Riga protests against the “foreign agents” law introduced in the Georgian parliament / Article

At 4:00 p.m., around 40 people gather in front of the Georgian embassy on Krišjāņas Valdemāra Street in Riga, who support the hundreds and thousands who are taking to the streets in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia. Georgians studying in Latvia were also among the participants.

Protesters who were contacted said:

“I follow “Telegram”, my friend from Ukraine moved to Georgia. The situation is dramatic. It is already similar to Maidan. The situation is more aggravated. It is important for me to show solidarity. Georgians want to be in the European Union for a long time.”

“We are very grateful that Latvia is with us in this difficult time. And your support is invaluable.”

“There are mass protests in Tbilisi and they are violently suppressed by the police. And the situation is difficult. But the people of Georgia are not going to stop. They will fight if we do not speak, our government will push us towards Russia. And we are against it. We must speak very loudly so that the world We don’t want to be a part of Russia. And knowing our past, we have to take that step now.”

“I am worried about the future of Latvia and the future of Georgia. We are like barricades. Let this danger not come to Latvia. We fought against Russia all our lives. But they want both our territories and our souls.”

CONTEXT:

In Georgia, the bill on “foreign agents” proposed by the government has caused widespread protests. It provides for the inclusion in the list of “foreign agents” of non-governmental organizations and media that receive at least 20% of their funding from foreign countries.

Georgia’s ruling party “Georgia Dream” defends this bill and emphasizes that the Georgian public should know which organizations receive foreign funding.

However, the bill has drawn comparisons with Russia’s 2012 “foreign agents” law, which the Kremlin has used to suppress the opposition and shut down independent media.

Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili also opposes the draft law and has promised to veto it.

A similar bill “Georgia’s dream” tried to pass already last year, but after widespread protests, the Georgian parliament stopped its consideration.

Western countries are warning the Georgian government that the adoption of the bill will be a serious obstacle on Georgia’s path to joining the European Union.

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