Georgia's turmoil: Protests flare against controversial foreign agents bill

In Georgia, protests continue against the "Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence" bill. A scuffle erupted between lawmakers during the bill's third reading in parliament.

At 9:00 AM GMT on Tuesday, the Georgian parliament convened in an entire session to pass the controversial "Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence," also referred to as the 'foreign agents' bill, as reported by media outlets in Tbilisi.

A fight among lawmakers marked the deliberations. The incident was captured and shared by the RIA Novosti agency on Telegram.

Despite ongoing mass protests across the country for more than a month, the ruling Georgian Dream party is adamant about getting the draft law passed this time. The government had previously halted its efforts on the bill last year in response to protests and criticism from the West.

Prime Minister Irakli Kobachidze stated on Monday that Georgian authorities are considering amendments to the law at the presidential veto stage. President Salome Zurabishvili has already pledged to veto the new law, but the ruling party has enough votes to override it. Amendments could be worked on when the president returns the bill to parliament. He mentioned that there will be two weeks, between May 14 and May 28, to agree and adopt the amendments.

On Tuesday, opponents of the bill assembled once again in front of the Georgian parliament. Police cordons heavily guarded the entrances to the parliament, and special forces were deployed in the inner courtyard of the building.

A protest was also organized by students from 50 Georgian universities on Tuesday.

The proposed Georgian law follows the initially "mild" version of the Russian law on foreign agents, which was made more severe. It demands that legal entities and media outlets receiving more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad undergo mandatory registration and reporting. They would be added to a special register of foreign influence agents. The Ministry of Justice would have the authority to inspect such organizations on any grounds.

The opposition and protest participants argue that similar to the situation in Russia, the law could be leveraged to dismantle the opposition and independent media. They believe the law contradicts Georgia's ambitions to join the EU.

The ruling party insists the bill enhances transparency and protects sovereignty and has vowed not to bow to external pressures, including what the Georgian authorities describe as the "global war party," presumably referring to Western nations.