The Georgian Parliament adopted the controversial “foreign influence” bill on Tuesday. And this despite large-scale demonstrations against the text which, according to its detractors, is modeled on a Russian law and diverts the Caucasian country from Europe and drags it towards Moscow.
During a third and final reading, deputies voted 84 votes for and 30 votes against, according to images broadcast on public television.
A sign of the ambient tension, elected officials from the majority and the opposition briefly clashed with fists during the debates. Similar fights had already occurred in recent weeks.
In front of Parliament, hundreds of demonstrators, mainly young people, are still gathered in the middle of the afternoon, supervised by a large police presence.
“We will demonstrate until this Russian government leaves our country!” swore Salomé, a 20-year-old protester, just after the vote.
A text nicknamed “Russian law”
Critics have dubbed the text the “Russian law” because of its similarity to legislation passed in Russia to suppress opposition. The reference is particularly sensitive in Georgia, a country which swings between Russian and European spheres of influence and was invaded by Moscow during a military intervention in 2008.
While the police have, during certain rallies, used rubber bullets and tear gas, the adoption of the bill could lead to new clashes. In 2023, massive demonstrations forced the ruling “Georgian Dream” party to abandon a first version of this text. But this time, despite more than a month of protests, the majority deputies ignored it.
An “obstacle” to EU membership
Shortly before the vote, an EU spokesperson reaffirmed that the adoption of this text would constitute a “serious obstacle” on the country’s path to membership of the European Union.
The law must require any NGO or media outlet receiving more than 20% of its funding from abroad to register as an “organization pursuing the interests of a foreign power.”
The government assures that its law simply aims to force organizations to demonstrate more “transparency” about their funding. Its detractors see this as proof of a new turn of the screw, capable of condemning the ambition of one day joining the EU.
Possible veto from the pro-European president
President Salomé Zourabichvili, a pro-European and former French diplomat in open conflict with the government, is expected to veto the voted text, but the “Georgian Dream” claims to have enough votes to override it.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov praised “the firm desire of the Georgian leaders to protect their country against any blatant interference in its affairs.”
ats/friend
