On March 7, thousands of people protested in Tbilisi against the adoption by the Georgian parliament of the scandalous law on foreign agents, copied from Russian legislation. The police brutally tried to disperse the protesters, but they were able to turn the tide in their favor and even stormed the parliament building.
This is not the first time the actions of the current government have caused discontent among Georgians. This is not the first time thousands of people have come out to protest for the resignation of the government and a change in the course of the country. However, until yesterday they did not have such a high voltage. The last large-scale protests took place in Georgia in 2019.
Why did the law “On Foreign Agents” stir up the people of Sakartvelo so much and how it is connected, or it would be more truthful to say, imposed by Russia, – Channel 24 figured it out .
Scandalous bills imposed by Russia
On February 15, the Georgian movement “Power of the People” submitted a draft law “On the transparency of foreign influence” to the parliament, which concerned media with foreign funding and non-governmental organizations.
Note! The Power of the People parliamentary movement consists of Georgian people's deputies who left the ruling party Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia, but remained in a coalition with it. They often voice ideas that are incompatible with Georgia's Euro-Atlantic integration, and also advocate the preservation of traditional values and opposition to “American influence.”
Members of the “Strength of the People” movement / photo newsgeorgia.ge
According to this project, it was determined that all legal entities and media that have subsidies from foreign states for at least 20% will be included in the register of agents of foreign influence. This list will be formed by the National Agency of the State Registry and fines were provided for registration evasion.
Only those legal entities and media that are financed by funds associated with Bidzina Ivanishvili, the richest man in Georgia with sharp pro-Russian views, would not fall under the law.
Representatives of the European Union and the US State Department have criticized this initiative, citing similarities with Russia's Foreign Agents Act, which was passed back in 2012.
What I can say for my part is that this initiative is incompatible with at least 2 of the 12 priorities: on freedom of the media and on civil society, – stressed the Ambassador of the European Union to Georgia, Pavel Gerchinsky.
The deputies from the Power of the People themselves argued that it was similar to the American FARA law (On the Registration of Foreign Agents) and did not contradict the normative norms of international law.
The Georgian opposition has criticized the bill, saying that it is designed to restrict the work of the media and non-governmental organizations cooperating with Western foundations.
Subsequently, the initiative “On Registration of Foreign Agents” came out, which is a tougher version of the previous bill. Individuals receiving funding from abroad were also added to it. For them, a punishment in the form of imprisonment for up to 5 years is provided, while for legal entities – only fines. In addition, the Georgian prosecutor's office will deal with the creation of such a register.
More than 260 non-governmental organizations came out against these initiatives in a joint statement, calling it a restriction of freedom of speech in the country.
Already on March 8, the Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, Shalva Papuashvili, sent a letter to the President of the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe, Clair Bazi-Maloret, with a request to prepare a conclusion on both scandalous bills. This means that in the near future the initiative “On the registration of foreign agents” will not be presented at the plenary meetings of parliamentarians.
The President with the people against the Parliament of Georgia and the security forces
On March 7, the Georgian parliament began early consideration of the draft law “On the transparency of foreign influence”, although it was previously expected that it would be put on the agenda only on March 9. The coalition began discussing this initiative when most of the opposition deputies were absent from the session hall, including President Salome Zurabishvili, who was in the United States. This was done to avoid possible fights and protests from the opposition.
Reference. A day earlier, on March 6, during a meeting of the Legal Committee on Legal Affairs of the Georgian Parliament, a clash broke out between Anri Okhanashvili, a member of the pro-government Georgian Dream party, and Levan Khabeishvili, head of the United National Movement.
The head of the ruling Georgian Dream party, Mamuka Mdinaradze, and the country's prime minister, Irakli Garibashvili, openly spoke in favor of approving both initiatives. As a result, the bill was adopted in the first reading, the minimum number of deputies voted for it – 76 out of 150. Only 13 voted against it.
The adoption of this initiative was the last straw for the Georgians and led to the fact that thousands of protests began in the capital of Sakartvelo, Tbilisi. Almost immediately, the police began to detain the protesters, although at first the Georgian Dream noted that nothing like this would happen.
Forceful dispersal of the rally on March 7: watch the video
To disperse the protesters, the security forces used all standard methods: tear gas, stun grenades and water cannons. The protesters, for their part, defended themselves with Molotov cocktails, and also tried to storm the parliament building. After being dispersed by the police, the rally moved to Shota Rustaveli Avenue.
President Salome Zurabishvili addressed the protesters from New York and supported the protesters, stressing that if this bill is passed, she will veto it.
Curious! As for the right of veto, which the President spoke about, in fact, it is not a big obstacle for the pro-government party. The country's parliament can easily withdraw it by re-gaining the minimum majority of deputies in favor.
President of Georgia Salome Zurabishvili / photo mtavari.tv
I am with you because today you represent free Georgia. Georgia, which sees its future in Europe and will not allow anyone to take this future away,” the President noted in her address.
After the appeal, the police began to disperse the protest again and achieved their goal, the square near the parliament was completely cleared.
Note! So far, 66 detainees are known, who were simply snatched from the crowd. 55 people were injured on the part of the employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia.
What will happen next in Georgia and will it repeat the path of the Ukrainian Maidan
After the protesters were dispersed in Tbilisi, the Georgian opposition announced a new protest action outside the country's parliament.
From three o'clock in the afternoon, Georgia, we begin to gather on Rustaveli Avenue. From three o'clock in the afternoon, and it will be like this every day, the entire Rustaveli Avenue will be Georgian, no Russians. We are standing until victory, – said the Head of the United National Movement, Nika Melia.
Currently, Georgian activists are turning to Western media to report and disseminate truthful information about the rallies, as well as to show the true desire of Georgians for European integration.
However, Georgian journalist Gigi Pipia said that the reasons for this rally were not only the law “On Foreign Agents”.
“It was a set of reasons that the Georgian authorities had been creating for a long time, but it was this law that became the same boiling point that angered citizens and prompted them to protest,” the media worker emphasized.
Many foreign politicians see the March 7 events as similar to the Ukrainian Revolution of Dignity, in particular, MEP Viola von Cramon tweeted that the events in Tbilisi are reminiscent of the events on Maidan Nezalezhnosti in 2013-2014. However, according to the expert, it is too early to talk about the further development of the situation.
Now it is very difficult to say what exactly these protests will develop into, because the situation is changing every second. But what happened yesterday is really reminiscent of the events in Ukraine in 2014,” said Georgian journalist Gigi Pipia.
New protests in Georgia: watch the video
From this we can conclude that it is unlikely that the protests in Sakartvelo will subside in the near future, because while this law is being discussed and is on the agenda, until then the Georgians will fight against open authoritarianism.
For our part, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine issued a statement emphasizing that Ukrainians share the position of the European Union that the Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence is contrary to the democratic values of the bloc, and also expresses solidarity with the Georgian people in their desire to continue the development of the European the future of the country.
Author: Vladislav Kravtsov
