Protest flares up in Georgia after parliament approves second reading of controversial ‘Russian law’

Protests in the Georgian capital Tbilisi have intensified again after parliament approved the second reading of a controversial bill on Wednesday. The proposed law means that organizations with more than 20 percent of their income from abroad must register as a ‘foreign agent’. The third reading will follow soon, after which the law, also called the ‘Russian law’ by opponents, will probably actually come into force.

The police violently suppress the demonstrations. Tear gas and flash grenades were used to disperse the crowd of an estimated 40,000 people. The protests have gotten out of hand several times in recent weeks, especially in Tbilisi. On Tuesday, 63 demonstrators were arrested and six police officers were injured. Opposition leader Levan Khabeishvili was also so badly injured on Tuesday that he ended up in hospital.

European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday condemned “the violence on the streets in Tbilisi” https://twitter.com/vonderleyen/status/1785739799401218537 and urged the country to stay on track towards the European Union. “The citizens of Georgia demonstrate their strong commitment to democracy. The Georgian government must take this clear message to heart,” said Von der Leyen.

‘Russian law’

One of the driving forces behind the controversial bill is businessman and politician Bidzina Ivanishvili. Behind the scenes he leads the pro-Russian ruling party Georgian Dream, which aims to bring Georgia further into Russian spheres of influence. In practice, a number of media companies and NGOs – several of which have large incomes from abroad – would also become ‘foreign agents’. They will then come under the supervision of the Justice Department, as is already the case in Russia.

It was already expected that the ruling party would try to get the second and third readings through parliament as quickly as possible. At first reading, 83 out of 150 parliamentarians voted in favor of the proposal; opposition parties boycott the vote. Although President Salome Zurabisvjili will most likely use her veto power, Georgian Dream can overturn this veto.

The European Union decided at the end of last year, when a similar bill was withdrawn, to grant Georgia candidate membership. However, last week the European Parliament announced that it did not wish to negotiate further as long as the controversial bill could still be introduced. The majority of the Georgian population is in favor of joining the EU.

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