Georgian Protests Continue Against 'Foreign Agents' Bill, Absent Police Violence

May 08, 2024
By RFE/RL's Georgian Service



Demonstrators against the so-called "foreign agents" bill awaiting its final reading in Georgia's parliament have marched again in the capital in the latest show of popular opposition to the government moves to enact legislation that risks damaging Tbilisi's relations with the West.

The May 7 protest began at parliament and headed toward the ruling Georgian Dream's headquarters, where marchers were met with a police cordon.

Some of the participants carried EU and Georgian flags up to Peace Bridge before many returned to the area around the parliament building.

There were no reports of violence.

Weeks of protest against what critics call "the Russian law" have sometimes been met with tough police actions to disperse crowds allegedly including the use of rubber bullets, detentions, and roving bands of thugs targeting demonstrators.

One of the organizers of the latest protest, Zviad Tsetskhladze, said opponents of the bill had created a group that will try to provide financial support to individuals who are dismissed from their public-service jobs over their opposition to it.

Tens of thousands of Georgians have taken to the streets in Tbilisi and other cities in protests that have unleashed fierce police responses, which included chemical spray and tear gas, water cannons, and the alleged use of rubber bullets against protesters or journalists who showed signs of injury from projectiles.

'Rubber Bullets And Beatings': Victims, Eyewitnesses Talk Of Violence Against Georgian Protesters

The crackdown in Tbilisi has generally eased since Orthodox Easter although smaller protests and candlelight vigils have continued and even spread in significant numbers to other cities.

The bill says media, NGOs, and other nonprofits must register as "pursuing the interests of a foreign power" if more than 20 percent of their funding comes from abroad.

The government insists the law would be in line with EU standards and is only intended to increase "transparency" and prevent "harmful foreign influence" in the country's political scene.

It is expected to face a third and final reading by May 13, with Georgian Dream and its allies seemingly in control of enough votes to carry the bill and potentially override a veto that has been promised by President Salome Zourabichvili.

EU leaders say implementation of the law would adversely affect Georgia's hopes of eventual EU membership, and condemnation has also come from the United States -- the former Soviet republic's biggest backer in recent years.