Security forces clashed with protesters in the Georgian capital on Wednesday night after the eastern European nation introduced controversial new legislation in the parliament that has sparked weeks of demonstrations.
Protesters have taken to the streets since the ruling Georgian Dream party pushed a bill through parliament early last month that the pro-Western opposition says could be used to suppress dissent and hinder the country’s efforts to join the European Union. Night after night.
Their numbers surged after parliament approved the bill on Wednesday in the second of three necessary rounds of votes.
The draft law would require non-governmental groups and media organizations with more than 20% of their funding coming from foreign countries to register as organizations “carrying the interests of foreign powers” and provide annual financial statements on their activities. Violations will result in hefty fines.
It is similar to a 2012 law in Russia that was used to silence anti-Kremlin advocacy groups and media organizations. Critics say one of the goals of the new bill, which they call “Russian law,” is to align Georgia, a former Soviet state of 3.6 million people, more closely with Moscow.
“The people of Georgia want their country to have a European future,” she wrote in X. “Georgia is at a crossroads. It should stay on the path to Europe.
On Thursday, U.N. human rights chief Walker Türk said in a statement that he was also concerned about “reports of unnecessary and excessive use of force by law enforcement officials” and called on Georgia to withdraw the draft law.
The government, led by Georgian Dream since 2012, said the bill seeks to increase transparency of foreign funding and is modeled on a 1938 U.S. law and other similar measures passed or proposed in other Western countries.
It tried to pass the law last year but gave up in the face of massive protests. This time, the party appears determined to push the bill through parliament, although lawmakers will likely have to override a veto by the country’s president, Salome Zourabichvili.
Ms Zurabichvili, whose role in Georgia’s parliamentary system is largely ceremonial, was supported by the Georgian Dream party when she was elected in 2018, but has since become a fierce critic of the ruling party.
Marika Kochiashvili contributed reporting.
