Supporters of "foreign agent law" will be responsible for creating risks for Georgia - US State Department

Ned Price on new law

US State Department spokesman Ned Price made his third statement on the “foreign agent law” in Georgia, saying that its supporters will be responsible for creating risks for the country’s future.

• Ned Price on possible law on foreign agents in Georgia
• Ned Price on foreign agents law: “It could hinder Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic integration”

“We remain very concerned about the proposed passage of a ‘foreign agent law’, because it will stigmatize and silence the independent voices of Georgian citizens who are motivated to build a better future for the Georgian people. We are deeply concerned about the potential impact of this law in Georgia on freedom of speech and democracy. Our message is simple, we have stated it publicly and delivered it personally: everyone who votes for this bill will be responsible for creating a potential risk for Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic future. This law does not meet the aspirations that the Georgian people have expressed for decades,” Price emphasized.

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Yesterday, March 2, a spontaneous protest was held in front of the Georgian parliament building in Tbilisi against the discussion of the draft law on “transparency of foreign influence.”

The Georgian government intends to pass a law according to which non-governmental and media organizations that are funded from abroad must be registered as “agents of foreign influence”.

There are two versions of this bill. The first was registered in parliament on February 14 and is similar to the Russian law on foreign agents. The second version was registered as an alternative after the first was heavily criticized. The second version, according to the authors, is similar to the American law (FARA).

The authors of both versions of the bill are the People’s Power movement, formed by deputies who formally separated from the ruling party. “People’s Power” makes sharp anti-Western statements. Moreover, its members directly admit that their movement was created in order to “tell people the truth about the West, which is trying to drag Georgia into the war.”

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The bill is also sharply criticized by Georgia’s western partners from various international organizations, American senators and European deputies. The American ambassador, Kelly Degnan, bluntly called it “Russian law.”