Georgians take to streets over Kremlin threat
Thousands of protesters in Georgia had a stand-off with riot police on Wednesday (local time) amid a political crisis that could wreck their country's hopes of joining the European Union and bring it back under Kremlin control.
Waving Georgian and European Union flags, an estimated 20,000 people – up from 5000 the night before – demonstrated outside parliament in the capital of Tbilisi after MPs gave initial approval to a controversial “foreign agent” law.
The row is a decisive moment for Georgia, a country of 3.7 million people that gained independence from Moscow in 1991. “No to the Russia law,” protesters chanted as dozens were arrested when police used tear gas and pepper spray.
The rallies are being supported by Salome Zourabichvili, Georgia's prowestern president, as well as several celebrities, including Jaba Kankava, the captain of the national football team.
The unrest has echoes of the Maidan revolution in Kyiv in 2013 and 2014, which began when Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych withdrew from a deal to move Ukraine closer to the EU.
If it becomes law, the bill would compel media outlets, human rights groups and other non-governmental organisations that receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as an “organisation serving the interests of a foreign power”.
Opponents argue the legislation is inspired by a similar law in Russia that Putin has used to silence dissent. The bill would have to win two more votes before becoming law.
The EU warned that Georgia would face immense difficulties in joining the 27-nation bloc if the law comes into force. – The Times