Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili said she supported the protesters who took to the streets of Tbilisi after the law on foreign agents (“Transparency of foreign influence”) was passed at the first reading and vowed to veto it. He explained this in a video message posted on Facebook (the owner, Meta, was considered extremist and banned in Russia).
Earlier, Zurabishvili had canceled their meeting in New York because of the rallies.
“This law must be repealed in any form. It should not be sent to the Venice Commission (Council of Europe – constitutional law advisory body established under socialbites.ca). The Venice Commission knows very well what kind of law this is. “I said from the beginning that I would veto this law, and I will,” he said.
According to him, this law removes Georgia from the European Union and those who advocate the adoption of the document violate the Georgian constitution.
On the evening of March 7, the Georgian parliament passed the foreign agents law in its first reading, causing thousands of protesters to take to the streets. Protesters tried to approach the parliament’s service entrance, but police blocked the entrance. According to Georgian media, the security forces applied Against the gas of the protesters, deputies evacuated the Georgian Parliament building.