Georgian parliament passes bill banning tents during protests
Bill on banning tents
The Parliament of Georgia proposed to amend the bill on toughening the rules of holding rallies (the so-called law on tents) and pass it in an accelerated manner in the second reading. 76 MPs supported the amendments, 20 opposed.
The public has already called this another “Russian law” and announced a rally outside the parliament on October 5.
The bill does not limit the right to gatherings and demonstrations, said Givi Mikanadze, chairman of the Education and Science Committee, one of the initiators of the bill.
According to the bill, participants in rallies or demonstrations are prohibited from putting up a temporary structure “if it poses a threat to the participants of the rally or demonstration or other persons, hinders the police in protecting public order and security, causes disruption of the normal functioning of an enterprise, institution or organization, or hinders the holding of a rally and demonstration”.
Deputies of the ruling Georgian Dream party say that the need for change was caused by a statement circulated on September 18 by the Georgian State Security Service, according to which “they want to repeat the Ukrainian Euromaidan scenario in the country and forcibly change the government in October-December.”
Georgian Dream Chairman Irakli Kobakhidze explained to journalists why the bill on banning tents should be passed in an accelerated fashion:
“There is information that destabilization processes, which we have heard about in detail even today, are planned from October to November-December. Therefore, the accelerated regime has a logical basis. Naturally, the opposition is weak, but under conditions of this weakness, the risk of provocations increases. We need to take preventive measures, and this bill does just that.”
