Georgian police, protesters clash during protest against ‘foreign agents’ bill

By Beyza Binnur Donmez

GENEVA (AA) - A clash erupted between Georgian police and protesters on the second day of protest against "foreign agents" bill, local media reported on Wednesday.

The confrontation began outside the parliament after protesters tried to remove metal barriers, according to 1TV, and the police forces used a water cannon to disperse them.

The approval of a draft law on "Transparency of Foreign Influence" led to the demonstrations in the capital on Tuesday.

Police called on the protestors to disperse, warning them that legal measures would be used against them if they refused to do so.

The bill requires individuals, civil society organizations and media outlets to register with the Justice Ministry as “agents of foreign influence” if they receive at least 20% of their funds from abroad.

It imposes additional reporting requirements, inspections and administrative and criminal liability including up to five years in prison for any violations.

Demonstrators reacted strongly to the adoption of the bill that was submitted by the People's Power Party. Opposition parties argue that the law in question is anti-democratic.

Some 76 deputies voted in favor and 13 against the bill, according to Shalva Papuashvili, a parliament speaker of the South Caucasus country.

Georgia's President Salome Zurabishvili, who is on an official visit to the US, expressed solidarity with the protesters in an address published on her Facebook account, noting that the draft law was prepared "on the orders" of Russia and "this law should be repealed no matter what."

"I said from the very first day that I would veto this law, and I will," she added.

Zurabishvili argued that the bill undermines Georgia's integration with the EU and NATO.

"You represent a free Georgia, a Georgia which sees its future in the West and won’t let anyone take this future away,” she said.

“Nobody needs this law…Everyone who has voted for this law has violated the constitution,” Zurabishvili added.

On Tuesday, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International in a statement called on Georgia’s parliament to "firmly reject" the bill.