Georgia: The ruling party will hold a rally supporting the 'foreign agents law,' also known as 'Russian law'

Georgia’s ruling party rally for “foreign agents law”

The ruling party, Georgian Dream, announced that it will hold a rally outside the parliament in support of the ‘foreign agents’ bill on April 29. This announcement comes amidst massive protests against the bill, which have been ongoing in Tbilisi and other cities for over a week.

Party representatives urged the population to actively participate and “not allow a politically and morally bankrupt political minority to speculate and speak on behalf of the people”.

Why Georgia's government seeks to reintroduce 'foreign agents' law: Expert views

JAMnews asked local political analysts to assess this decision by the ruling party “Georgian Dream.”

Georgia’s ruling party, Georgian Dream, has announced that on April 29, it will hold a rally in front of the Georgian Parliament in support of the draft law ‘On Transparency of Foreign Influence.’ The announcement comes against the backdrop of extensive protests against this draft law, which have been ongoing in Tbilisi and other cities for over a week.

Party representatives have urged the population to actively participate and ‘not allow a politically and morally bankrupt political minority to speculate and speak on behalf of the people.’

Here are the key points from the party’s statement

The ‘Foreign Agents Law’ is currently under consideration. However, it is already clear that unlike the attempt to pass it in March 2023, this year the radical opposition has only managed to mislead a small portion of our citizens.

At its peak, the number of participants in rallies organized by the political opposition reached 9,500 people. It is evident that the multi-million investments made to strengthen the radical opposition led by Kezerashvili and Khazaradze [Georgian opposition politicians], as well as ‘non-governmental organizations’ enriched by unscrupulous donors, have not paid off.

Georgian society is politically mature enough that no amount of money can mislead it.

According to sociological research, the rating of Georgian Dream exceeds 60 percent today. And the only opposition party that manages to cross the threshold has a rating of only 12 percent. Against this background, the politically bankrupt radical opposition, wealthy ‘NGOs,’ and the so-called president speak to us on behalf of the people.

This understandably irritates the majority of Georgia‘s population, our supporters.

We take into account the request of our supporters, and next Monday, April 29, we will hold a public gathering in front of the Georgian Parliament.

We call on all patriotic-minded citizens of our country to reject the revolution being prepared in Georgia with ‘black [illegal] money.’ Reject attacks on the Orthodox Church, political intervention in religious matters, LGBT propaganda, drug propaganda, discrediting of state institutions, radicalism, and financing of so-called polarization.

We cannot allow a politically and morally bankrupt political minority to speculate and speak on behalf of the people. We will show everyone where the overwhelming majority of the Georgian people stand. We will show who stands for truth and true European values, and our traditional national values – homeland, language, and faith.

Let’s say ‘no’ to ‘black money’ and say ‘yes’ to transparency, the true European path, an independent and sovereign Georgia!”

This statement is from the Georgian Dream party.

"We will never accept Russian rule!" – A massive youth march in Tbilisi against the "foreign agents law"

Thousands of young people vowed to “continue the struggle until the authorities abandon this ugly law, and Russian influence disappears in Georgia”

• On April 15th, the legal committee of the Georgian Parliament approved the draft law “On Transparency of Foreign Influence” in its first reading, which is commonly referred to as the foreign agents law or simply the “Russian law” in society. Alternative bills initiated by the opposition were rejected.
• This draft law has been initiated by the ruling party for the second time. In March 2023, massive protests and categorical criticism from Western partners forced the authorities to withdraw the bill from parliament, even though it had already been passed in the first reading.
• The main argument of the government is that the transparency of non-governmental organizations operating in Georgia is questionable, which threatens the country’s security. However, neither independent experts, nor the opposition, nor civil society believe in this argument and consider that “Georgian Dream” is attempting to prolong its stay in power and is laying the groundwork for the parliamentary elections in October 2024 to suppress alternative opinions in the country.

Who defended freedom of speech in Georgia? Video

A video showing who the main participants of the March protests were: youth, civil servants, couriers and others

Georgia’s ruling party rally for “foreign agents law”