In Georgia, widespread protests against the “foreign influence” law / Article

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Discussions on the draft law have been going on for a year, but the ruling party “Georgia’s Dream” has not given up on its plans to approve it, and today it is planned to be considered in the second reading in the parliament.

The ruling party is also calling on its supporters to take to the streets, but the demonstration and previous similar actions show that the opposition has more support. Protesters first gathered at the Republic Square, where they played the anthems of Georgia and the European Union, and then representatives of non-governmental organizations and opposition parties addressed the gathering. Later, the participants of the demonstration went to the parliament building along the main street of the capital – Rustaveli Avenue.

The authorities warned the activists to follow the established procedure, but conflicts broke out. The parliament building was cordoned off because a rally of “Georgian Dream” supporters is scheduled to take place near it today. Demonstrators asked the police to let them behind the fence to hang the flags of Georgia and the European Union, but the law enforcement officers did not allow it. That is why a scuffle broke out between the protesters and the police.

Foreign media reports that several hundred police officers used batons and pepper spray to push protesters away from the streets adjacent to the parliament building, and arrests began. Former Georgian Minister of European Integration Alexiis Petriashvili was also among those detained.

The draft law provides for a special registration procedure for media and organizations that receive at least a fifth of their funding from foreign countries, and its critics “draw parallels” with Russia’s notorious “Foreign Agents Law”.

The law is criticized by the institutions of the European Union, as well as the congressmen of the United States of America.

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