【2023. 3. 9 Georgia】
Rejection of pro-Russian “Foreign Agents Law”: Anti-Russian protests erupt in Georgia
“Georgia has long been angry at the absurdity of the “government’s pro-Russia” and has reached the limit of patience…” Georgia, one of the former Soviet Union countries and located in Central Asia, recently passed the “Foreign Agents” bill in Congress. On March 7, large-scale protests broke out, detonating police-civilian clashes. The protests have continued to this day and have not subsided. The police also used tear gas and high-pressure water jets to disperse the crowd. The conflict and confrontation escalated once more. The fuse of the protest was the “On Transparency of Foreign Influence” draft passed by the Congress on first reading, which aroused public suspicion that the pro-Russian parties imitated Russia’s Foreign Agents Act and imitated Putin’s tool to suppress dissidents. After the Ukrainian-Russian War, the situation in Central Asia was affected. On the one hand, Georgia applied to join the European Union. On the other hand, this bill that may stifle the press and civil liberties appeared, which became a value confrontation between Georgia’s pro-Russian and pro-Western.
Georgia is one of the countries of the former Soviet Union. It became independent from the Soviet Union in 1991. Although Georgia is geographically located in Central Asia, it is deeply influenced by Europe culturally and is usually regarded as a part of Europe. Like many other former Iron Curtain countries, Georgia is still struggling politically and socially, trying to get rid of Russian influence – for example, most of the media in Georgia is controlled by the government, which means that the media that can have an independent voice in Georgia often rely on foreign funding to survive. operate. Therefore, if the Foreign Influence Transparency Bill is enacted, it is likely to be used to target independent media and NGOs that are not controlled by the government.
On March 7, the Georgian Congress passed the “Foreign Influence Transparency Draft”. The content of the bill stipulates that if more than 20% of the funds of media organizations or NGOs come from foreign countries, they will be listed as “foreign agents”. Registering with the Georgian government as a foreign agent is legally subject to heavy fines.
The ruling Congress majority party “Georgian Dream” (Georgian Dream) has long been criticized for being pro-Russian. Agents Registration Act, FARA), the purpose is to protect the transparency of media organizations and NGO organizations.
However, Georgia Dream’s pro-Russian stance made the public extremely question the “Foreign Influence Transparency Draft”. After the first reading of the bill, the public’s fear of Georgia’s return to pro-Russia broke out, and they took to the streets to protest.
Since Georgia’s political system is parliamentary and the center of power is the prime minister, pro-European President Salome Zurabishvili, who belongs to the opposition party, and others strongly opposed the bill, noting that Georgia’s Foreign Influence Transparency Bill is actually more similar to Russia The Foreign Agents Act, whose content violates the Georgia Constitution and poses a threat to civil liberties.
Russia’s “Foreign Agents Law” has been legislating since 2012, listing those who receive financial or other types of support from abroad as “foreign agents”. Expanded to be targeted by the authorities; objects included in the list of Russian “foreign agents”, in addition to being marked in publications, must also regularly report their finances to the Russian government and accept official audits. In addition, Russia Authorities have the power to block the websites of “foreign agent” agencies without court permission. One such example is Memorial, a well-known human rights organization listed by the Russian government in 2015.
Transparency International, an international think tank that monitors government corruption《BBC》It noted that NGOs in Georgia are already subject to 10 different laws, and that the Georgia Ministry of Finance has access to NGO accounts, funds and other operational information.
Ghia Nodia, the former Education Minister who opposed Georgia’s Foreign Influence Transparency Bill, said:
“A large part of Georgia’s independent media has foreign support. The government said the legislation was for transparency, but the content of the draft imitated the Russian bill, and in Russia, the “Foreign Agents Law” legislation was a step towards suppressing the media. first step.”
Khatia Dekanoidze, a congressman from the opposition party, also pointed out that Georgia has an active civil society that can strengthen democracy and the rule of law. However, strong civil forces cannot be separated from the financial and technical support from the European Union and the United Nations. If the “Foreign Influence Transparency Bill” is enacted, external support may be cut off.
