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Georgia Votes Against Foreign Agent Law After Protests

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

TBILISI (Worthy News) – Georgia’s parliament dropped a controversial “foreign agent registration” bill after massive protests and warnings it could hamper the country’s efforts to join the European Union and NATO military alliance.

Lawmakers voted 35-1 against the legislation during a session that lasted just four minutes without debate. Friday’s vote came less than a day after Georgia’s ruling party, Georgian Dream said it would withdraw the legislation.

The proposed law would have required media and nongovernmental organizations that receive more than 20 percent of their funding from foreign sources to register as “agents of foreign influence.”

Critics argued that if enacted, the law could hinder Georgia’s aspirations of one day joining the EU and NATO.

Earlier, President Salome Zurabishvili warned she wouldn’t sign the bill. No one needed this law,” she explained in a statement.

“It came from nowhere. But maybe it was dictated from Moscow. It needs to go. I said from the first day that I would veto this law. And I will veto it,” Zurabishvili added.

DREAM PARTY

Georgia’s government, led by the Georgian Dream party, claimed the legislation would mean greater openness about foreign funding and was inspired by an American law introduced in 1938.

But critics said the bill resembled a 2012 Russian law used to crack down on civil society.

On Thursday, the government relented and said it would advise legislators to vote against its proposal on Friday.

With the bill gone, authorities made clear they hope to restore a sense of normality in the streets of Tbilisi, the capital, where demonstrators attempted to storm the Parliament earlier this week.

Ahead of Friday’s vote, demonstrators returned to the streets to not only pressure legislators but also to demand the release of more than 100 protesters: Their rallies were successful, with the Interior Ministry announcing it had
freed all 133.

However, those hurt in this week’s rallies, including demonstrators and police officers, were still recovering from their injuries.