Despite the withdrawal of the bill on foreign agents: in Georgia, the opposition announced its intention to continue the protests

Mass riots continued in Tbilisi last night, the reason for which was the adoption on March 7 by the country's parliament in the first reading of the bill on foreign agents.

According to media reports, the protests that began on the evening of March 7 were dispersed by police forces on the night of March 8, but in the afternoon of the same day, people again began to gather in the center of Tbilisi.

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, protests resumed on March 8 were peaceful at first, but later one of the people who spoke at the rally called on the audience to picket the parliament building.

According to Sputnik Georgia, on the afternoon of March 8, there were already about 10 thousand people in the city center.

In the course of subsequent events, the Georgian Interior Ministry noted, the protesters went beyond the norms of expressing freedom of speech and peaceful assembly and damaged the parliament building.

Protesters damaged protective structures around the parliament building, smashed several windows and threw pyrotechnics into the building.

According to the ministry, the police attempted to expel the aggressive rally participants from the area around the parliament building and called on the crowd to disperse, but they did not obey and began to throw Molotov cocktails, stones, sticks and other objects at law enforcement officers.

Subsequently, the rioters overturned and set fire to several vehicles of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and also damaged the fire truck and the facades of buildings on Rustaveli Avenue.

As RT correspondent Don Korter reported from the scene, the protesters tried to throw firecrackers at the windows of parliament, and also broke street benches and built barricades out of them.

Korter also said that the protesters were carrying the flags of the EU, Ukraine and the United States.

As a result of the events of last night, about ten employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs were injured.

The police detained 66 people, bringing the total number of people detained for participation in protests in two days to 133.

Bill on foreign agents

On March 7, the Parliament of Georgia in the first reading supported the so-called draft law on foreign agents (“On the Transparency of Foreign Influence”), which proposed the formation of a register of non-governmental organizations, media and entities whose income is 20% or more from foreign funding.

In accordance with the provisions of the document, organizations falling under such criteria are required to register, they are also required to provide financial statements.

For violations, a fine of 25 thousand lari (about $9.5 thousand) is provided.

The initiators of the bill argued that its task is to ensure transparency in the financing of the media and non-governmental organizations, while opponents of the initiative insisted that the document leads to Georgia's deviation from the pro-Western course and hinders the country's prospects for joining the European Union.

The US State Department and the EU Foreign Service also spoke out against the law.

The Georgian parliament also planned to consider an "American" version of the bill, similar in content to the FARA law adopted in the United States in 1938.

The difference between this document and the Georgian version is that in the American version, the status of a foreign agent is also provided for individuals.

At the same time, according to American law, violation of FARA provisions is punishable by a fine of up to $250,000 or imprisonment for up to five years.

Meanwhile, against the backdrop of protests, the ruling Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia party announced the withdrawal of the draft law on the transparency of foreign influence, the adoption of which in the first reading was the reason for mass riots in Tbilisi.

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According to a statement published on the website of the political association, the document caused controversy in society.

According to the party, the bill was presented in a false light, as a result of which part of the population was "misled."

“Its adoption in the first hearing was presented as the fact that the country turned off the European course ... As the ruling force, responsible to every member of society, we decided, of course, without any persuasion, to withdraw the bill we supported,” Sputnik quotes a fragment of a statement Georgia.

Meanwhile, the Georgian opposition announced its intention to continue protests, despite the announcement of the decision to withdraw the bill.

This, in particular, was stated by the representative of the party "Girchi - more freedom!"

Tsotne Koberidze.

“There will definitely be an action today.

Young people do not have confidence in Georgian Dream.

We demand the fulfillment of two points: we need clarity on how they plan to withdraw the project, and second, it is necessary to release those people who fought with us, ”RIA Novosti quotes him as saying.

“A reason to bring people to mass actions”

Press Secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow has nothing to do with the resonant Georgian bill on foreign agents.

He noted that the United States became the pioneer in the practice of introducing these laws in the late 1930s.

“One version of the bill, if we understand correctly, was very similar to a similar law in the United States.

The second option was less similar to the law of the United States and was much softer in nature.

But we have nothing to do with either one," Peskov said.

At the same time, he noted that the unrest in the neighboring country is a cause for concern for the Russian side.

An expert at the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation Denis Denisov, in an interview with RT, noted that the bill on foreign agents in Georgia was nothing more than an excuse to try to lead part of the population to mass actions of disobedience to the authorities.

As the expert emphasized, one of the bills that resonated is “almost an exact copy of the law that is in force in the United States,” and the second document is its adaptation to Georgian realities.

“There is nothing super-ultraordinary in them.

Similar laws are applied in about 50 countries around the world.

But, as I said, this became an occasion for representatives of the conditional opposition to try to bring people to mass actions that would be directed against the current government, ”the expert said in an interview with RT.

He noted that if the bill were adopted, the document would only more clearly regulate those organizations that receive funding from outside at the legislative level.

“For these organizations, obviously, if the law is adopted, their activities will be complicated.

What, in fact, caused these mass actions, ”Denisov believes.

As Alexander Chachia, head of the Center for Research on Globalization Problems, noted, the draft law being discussed in Georgia looks “super soft” compared to the norms in force in the US.

“Despite this, the same storm of indignation arose in American ruling circles, in European ones.

The same rose when Russia adopted a similar law.

Although the Russian law is much softer, tolerant and democratic compared to the American one, ”Chachia said in an interview with RT.

According to him, a wave of indignation in Georgia was raised by non-governmental organizations themselves, which are financed by Western structures.

“The network of these organizations has been created for 30 years.

A significant part of the strongest, most stable, most actively funded remained.

These are several dozen organizations that continue to be active.

Naturally, the possible threat to financial well-being excited and brought to the street, ”the expert said.

In turn, Deputy Director of the Institute of CIS Countries Vladimir Zharikhin connected the protests in Georgia with external attempts to create tension near the Russian borders.

“Apparently, the command was given to decisively oppose and generally arrange unrest in Georgia.

Based on the general policy of creating tension around Russia.

Looking for the weak link.

I must say that they tried to rock Armenia, but it did not work out very well.

We took on Georgia, ”he said in an interview with RT.

According to Zharikhin, there are many people in Georgia whose activities could fall under the law on foreign agents.

“Because all kinds of non-governmental organizations have built their nests, especially after they were asked from other neighboring countries,” he explained.