Thousands Protest in Tbilisi Against Proposed “Foreign Influence” Law: United Nations Human Rights Commissioner Urges Government to Drop Legislation

by time news

2024-05-02 20:28:02

Thousands of people took to the streets in the Georgian capital Tbilisi yesterday evening to protest against the proposed “foreign influence” law. United Nations Human Rights Commissioner Volker Türk called on the government to drop the law. Some of the demonstrators gathered in front of the parliament. Other protest participants moved to Heroes’ Square, where there is a monument to the Georgian soldiers who died in the war.

The demonstrators blocked the road to the square, the police arrested some of them and used pepper spray, as they had done the day before. In solidarity with those arrested, the demonstrators also marched from Parliament to Heroes’ Square. They chanted “No to Russia” and held up posters with portraits of ruling party MPs, calling them “traitors”.

Protests for weeks

Protests against the “Russian law” have been taking place in Georgia for several weeks. The bill passed its second reading on Wednesday. It states that organizations that receive at least 20 percent of their funding from abroad must be officially registered in Georgia. The ruling Georgian Dream party aims for the law to come into effect in mid-May.

Critics see a clear parallel between this and the law against “foreign agents” in Russia. This allows the authorities to take action against critical media and organizations.

Parliament must still pass the project in its third reading. Although pro-European President Salome Zurabishvili can veto the proposal, the pro-government MPs in the parliament in Tbilisi have a sufficient majority to override the President’s veto.

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