupt parliament.
But protesters liken the bill to Russia’s 2012 “foreign agents” law, which has undermined Georgia’s long-held goal of joining the European Union and has been used to hunt down government critics. He was concerned that this would happen, and seemed determined to block the bill’s passage. .
“We students don’t see a future in this Russian law,” said Nadezhda Polyakova, 20, who was born and raised in Georgia but is ethnically Russian.
“We stand with Europe,” she added.
“I’m not going anywhere. It’s my 35th day of protesting and I’ll be here all night,” said student Vakhtang Rukaia. “I’m so angry and angry.”
The protests are centered on young Georgians, many of whom are still attending school and university.
“We are not scared. We are Gen Z and we are Georgians,” said Nino, 19. She did not want to give her last name, but she was worried about her mother’s job in the state sector.
The ruling Georgia Dream party initially tried to force the bill into a vote last year, but was forced to abandon the plan after massive backlash.
Since then, the party’s founder and funder, billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, has declared NGOs internal enemies and accused them of working for foreign governments and plotting revolution. .
The bill was reinstated in April with only one change. The latest version requires NGOs, media outlets and journalists to register as “organizations pursuing the interests of foreign powers” rather than “agents of foreign influence.”
Demonstrators accuse the government of bringing the former Soviet state back into Moscow’s orbit after a 2008 war in which Russia occupied Georgia’s Abkhazia region.
Georgia, which has traditionally had friendly relations with Western countries, was granted EU candidate status in December.
