{"id":30061,"date":"2023-03-09T07:12:26","date_gmt":"2023-03-09T07:12:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/?p=30061"},"modified":"2023-03-09T07:12:29","modified_gmt":"2023-03-09T07:12:29","slug":"georgia-drops-controversial-bill-on-foreign-agents-after-protests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/2023\/03\/09\/georgia-drops-controversial-bill-on-foreign-agents-after-protests\/","title":{"rendered":"Georgia drops controversial bill on “foreign agents” after protests"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Georgia\u2019s ruling party has said it will drop its controversial bill on \u201cforeign agents\u201d after fierce opposition culminated in two nights of violent protests and criticism that the draft law was inspired by a similar Russian law that\u00a0has been used to stifle dissent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Georgian Dream party said in a statement it would \u201cunconditionally withdraw the bill we supported without any reservations\u201d. It cited the need to reduce \u201cconfrontation\u201d in society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thousands of protesters rallied against the legislation which was seen to represent a authoritarian shift and could have undercut Tbilisi\u2019s efforts to join the EU.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Wednesday, hundreds of police, many carrying riot shields, used water cannon and teargas in clashes with protesters in Georgia\u2019s capital. More than 60 protesters were arrested outside parliament in Tbilisi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier,\u00a0thousands had marched in the streets\u00a0to rally against the proposed law that would require any organisations receiving more than 20% of their funding from overseas to register as \u201cforeign agents\u201d or face substantial fines. The legislation is backed by the ruling Georgian Dream party.\u00a0A comparable 2012 law in Russia\u00a0has been used to suppress western-funded NGOs and media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Protesters
Protesters clash with police outside parliament during a protest against a bill on foreign influence in Tbilisi, Georgia. Photograph: Anadolu Agency\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Protesters carrying Georgian, EU and Ukrainian flags gathered outside the parliament building and shouted: \u201cNo to the Russian law.\u201d Demonstrators also blocked the city\u2019s central Rustaveli Avenue, after a call from the main opposition party, the United National Movement, to gather there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anti-Russian feeling is common in Georgia \u2013 once part of the Soviet Union \u2013 due to longstanding Russian support for two separatist regions and\u00a0a brief Russian invasion of the country in 2008. Many Georgians back Ukraine in its war against Russia and the latest\u00a0polls\u00a0show 85% of Georgians support EU membership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking on Wednesday evening, Volodymyr Zelenskiy called for \u201cdemocratic success\u201d in Georgia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere is no Ukrainian who would not wish success to our friendly Georgia. Democratic success. European success,\u201d the Ukrainian president said. \u201cWe want to be in the European Union and we will be there. We want Georgia to be in the European Union, and I am sure it will be there. We want Moldova to be in the European Union, and I am sure it will be there. All free nations of Europe deserve this.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"An
An ambulance drives past an overturned car set on fire during a protest in Tbilisi. Photograph: Irakli Gedenidze\/Reuters<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

European parliament members Maria Kaljurand and Sven Mikser, senior figures in relations with Georgia, warned that the draft legislation went \u201cdirectly against the Georgian authorities\u2019 declared ambition to receive candidate status for EU membership.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe new law\u2019s purpose, under the guise of promoting transparency, is to stigmatise the work of civil society organisations and media,\u201d their statement added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his Wednesday address, Zelenskiy voiced gratitude for Georgian support for Ukraine. \u201cI want to thank everyone who has been holding Ukrainian flags in the squares and streets of Georgia these days. I want to express gratitude for our national anthem that was played in Tbilisi. This is respect for Ukraine and I want to express my sincere respect for Georgia.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Georgia\u2019s ruling party has said it will drop its controversial bill on \u201cforeign agents\u201d after fierce opposition culminated in two nights of violent protests and criticism that the draft law was inspired by a similar Russian law that\u00a0has been used to stifle dissent. The Georgian Dream party said in a statement it would \u201cunconditionally withdraw […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":30062,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_post_source_name":"","_post_source_url":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[5497,11941,11583,13175,9331,4024,913,159,6621,9505,2404,1195,7293,6159,9681,8484,5252,10342,6067,12287,12085,1198,421,3805,5561,11171,5333,13235,3457,5217,7820,9030,6258,5180,5555,7231,6886,5251,8869,3954,10415,594,6874],"class_list":["post-30061","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news","tag-ambulance","tag-bill","tag-capital","tag-car","tag-city","tag-common","tag-democratic","tag-eu","tag-europe","tag-european","tag-european-parliament","tag-european-union","tag-fines","tag-fire","tag-foreign-agent-bill","tag-georgia","tag-invasion","tag-law","tag-moldova","tag-movement","tag-nations","tag-parliament","tag-police","tag-president","tag-protest","tag-protesters","tag-rally","tag-riot","tag-russia","tag-russian","tag-soviet-union","tag-success","tag-transparency","tag-ukraine","tag-ukrainian","tag-union","tag-volodymyr-zelenskiy","tag-war","tag-water","tag-will","tag-work","tag-who","tag-zelenskiy"],"blocksy_meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30061","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30061"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30061\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30062"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30061"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30061"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nsemgh.com\/api-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30061"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}