Tbilisi, Georgia:

Thousands of Georgians rallied Tuesday outside parliament after ruling party MPs adopted a divisive “foreign influence” law, overcoming a presidential veto on the bill despite Western warnings the move could jeopardise the country’s path to the European Union.

The law, which critics have compared to repressive Russian legislation used to silence dissent, forces groups receiving at least 20 percent of funding from abroad to register as “organisations pursuing the interests of a foreign power.”

The proposal has drawn fierce opposition from Western governments including the United States, which said the measure risked “stifling” freedom of expression in the Black Sea Caucasus nation.

Brussels warned the measure was “incompatible” with the ex-Soviet republic’s longstanding bid for EU membership, which is enshrined in the country’s constitution and supported — according to opinion polls — by more than 80 percent of the population.

Lawmakers voted 84 to 4 to pass the bill on Tuesday, after overriding pro-EU President Salome Zurabishvili’s veto.

Most opposition MPs walked out of the 150-seat chamber ahead of the vote.

The EU said that it deeply regretted the law being adopted, and foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said the bloc was “considering all options to react to these developments”.

‘Angry, frustrated’

Waving Georgian and EU flags, thousands of protesters gathered outside parliament on Tuesday evening with crowds swelling after the chamber voted to adopt the law. 

Georgia’s national anthem and EU’s Ode to Joy were performed at the rally.

Zurabishvili addressed the crowd by video link.

“You are angry today, aren’t you? Get angry, but let’s get to work. The work is that we have to prepare, first of all, for a true referendum,” she said referring to October’s elections.

“Do we want a European future or Russian slavery?  Eighty-four men cannot decide this, we can — we, all together.”

Georgia has been gripped by a wave of unprecedented daily rallies for the past seven weeks since the ruling Georgian Dream party revived the plans, which are similar to measures it dropped last year after a public outcry.

“I feel so angry, I feel so frustrated. The most important thing right now is to not lose hope,” protestor Lizi Kenchoshvili, 23, told AFP outside parliament minutes after the vote, vowing to continue protesting.

Opposition lawmaker Khatia Dekanoidze told AFP the result was to be expected.

“It’s not about the law, it’s about the geopolitical choice in favour of Russia. Right now we are waiting for the sanctions from the United States and also from the European Union,” she said.

Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said the idea of sanctions was not “serious”.

“No one can punish the Georgian people, and no one can punish the authorities elected by the Georgian people,” he told a press conference after the vote.

His party, Georgian Dream, says the law will ensure “transparency” and argues Western-funded groups undermine Georgia’s sovereignty.

But rights groups and Western governments warn the law will further ignite tensions in the deeply polarised Caucasus country ahead of October parliamentary elections seen as a key democratic test.

Non-governmental organisations, including anti-corruption group Transparency International, have told AFP the law could see their assets frozen and their work limited.

Tensions were high in the parliamentary chamber ahead of the vote, with opposition lawmaker Giorgi Vashadze doused with water as he gave a speech.

Scuffles and fights have broken out between government and opposition lawmakers on at least two previous occasions over the last month.

‘Derailing’

Earlier Borrell warned that Georgia’s government was “derailing from the European track.”

President Zurabishvili, a fierce critic of the ruling party, has called on the opposition to form a united front ahead of parliamentary elections in October.

The law was first adopted by parliament two weeks ago, but vetoed by Zurabishvili days later on May 18.

The United States announced last week it would place visa restrictions on Georgian officials should the bill be signed into law and was reviewing its relations with Tbilisi. 

Activists, independent journalists and opposition politicians have faced weeks of violence and threats since the government announced the draft legislation, in what rights groups have called a targeted campaign. 

Opposition politicians have accused the government of derailing Georgia from its Western trajectory and leading the country back to the Kremlin’s orbit — an accusation it denies.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Demonstrators attend an opposition protest against “the Russian law” near the Parliament building in the centre of Tbilisi, Georgia, on May 14, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

The Georgian Parliament on May 14 approved in the third and final reading a divisive bill that sparked weeks of mass protests, with critics seeing it as a threat to democratic freedoms and the country’s aspirations to join the European Union.

The bill requires media and nongovernmental organizations and other nonprofits to register as “pursuing the interests of a foreign power” if they receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad.

The government says the bill is necessary to stem what it deems as harmful foreign influence over the country’s politics and to prevent unspecified foreign actors from trying to destabilize it.

The opposition has denounced the bill as “the Russian law,” because Moscow uses similar legislation to crack down on independent news media, nonprofits and activists critical of the Kremlin.

Mass protests against the law in recent weeks have swept the South Caucasus nation of 3.7 million.

European Council President Charles Michel on May 14 spoke of Georgian lawmakers in Copenhagen, at a conference on democracy, and said that “if they want to join the EU, they have to respect the fundamental principles of the rule of law and the democratic principles.”

The bill is nearly identical to one that the governing Georgian Dream party was pressured to withdraw last year after street protests. Renewed demonstrations have rocked Georgia for weeks, with demonstrators scuffling with police, who used tear gas and water cannons to disperse the crowds.

Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili, who is increasingly at odds with the governing party, has vowed to veto the law but Georgian Dream has a majority sufficient to override a presidential veto. After the final reading in the parliament, the law will be sent to Ms. Zourabichvili, and she has 14 days to either veto or approve it.

A brawl erupted in Parliament as lawmakers were debating the bill earlier on May 14.

Georgian Dream MP Dimitry Samkharadze was seen charging toward Levan Khabeishvili, the chairman of main opposition party United National Movement, after Khabeishvili accused him of organizing mobs to beat up opposition supporters.

In recent days, several protesters and opposition members have been beaten up. The opposition linked the incidents to the protests.