2024-04-17 12:49:01
As during the protests on Monday, there were arrests. The Ministry of the Interior reported that one police officer was injured.
The initiative, known as the “Russian law”, stipulates that, for example, non-governmental organizations receiving funds from abroad will have to disclose these sources of funding. According to Sakartwell’s government, this would provide more transparency and allow greater control over the extent of foreign influence. Many civil society and democracy promotion projects in Sakartvel are financed by the West – for this, among other things, funds from the EU and the USA are used.
Critics fear that such a law could be abused along the lines of the Russian model to stop these money flows and politically persecute pro-Western forces. The pro-European president of Sakartveli, Salome Zurabishvili, who is at loggerheads with the government, criticized the implementation of the draft law despite the protests. This is a provocation. This is in line with Russia’s strategy to destabilize the situation in Sakartvel, the president said.
The Chairman of the European Council, Charles Michel, reminded that Sakartveli was granted EU candidate status last December and that the aforementioned law is incompatible with that. This initiative will distance Sakartvela from the EU, instead of bringing it closer, he wrote on the X network.
The ruling Sakartvelo Dream party, meanwhile, rejected Western attempts to interfere and emphasized that this law is in the country’s interests. in 2023 The leadership of Sakartwell withdrew such a law after large protests from the population.
2024-04-17 12:49:01