Did the Russian model win in Georgia with the adoption in the first reading of the draft law “On Transparency of Foreign Influence”?
Large-scale protests against the law on “foreign agents” continue in Tbilisi. Law enforcement officers used water cannons and tear gas. Radio Liberty reports almost 70 detainees. The reason for everything was the adoption by the parliament in the first reading of the draft law “On the transparency of foreign influence”, which largely follows the Russian legislation on “foreign agents”.
This was stated in an interview with TSN.ua by a Georgian political analyst, the author of the YouTube channel “News from the Caucasus” Gela Vasadze.
Gela Vasadze also answered the question whether it is possible to say that Russia won in the first reading in Georgia.
“We can say that the Russian model, which they would like to see in Georgia, won. Among other things, the policy of the regions of Georgia generally suits Russia. This is also a big problem. Why was this law adopted at all, moreover, with such a provocative” Most likely not to pinch someone, but they will do it with great pleasure. This is a challenge to the opposition and our Western partners. Yesterday there were representatives of the opposition parties, but the protest was clearly not led by the opposition, but by a public movement,” the analyst said.
Gela Vasadze also told who exactly came out to protest.
“Young people, students, came out. The authorities were counting on the fact that there would be unrest about this law and non-government organizations would protest. But it turned out that this law was not perceived as a law against non-government organizations. The main slogan of the protests was” we do not want it was like in Russia. “This is very important. Most people were around 20 years old. These are people who grew up in a free country and who cannot be driven into the Soviet stall,” the expert added.
The day before, Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili was forced to change the program of her visit to the United States due to voting for the “law on foreign agents”. She wrote down an appeal to her citizens from New York and promised to veto the law.
We add that the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry is closely following what is happening in Tbilisi. Ukrainians support the people of Georgia in their European aspirations.
