Protest against 'foreign agents' law in Tbilisi; 14 arrested

Protest against ‘foreign agents’ law in Tbilisi

On April 15, massive protests erupted in Tbilisi against the proposed law ‘On Transparency of Foreign Influence,’ initiated by the ruling party ‘Georgian Dream’ for the second time in a year.

Last March, the bill was withdrawn following extensive demonstrations.

The current protests near the parliament building began at 10:00 AM and, by 7:00 PM, thousands had gathered. Some protesters remained overnight.

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, 14 people were arrested for defying police orders during the protest.

Despite the demonstrations, Georgia’s parliamentary legal committee endorsed the bill late in the evening. It is presented for the first reading vote during the parliamentary session on April 16.”

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During the hearings in the legal committee, the bill’s author and majority member, Mamuka Mdinaradze, stated that transparency is not the sole purpose of the bill. He mentioned that after its adoption, NGOs and media would engage in activities that would please everyone: the government, donors, and the people.

“Do you know what will be something that everyone likes? The main thing is to please the people. And it will not be about extremism but about real work, your work. You will demand not the resignation of the government but work on legal provisions; you will not fight against the church but focus on your work; you will not finance LGBT propaganda but do your job.

This will be liked not only by me, but also by donors and the people. It will serve as prevention, and it’s not about transparency as an end in itself,” Mdinaradze told representatives of non-governmental organizations present at the hearings.”