Considering that following the outbreak of the Ukrainian-Russian War in February 2022, Georgia, Ukraine, and Moldova quickly announced their application to join the EU. By June of that year, the EU granted Ukraine and Moldova official candidate status. For this reason, a number of reforms must be implemented first. If the Foreign Influence Transparency Bill is enacted, its restrictions on citizen power and foreign aid will undoubtedly become obstacles to Georgia’s accession to the European Union, Decanoz said.
On the night when Georgia’s Congress passed the “Draft on Transparency of Foreign Influence” in the first reading on March 7, dissatisfaction and protest broke out among the people surrounded outside the Congress Building in the capital, Kirchniev. The protest quickly turned into a conflict. The police used tear gas and high-pressure water jets to clear At the scene, 66 people were arrested that night; the next day (March 8), thousands of people took to the streets, holding high the flags of Georgia and the European Union to protest. The demonstrators threw stones at the Capitol building and tried to break through the barriers. , A strong clearing was carried out, the Rustaveli Avenue (Rustaveli) in the center of Kirchnev was blocked, and the conflict continued to rage.
Georgian President Zurabishvili also expressed her opposition to the adoption of the “Foreign Influence Transparency Draft”. She is pro-European and pointed out that the bill violates the Georgian Constitution; Zurabishvili, who is visiting New York, shouted to the public:
Zurabishvili said she would veto the Foreign Influence Transparency Bill legislation, stressing: “There is no need for this bill, it doesn’t know where it came from, no one called for it.” However, in the ruling Georgia Dream With an advantage in seats, the party would be able to vote to override the president’s veto; the Georgia Dream has now consulted the European Commission.
Since Georgia’s political system is parliamentary, the center of state power is the Prime Minister, Irakli Gharibashvili, chairman of Georgia Dream, the largest party in Congress. The Transparency Draft is similar to Russia’s Foreign Agents Act, which he declared “helps root out those who oppose the interests of the state and the Georgian Orthodox Church”.
The three Baltic countries, which used to be under the Iron Curtain of the Soviet Union, have joined hands to express concerns regarding Georgia’s legislation. In a joint statement of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania, they expressed: “We call on the Georgian Congress to responsibly assess the actual interests of the country. The Georgian people expect to live in a As a democracy that is leaning toward the EU and NATO, Georgia’s Congress should avoid decisions that might undermine popular aspirations.”
The United States is also deeply disturbed by Georgia’s “Foreign Influence Transparency Draft” and calls for respect for the rights and aspirations of the Georgian people. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the Georgian people for their support of Ukraine on March 8, saying:
“There is not a single Ukrainian who does not want success for our friendly Georgia, success for democracy, success for Europe… We want to join the EU, we will get it, we want Georgia to join the EU, I believe it will, and Moldova too, and all free countries in Europe should join.”
Kirchnev is still in chaos and turmoil, and demonstrators continue to be arrested. Nanuka Shakinovi, who participated in the demonstration, said that the protesters will not let the authorities stop the efforts of people who want to join the European Union. She said: “We will work with They fight, and we won’t stop until we win.”
According to a poll conducted by the American think tank “International Republican Institute” (IRI), as many as 85% of Georgians support joining the European Union. Another demonstrator, Luka Kimeridze, also expressed angrily: “They (Georgian government) time and time once more Find ways to keep us away from the EU and European values.”
The Georgia Dream has been in power since 2012,“Guardian”Pointing out that its founder was Bidzina Ivanishvili, a billionaire with ties to Russia, the Georgian opposition questioned that Ivanishvili had been secretly controlling the Georgia Dream; specific matters that raised doubts in Georgian society, including After the outbreak of the Ukrainian-Russian War, although the Georgian people overwhelmingly supported Ukraine, the government took a neutral stance and refused to publicly support Ukraine or impose sanctions on Russia.
Otar Berov, a Georgian broadcaster who participated in the demonstration, said in an interview with The Guardian:
