Lawmakers for the ruling Georgian Dream party in that country announced on Thursday they would “unconditionally withdraw” a bill that would designate organizations receiving more than 20 percent of funding abroad as foreign agents, responding to violent, incessant protests in Tbilisi, which continued after the withdrawal announcement.
On Wednesday night, Tbilisi experienced ongoing violence, including clashes between protesters and police and the vandalizing of cars, flipped over and left in the middle of the street:
Opponents of the “foreign agent” bill argue that its language is too similar to a law passed in Vladimir Putin’s Russia and accuse Georgian Dream of attempting to “Russify” the country. Georgia endured a brutal invasion by Putin in 2008 that has left its political scene deeply scarred and skeptical of anything that could be interpreted as Russian influence. The invasion, which Moscow insisted was necessary to protect both Russia’s national security and separatists in the affected areas of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
“In this situation were we supposed to just wipe away bloody snot and hang our heads?” Putin asked at the time, claiming that American forces were threatening Russia’s borders. The administration of President George W. Bush aggressively denied involvement in the separatist regions at the time.
While the Georgian invasion took place over a decade ago, the ongoing – and tactically similar – Russian invasion of Ukraine rekindled anti-Russian sentiment in Georgia. In response, supporters of the bill have taken to Georgian airwaves to argue that the purpose of the legislation is to ensure transparency with influential political organizations and that it has little to do with Russia.
“Georgian society absolutely deserves to know which organizations are being financed, from which sources,” Georgian Dream lawmaker Givi Mikanadze explained in a recent interview. “We are talking about transparency and having an obligation (to the Georgian people).”
The introduction of the “foreign agent” bill prompted thousands to surround the Georgian Parliament in Tbilisi on Monday to protest it and demand closer ties to the greater West. That protest evolved into a violent resistance that is currently ongoing despite Georgian Dream claiming to withdraw the bill.
“As a party of government responsible to every member of society, we have decided to unconditionally withdraw this bill that we supported,” Georgian Dream said in a formal statement on Thursday.
“We can see that the adopted bill has caused differences of opinion in society. The machine of lies managed to present the bill in a negative light and mislead a certain part of the public,” the Party lamented. “The false label of ‘Russian law’ was attached to the bill, and its adoption in the first reading was presented in the eyes of a part of the public as a departure from the European course.”
The statement concluded with a promise to “better explain” the bill when “the emotions subside,” which many opponents interpreted as an indication that the Party intended to reintroduce it in the future when.
Shortly before the bill withdrawal promise, on Wednesday, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili appeared to defend the legislation, calling the Georgian opposition “degenerate.”
“The future of our country does not belong and will no longer belong to foreign agents or servants of foreign countries,” he proclaimed during a visit to Germany.
Police deployed water cannons on Wednesday night and tear gas at an unruly crowd of protesters. Some in the crowd shot fireworks and flares, while others confronted police trying to contain the thousands of people.
The Georgian outlet Civil Georgia, citing Georgian legal experts, noted that parliamentary procedure does not technically allow the bill, now adopted for a reading, to be withdrawn. Instead, “to remove the law from the legislative pipeline, the Parliament would have to vote it down in the second reading.”
While Georgian Dream introduced and supported the bill, President Salome Zurabishvili did not, and she published a statement on Thursday celebrating its defeat.
“I want to congratulate the whole society on the first such victory. I welcome the right decision taken by the government to withdraw this law,” she wrote. “This is a decision from them to take into account the real power of the people, what was shown on the streets of Tbilisi. If we are a democratic country, in a democratic country the Government and Parliament cannot ignore the people’s voice, the will of the people.”
Zurabishvili told Georgians not to fear any particular law.
“I will veto any law, and I have said this before, which will not be in line with our European path,” she pledged. “This veto is no longer an empty veto, because you stand behind this veto and I am counting on you, if you are counting on me, I really count on you.”
The bill was controversial since its introduction, in part because the president did not support it and threatened to veto it. On Monday, when lawmakers were scheduled to debate the bill, thousands convened outside, surrounding the Parliament building and demanding the bill be withdrawn.
Inside, lawmakers came to blows over the legislation; reports indicated that the chairman of the parliamentary legal affairs committee hit an opposition party member, triggering the brief but violent melee:
Clashes reported inside & outside Georgian parliament about proposed "foreign agents" legislation – to require organizations with 20+% funding from overseas to register as "foreign agents".
Law's protesters point out its similarity to 🇷🇺 "foreign agents" law. Dangerous trend. pic.twitter.com/O2GIS5GqPY
— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) March 6, 2023
According to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), protest leaders said on Thursday they did not expect to cease protesting “until the government formally denounced the foreign agents bill altogether and released all those detained during protests.” As of Thursday, authorities have documented 134 arrests during the protests, charging most of them with property damage, vandalism, or attacking police officers. Georgian law enforcement authorities have tallied approximately 50 injured police officers.
“The protest is not just about the bill, but about the Russian nature of the Georgian Dream. There is no trust towards them or their word,” the head of the opposition Droa party, said on Thursday, “and track record serves as the empirical proof. There is no legal mechanism to withdraw the draft.”
Protests continued into Thursday night, featuring thousands of people waving European Union and Ukrainian flags – a sign of defiance of Moscow and listening to speakers in opposition of the bill.
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