Georgia faces turmoil as "Foreign Agents" bill sparks protests

The Georgian parliament passed the controversial "foreign agents" bill on its second reading. Almost immediately, thousands of people opposing the bill's provisions started gathering again in the streets of Tbilisi. The police have been trying to control the crowds using water cannons.

The DPA agency reported that 83 deputies voted in favour of the bill, which has sparked considerable controversy, while 23 were against it. The Georgian parliament has 150 deputies.

Protests against the controversial law began in early April. The most recent protest took place in Tbilisi on Tuesday, where the police used water cannons and tear gas against thousands of people demonstrating against the bill's passage. This law, considered to be inspired by the Kremlin and referred to as the "Russian law", has been contentious. The opposition party, United National Movement, reported that during the protest, the police brutally beat its leader, Levan Khabeishvili, resulting in a concussion, broken facial bones, and the loss of several teeth.

Under the proposed bill, non-governmental organizations and media that receive more than 20 per cent of their funds from foreign sources would be required to register as organizations "pursuing the interests of a foreign power" and submit special annual financial reports, as explained in the "New York Times" website. It also highlighted that the Georgian proposal resembles a measure adopted in Russia in 2012, used to suppress dissent and stigmatize anti-Kremlin entities harshly.

According to the Georgian proposal, organizations supported abroad would be placed in a special registry of foreign influence agents, and the Ministry of Justice would be able to control them under any pretext.

Critics argue that one aim of the "Russian law" is to bring Georgia closer to Russia. Similar measures have been adopted by two other former USSR countries: Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

The bill needs to be voted on once more to become law, as reminded by the Reuters agency.

The ruling party, Georgian Dream, resumed processing the criticized law at the beginning of April. Last year, after mass protests and calls from Western countries, the party ceased working on the law but is now determined to pass a law that, it argues, will ensure "financial transparency" for non-governmental organizations, the opposition, and the media.

Representatives from the USA, EU, and UN have expressed concern about the renewed efforts to pass the law and have appealed to the Georgian authorities to abandon the project. They pointed out that the project contradicts Georgia's European aspirations and its process of European integration. Georgia was granted candidate status to the EU in December 2023.

Supporters of the law claim that it will strengthen Georgia's national sovereignty against what they see as Western attempts to draw Georgia into confrontation with Russia, as noted by Reuters.