Georgia: thousands of demonstrators after the adoption of a law on “foreign influence”

Thousands of Georgians demonstrated Tuesday after the adoption by Parliament of a controversial billé on "foreign" influence", inspired by of a Russian law.

During an examination at the third and final reading, the deputies voted 84 votes “for” and 30 votes “against”, according to images broadcast by public television.

Thirteen demonstrators were arrested “after disobeying police orders”, according to the Interior Ministry.

The wife of activist David Katsarava assured that her husband had been beaten by the police after his arrest.

A sign of the ambient tension, elected officials from the majority and the opposition briefly clashed with fists during debates. Similar fights had already occurred in recent weeks.

In front of Parliament, around 2,000 demonstrators gathered at the end of the afternoon, supervised by a large police presence, according to an AFP correspondent on site.

Protests against this text, which targets media and NGOs receiving foreign funds, have lasted for more than a month.

Georgian President Salomé Zourabichvili, pro-European and former French diplomat in open conflict with the government, is expected to veto the text, but the ruling Georgian Dream party claims to have enough votes to override it.

“We will demonstrate until this Russian government leaves our country!”, swore Salomé, a 20-year-old demonstrator, just after the vote.

“They are trying to deny the last 30 years”, i.e. the path traveled since the fall of the USSR, Mariam Javakhichvili, 34, said earlier in the crowd of demonstrators.

Protest after the adoption by Parliament of a controversial bill on “foreign influence”, on May 14, 2024 in Tbilisi, Georgia © AFP – Vano SHLAMOV

Its critics have nicknamed this text “Russian law” because of its similarity to legislation adopted in Russia to suppress the opposition.

The reference is sensitive in Georgia, a country which swings between the Russian and European spheres of influence and was invaded by Moscow during a military intervention in 2008.

While the police have, during certain rallies, used rubber bullets and tear gas, the adoption of the bill could lead to new clashes.

– “Obstacle” to the EU –

By 2023, massive protests had forced “Georgian Dream ” to abandon a first version of this text. But, this time, the majority deputies ignored the protests.

Shortly before the vote, an EU spokesperson reaffirmed that the adoption of this text would nevertheless constitute a “serious obstacle” on the path to the country's accession to the European Union.

An American Assistant Secretary of State, James O 'Brien, met Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Tuesday in Tbilisi. The latter's office affirmed that the two officials had said they were “worried” about the “processes” at work in the country in recent years.

In the United Kingdom, Secretary of State for Europe Nusrat Ghani called on the Georgian government to “withdraw this legislation”.

“This project “law and the coordinated intimidation of demonstrators accompanying it do not correspond to the democratic values ​​of a country aspiring to join NATO”, she said, quoted in a government press release.

Police officers deployed in the streets of Tbilisi during a demonstration against the adoption by Parliament of a controversial bill on “foreign influence”, May 14, 2024 in Georgia © AFP – Vano SHLAMOV

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis told AFP on Tuesday that he was going to go to Georgia with his Icelandic, Estonian and Latvian counterparts to express their “concerns to political leaders”.

The law must require any NGO or media receiving more than 20% of its funding from abroad to register as an “organization pursuing the interests of a foreign power”.

The government assures that it simply aims to force organizations to demonstrate more “transparency” about their funding.

The Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitri Peskov, praised “the firm desire of the Georgian leaders to protect their country against any blatant interference”.

The controversy surrounding this text also highlights the influence of Bidzina Ivanishvili, a wealthy businessman perceived as the shadow leader of Georgia.

Georgia: new anti-government protests © AFP – Laurence SAUBADU, Sylvie HUSSON

Prime Minister from 2012 to 2013 and today honorary president of the “Georgian Dream”, he is suspected of closeness to Russia, the country where he made his fortune.

Even if he claims to want to bring Georgia into the EU, he has recently made hostile statements towards the West and sees NGOs as an enemy from within.

The moment is particularly sensitive in Georgia, where legislative elections will be held in October.

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