Georgia: tens of thousands of demonstrators back on the streets

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets Thursday evening in Georgia to once again protest against the controversial bill. on "foreign"influence" wanted by the government but criticized by the United States and the European Union.

This Caucasian country has been plagued by anti-government protests since April 9, after the ruling Georgian Dream party reintroduced this text seen as an obstacle to Tbilisi's aspirations to join the EU.

Unlike previous days, the rally takes place on Thursday in two different locations: in front of the Parliament, a traditional place for demonstrations, and on Heroes' Square , where a monument in memory of Georgian soldiers who died in combat stands.

The demonstrators blocked the road leading to this square and the police arrested several of them and used pepper spray, as the day before. As a sign of solidarity with those arrested, the demonstrators in front of the Parliament marched towards Heroes' Square.

The protesters chanted “No to Russia!” and posted signs with the faces of deputies from the ruling Georgian Dream party, described as “traitors”.

This bill, adopted on Wednesday in second reading, is inspired by Russian legislation used for years by the Kremlin to persecute dissident voices. Critics of the text accuse the government of playing into Russia's hands.

Protest in front of Parliament against the controversial “foreign influence” bill, May 2, 2024 in Tbilisi, Georgia © AFP – Vano SHLAMOV

“We are all together to show the Kremlin puppets that we will not accept the government that goes against the will of the Georgian people,” one of the demonstrators, Guiorgui Loladze, 27 years old, from Kutaisi, the third largest city in Georgia.

In the previous days, tens of thousands of demonstrators had already gathered in front of Parliament to protest. On Tuesday, the police dispersed the crowd with tear gas and rubber bullets and made around sixty arrests.

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If this law is passed, it will require any NGO or media organization receiving more than 20% of its funding from abroad to register as an “organization pursuing the interests of 'a foreign power'.

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Protest in front of Parliament against the controversial “foreign influence” bill, May 2, 2024 in Tbilisi, Georgia © AFP – Vano SHLAMOV

The government assures for its part that this measure is intended to force organizations to demonstrate greater “transparency” regarding their funding.

The text was criticized by the West, with the United States saying on Thursday that it was “deeply concerned” by “the consequences it could have in terms of stifling dissent and freedom of expression”.

“We would not like to see anything move forward from a legislative standpoint that … would make it more difficult for the Georgian people to express themselves,” said John Kirby, spokesman for the Georgian National Security Council. the American executive.

France, reiterating its “deep concern”, condemned the repression of demonstrations and “to ensure respect for the right to demonstrate peacefully as well as the freedom of the press”.

She considered that the text went “against the values ​​on which the European Union is founded and to which the Georgian people have shown his deep attachment”.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, asked him for the “withdrawal” of the bill and urged the Georgian authorities to “engage in dialogue, in particular with civil society and the media”.

Police officers arrest protesters during a rally in front of Parliament against the controversial “foreign influence” bill, May 2, 2024 in Tbilisi, Georgia © AFP – Giorgi ARJEVANIDZE

On Wednesday, the European Union condemned the “violence” of the police and called on Georgia to “stay the course” towards the EU.

In December, the EU granted Georgia official candidate status, but said Tbilisi should carry out reforms to its judicial and electoral systems, increase press freedom and curb the power of oligarchs before accession negotiations are officially launched.

A first version of the text was abandoned last year after large-scale street demonstrations.

These troubles occur a few months before legislative elections, in October, considered an important test for democracy in this former Soviet republic accustomed to political crises.

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