Protests in Georgia against the law on foreign agents in photos
Photos of protest in Tbilisi
Journalists, representatives of the civil sector and politicians are protesting today, March 6, against the consideration of two versions of a bill concerning foreign agents in Parliament.
The protest’s slogan is “No to Russian law!”
Protesters say that the government is deliberately trying to prevent Georgia’s European integration. If the law is passed, critical media and NGOs will come under threat.
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The rally began at 9 am in Tbilisi in front of the parliament building, just when the parliamentary committee on legal issues began to discuss the bill.
The committee meeting was held amid protests. Deputies from the Georgian Dream and its satellite movement Power of the People had to argue with the oppositionists invited to the meeting. Verbal skirmishes turned into fist-fighting. Bailiffs were sent to remove opposition members from the hall.
On Friday, March 3, the bill was approved by the parliamentary committees on international affairs and defense.
The next step will be discussion of the bill at the plenary session of the Parliament. This meeting was supposed to take place on March 6 at 15:00, but was postponed.
The bills on registration of foreign agents and transparency of foreign influence were initiated by the Power of the People movement, a satellite of the ruling Georgian Dream party. The first one is called “On Transparency of Foreign Influence”, the second “On Registration of Foreign Agents”. The first applies only to NGOs and media receiving foreign funding, while the second applies to both individuals and legal entities, with a number of exceptions.
