How are the protests going?
Thousands of protesters are trying to storm the Parliament of Georgia. The rally turned into riots. Pre-prepared Molotov cocktails fly into the security forces. In response, the special forces are trying to disperse the crowd with water cannons and tear gas.
According to our information, there are several special forces units in the parliament building that are trying to stop the protesters. People are moving along Rustaveli Avenue – these are the people who were near the Parliament just a few minutes ago. After the special forces used tear gas, they move a little to the side.
The reaction of the authorities
So the protesters say their “no” to the law on foreign agents, the parliament approved its draft in the first reading. The document provides for the registration of non-profit companies and the media as foreign agents, if at least 20 percent of them are financed from abroad. Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili strongly opposed the bill.
“I said from day one that I would veto this law! I don’t care about its article-by-article discussion, I don’t care about its similarity to some old American law, which, as we know very well, serves a completely different purpose”– said Zurabishvili.
What did the US and EU say?
It is noteworthy that Madame President tried to calm the protesters from the United States, where a similar law has been in force since 1938. In Georgia, their document was called “On the transparency of foreign influence.” But, oddly enough, Washington was one of the first to oppose such transparency.
“This bill will be to blame for jeopardizing the very Euro-Atlantic aspirations of the Georgian people. This is a blow to the US aspirations to be a trading partner of Georgia”– said the press secretary of the US State Department, Ned Price.
Supported the protesters and the European Union. Josep Borrell said that the law is not compatible with their values and hinted that the country might never get the status of an EU candidate.
“This is contrary to the stated goal of Georgia to join the European Union, which is supported by the vast majority of Georgian citizens”Borrell said.
The dispersal of riots in Tbilisi and the detention of aggressive protesters caused a flurry of negativity in the West. The US State Department plans to impose sanctions on those who suppressed the protest.
