A rally is held in Tbilisi around the parliament against the law on foreign agents. The police used water cannon against them. Special forces used tear gas and water cannon to disperse the rally around the Georgian parliament, RIA Novosti reported. The action has been going on at four points on the adjacent land of the building since the early hours of the morning. Vehicle traffic on the central Rustaveli Boulevard was blocked.
According to the news of Izvestia, the protesters also started throwing Molotov cocktails at the police officers. Police responded with tear gas and rubber bullets, according to Sputnik Georgia. The publication also explains that demonstrators began throwing stones at law enforcement in addition to bottles of Molotov cocktails.
According to TASS, protesters tore down fences and broke through the barricade set up by the police near the parliament. They tried to enter the Georgian parliament building, but security forces were waiting for the protesters in the courtyard. Pressurized water was used against those who entered the assembly area. Smoke came out of a window on the third floor of the building, The Moscow Times reporter reported. Tear gas grenades were thrown at the protesters from the rooftops.
On Tuesday night, Parliament passed the Foreign Influence Transparency Bill with a majority vote at first reading, despite ongoing protests since last week.
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili is currently in New York. According to his administration, Zurabishvili recorded the meetings scheduled to prepare an urgent call to the public. In it, he expressed his support for the protesters against the Foreign Agents Act and vowed to veto the Foreign Agents Act, saying, “Those who voted for this law today violate the constitution.”
According to the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs, in clashes near the Georgian parliament building in Tbilisi, a large number of police officers were injured, police equipment and equipment were damaged. The ministry also reported that the protest against the foreign agents law “exceeds the scope of freedom of expression and peaceful assembly” and has turned violent. The protesters “used proportionate force and special means within their legal mandate”, disobeying the instructions of Ministry of Interior employees.
The US Embassy described the events as “a black day for Georgian democracy”. He considers the law itself “inspired by the Kremlin” and is incompatible with the country’s European integration. Irakli Kobakhidze, head of the ruling Georgian Dream party, said in response, “today is a ‘rainy day’ only for the radical opposition and its associated forces.”
The US State Department stated that due to the situation around the law on foreign agents, they do not exclude the possibility of the Georgian authorities imposing sanctions on their representatives.
Bill and rallies
The bill “On Transparency of Foreign Influence” includes the creation of a register of non-governmental organizations, media and organizations that receive funding from a foreign government. The opposition believes that the adoption of the new law will make it difficult for Georgia to join the European Union. They think the bill is a “Russian version” of the foreign agents law. The authors of the bill claimed that they were guided by the laws of the United States and other democratic states.
On February 14, representatives of the opposition movement People’s Power submitted the project to parliament for consideration. The move emerged in August 2022 when a group of lawmakers left the ruling Georgian Dream, fearing that Georgia would be drawn into war. According to them, the task of the movement is not to “attack Western institutions” but to protect and preserve the prestige of Western institutions in Georgia.
In response, the Georgian Dream deputies stated that they would try to overcome it even if President Zurabishvili vetoed the bill.
On March 6, during the debate of the draft law in the parliament, Anri Okhanashvili, the representative of the parliamentary majority, quarreled with opposition lawmakers. The brawl in the parliament was followed by a rally around the building.
“We forcibly expelled all opposition MPs, including women. Opposition MP Yeka Kherkheulidze said the building was surrounded by police, journalists were not allowed in, which means that the law has already begun to work.
On March 3, Tbilisi police detained 36 protesters. They were accused of petty hooliganism and disobedience to the demands of law enforcement.
The context of the bill’s adoption
On February 15, European Parliament Member Andrews Kubilius said that representatives of all political parties agreed on the EP resolution on the transfer of Georgia’s former President Mikheil Saakashvili from prison for medical treatment abroad.
“If the Georgian Dream maintains the same attitude towards Saakashvili’s situation, it will be revealed that the Georgian government has not implemented the recommendations. [Еврокомиссии для получения статуса кандидата в ЕС]Which will affect Georgia’s European status. We hope you understand what the consequences will be for Tbilisi. You won’t get this status if you don’t play by our rules.”
said Kubilius.
According to Kubilius, one of the recommendations directly concerns Saakashvili.
Saakashvili has been in a Georgian prison since 2021, when he illegally crossed the Georgian border. He was subsequently sentenced to six years in prison for organizing the attack on MP Valery Gelashvili in 2005. The opposition demanded his release. It was reported that he suffered from dementia while in prison.
The European Parliament has also demanded sanctions against Georgian billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili – they believe she is responsible for Saakashvili’s imprisonment in Europe.
In response to the statements of the European Parliament on February 26, the Mayor of Tbilisi, Georgian Dream Secretary General Kakha Kaladze said that Georgia could refuse EU membership if European politicians put pressure on them.
“This is a staged performance – the “bringing” of Mikheil Saakashvili to Georgia. This was done to carry out a coup. This is part of the game and blackmail. Georgian authorities will play according to Georgian rules, act in line with the interests of the country and act in line with the national interests of the people. “But if they make a political decision to deny a candidate’s status, they won’t give us that status, then let them keep it for themselves,” he said.
He also stated that they were trying to blackmail Tbilisi for refusing to “participate in the war” against Russia.