Georgia police fire tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters against “foreign agent” law

Georgian police on Tuesday fired tear gas and rubber bullets at demonstrators protesting against a law on “foreign agents” that threatens Georgia’s move towards the West and integration into Europe.

Mass protests against the government have been taking place in Georgia since April 9, when the ruling party “Georgian Dream” repeatedly submitted the draft of this law to the parliament. This comes a year after it was forced to drop an almost identical proposal amid protests.

Masked riot police had attacked a peaceful rally on Monday evening, using tear gas, water cannon and rubber bullets and detaining dozens of people protesting the bill. Police also attacked several journalists, including beating an AFP photographer with a rubber bat.

The rally continued past midnight, blocking traffic outside the parliament on Rustaveli Avenue, Tbilisi’s main street.

Parliament considered the bill in its second reading on Tuesday, and the ruling party is aiming for its passage in mid-May. In order for the bill to become a law, it must be considered by the parliament in three readings and signed by the president of the country.

Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili has announced that she will not sign the bill if parliament approves it. The ruling party, however, has enough members in parliament to override the president’s veto. In addition, Zurabishvili’s term ends this year, and according to constitutional changes, the next president will be appointed by an electoral college made up of all members of parliament.

The law would require non-governmental and media organizations receiving more than 20% foreign funding to register as organizations “acting in the interests of a foreign country”. That phrasing is the only difference from a draft withdrawn last year that said the groups in question would have to register as “agents of foreign influence”.

Opponents of the bill refer to it as “Russia’s law” and claim that the adoption of the law would prevent Georgia from realizing its goal of joining the European Union (EU), which granted the country the long-desired candidate status last year.

The EU has called on Tbilisi not to accept the bill, saying it runs counter to the democratic reforms the country must undertake to move towards EU membership. The President of the European Council Charles Michel stated that the draft law moves Georgia away from the EU instead of bringing it closer to it.