Media restriction pulled in Georgia
TBILISI, Georgia — Georgia’s governing party said Thursday it would withdraw draft legislation that opponents — and tens of thousands of protesters who swarmed the capital — warned could stifle dissent and curtail media freedoms, ushering in Russian-style repression.
The bill would have required media and nongovernmental organizations that receive more than 20% of their funding from foreign sources to register as “agents of foreign influence.” Its opponents argued the bill was inspired by a similar law in Russia that’s used to silence critics, and could hinder Georgia’s aspirations of one day joining NATO and the European Union.
Protests against the bill began on Monday in the capital, Tbilisi, but swelled in recent days and were met with tear gas and water cannons. The Interior Ministry said 133 demonstrators were arrested, although Georgian police late announced they had released all who face administrative charges and not criminal prosecution, without specifying how many.
Citing the “controversy in society” the proposed law triggered, the governing Georgian Dream party and its allies said they would withdraw it.
But that process might be complicated since the bill already passed its first of three required readings. Protests resumed Thursday evening, with tens of thousands demonstrating to ensure the bill is actually abandoned — as well as the release of those arrested.
“Today definitely is the first victory that this protest has brought, but this fight has not ended yet,” said Nino Lomjaria, a former public defender rallying in front of parliament Thursday.
“We do not trust the promises of the ruling party, which it often gives just to defuse protests,” she said.
A session of Parliament to abolish the bill was scheduled for today at noon. Protesters vowed to gather outside.
Georgia’s president, Salome Zourabichvili, had already said she would veto the bill, indicating a growing divide between her and Georgian Dream. Zourabichvili does not belong to any party, but the ruling one backed her candidacy in the 2018 presidential election. Since assuming office, however, she has increasingly disagreed with their decisions and policies, especially on foreign affairs.
Opposition parties in recent years accused Georgian Dream of pursuing pro-Russian policies while claiming to be Western-oriented. Opponents charge that the party’s founder, billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili who amassed a fortune in Russia, has continued calling the shots in the Black Sea nation of 3.7 million, even though the former prime minister currently doesn’t hold a government job.
The party has repeatedly denied any links to Russia or that it leans toward Moscow.
Russia-Georgia relations have been rocky and complicated since the Soviet Union’s collapse. The two countries fought a short war in 2008 that ended with Georgia losing control of two Russia-friendly separatist regions. Tbilisi had severed diplomatic ties with Moscow, and the issue of the regions’ status remains a key irritant, even as relations have somewhat improved.