Protests erupt in Georgia as parliament passes 'foreign influence' bill

By Davit Kachkachishvili

TBILISI, Georgia (AA) – Security forces in the former Soviet republic of Georgia intervened against demonstrators on Wednesday who were attempting to besiege parliament while protesting against a controversial "foreign influence" bill.

Protests in the capital Tbilisi against the government's "transparency of foreign influence" bill continued late into the day.

Thousands of protesters gathered around the parliament building, expressing their opposition to the bill's passage in a second vote.

Security forces intervened using tear gas and water cannons.

Demonstrators threw various objects at police teams stationed in the inner courtyard of the parliament building.

Some of them tried to set fires and erect barricades at the main entrance.

While protests in front of parliament continued, some activists also attempted to block traffic on various roads.

Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Aleksandre Darakhvelidze issued statements on the incidents during the demonstrations.

Accusing the protesters of attempting to enter the parliament building without permission, Darakhvelidze noted that seven police officers had been injured in the events over the past two days.

The "transparency of foreign influence" bill, presented to parliament by the ruling Georgian Dream Party, passed a second vote earlier in the day.

During the vote in the General Assembly, 83 members supported the bill while 23 members voted against it. The bill had already been approved in an initial vote.

For the bill to be accepted as law, it needs to be approved three times.

Mamuka Mdinaradze, the head of the ruling Georgian Dream party in Parliament, said about a month ago that more than 90% of the financing of civil society organizations operating in Georgia was not transparent.

Mdinaradze argued that it was impossible to obtain transparent information about the financing provided by international financial institutions to institutions such as non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and media in Georgia, saying they decided to reintroduce the “foreign influence” bill.

He said its content is the same as last year's bill, except that instead of "foreign agent influence," the bill now uses the definition of organizations favoring the interests of a foreign power.

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said the government works openly and transparently, emphasizing that all NGOs operating in the country should also work transparently.

The Georgian Dream Party first presented the bill to parliament in March last year.

The bill proposed that Georgian organizations receiving more than 20% of their funds from abroad would need to register as "foreign agents" or face fines.

Opponents and President Salome Zurabishvili claimed that the bill was prepared at Russia's behest and demanded its cancellation.

Opponents launched protests for the cancellation of the bill, leading to fights among parliament members in the assembly and protests in the streets of Tbilisi.

As the protests grew, the Georgian Dream Party withdrew the bill, which had received preliminary approval in parliament.

*Writing by Alperen Aktas from Istanbul