On May 1, 2024, tens of thousands of protesters once again gathered in Georgia, protesting against the controversial “foreign influence” bill.
The bill, which passed a second reading in parliament despite strong opposition, has been criticized by many as an attempt to silence independent voices and pluralism.
The Caucasus country has been facing anti-government protests since April 9 after the ruling party, Georgian Dream, reintroduced the bill seen as an obstacle to its ambitions. Georgia to join the EU.
The MPs yesterday adopted in a second reading by 83 votes to 23 against this text, which the ruling party intends to finally approve by mid-May, despite three weeks of protests by those opposed to it.
The bill still needs to pass a third reading and President Salome Zourabisvili, who is at odds with the ruling party, is expected to veto it. The Georgian Dream, however, has enough votes to pass it.
As the previous day, protesters gathered last night in front of the parliament with Georgian and European flags and sang the EU anthem, according to an AFP reporter.
The police, who had dispersed the gathered crowd yesterday by using tear gas and rubber bullets, this time used pepper spray and pressurized water pumps to remove a small group of protesters who were trying to block the side entrance of the parliament.
The protest of the rest of the demonstrators continued peacefully during the night.
“Their senseless violence is futile. All that will happen is that the protest will widen as popular anger against our government grows,” commented one of the protesters, 20-year-old Tato Gatshechilandze.
“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 bill takes its inspiration from a Russian law used by the Kremlin to suppress dissident voices.
The interior ministry confirmed that police used “special means provided for by law – pepper spray and water pumps – to restore public order”.
The EU condemned police “violence” during the previous night in which journalists, including an AFP photojournalist, were targeted. Around sixty protesters were also arrested.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said yesterday that she was following the protests with “deep concern” and called on Tbilisi to “maintain the course” towards the EU.
For the US, “this law and the anti-Western rhetoric of the Georgian Dream put Georgia on a precarious path.”
“The use of force to suppress peaceful protests and freedom of expression is unacceptable, and we call on the authorities to allow non-violent protesters to exercise their right to freedom of expression,” US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.
At the same time, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that it is monitoring the situation “with concern” and expressed its regret for “the violence against the demonstrators”.
“Georgia should continue its efforts to approach the EU according to the wishes of its population,” the French foreign ministry said in a message posted on X.
Similar rallies took place this week across the country, mainly in Batumi, Georgia’s second-largest city, and Kutaisi, the main city of the western Imereti region.
If this law is adopted, it will require any non-governmental organization or media group that receives more than 20% of its funding from abroad to be registered as an “organization that pursues the interests of a foreign power.”
The government of Georgia says for its part that this measure aims to force organizations to demonstrate greater “transparency” regarding their funding.
According to newsbeast, a first version of this bill was abandoned last year after large protest rallies.
The unrest comes months before parliamentary elections in October, which are seen as a major test of democracy in the former Soviet republic, which has often faced political crises.
Read also:
Patras – Appendix: Schools get permission from anarchists – Why
Traffic accident in Piraeus: The 5-year-old is in critical condition – What does the medical announcement say
Patras – Gang of drug traffickers: “They are opening their mouths in other schools as well”
Nikos Michaloliakos is released voluntarily – What are the restrictive conditions?
Greek Mafia: The 8 arrested for death contracts and arson PHOTOS
#Georgia #Tens #thousands #protest #foreign #influence #bill
