The debate on a bill in the Georgian parliament ended in a smackdown. Deputies of different acronyms staged on Monday the division that exists in the country. They got into a fight in the chamber while discussing the so-called 'foreign agents law', a project that intends that organizations that receive more than 20% of their funds from abroad are registered as foreigners and have to be supervised by the Ministry of Justice.
Detractors of this future legislation point out that it is inspired by a similar one approved by Russia in 2012, which they consider served to gag and persecute dissidents. They fear that steps towards authoritarianism will be taken to suppress society and the independent media. The law on foreign agents promoted by an official formation will be studied this Tuesday in plenary session by legislators.
Anna Natsvlishvili, an opposition MP, encouraged citizens on Monday to take to the streets to "protest and prevent the adoption of this undemocratic law" and they flocked to the parliament building. About a thousand demonstrators gathered in front of the parliament building.
"No to Russian law!" chanted the protesters, some of whom threw eggs at the parliament building, heavily guarded by riot police. A Russian flag was even burned, which does not want its neighbor to be part of the European Union.
The party in power, Sueño Georgiano, has half of the seats in the chamber (75 out of 150) and it seems that with the support of its allies Fuerza del Pueblo they will push the law forward. Georgian President Salomé Zurabishvili said she would veto the bill if approved, calling it "inadmissible" and a threat to Georgia's EU membership.
However, the government of the former Soviet republic assures that the law seeks to "increase transparency and prevent the arrival of financing from hostile countries." They deny that it contradicts European principles. "After the first reading, it will be sent to the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe to issue an opinion," pro-government deputy Nikoloz Samjaradze told the EFE news agency.
The EU is considering the accession of Georgia, as well as Ukraine and Moldova. Last week Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili confirmed his country's "irreversible course" to become part of the European community. The EU requires Georgia to meet 12 conditions to deepen democracy, strengthen institutions and reduce political polarisation. Tbilisi says it has already implemented almost all the recommendations and hopes to get candidate country status by the end of the year.
