Protesters are outraged by the government’s efforts to pass a law against “foreign agents” that mirrors repressive Russian legislation.
Thousands of Georgians joined fresh protests in Tbilisi against a Russian-style “foreign agents” law, as the government insisted it would press ahead with the legislation even after some of the biggest protests since independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
Protesters began gathering at around 10pm (1800 GMT) on Sunday, with many vowing to spend the night outdoors to prevent lawmakers from entering the building for the third reading of the bill on Monday.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze previously said he intended to pass the bill this week and threatened protesters with prosecution.
The bill requires organizations that receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as agents of foreign influence or face punitive fines.
Carrying European Union and Georgian flags, protesters stormed Tbilisi’s main Rustaveli Avenue as Georgia’s pro-EU President Salome Zurabishvili warned protesters to beware of “provocations”, days after some activists reported harassment and the protesters were met with water cannons and tear gas.
Authorities warned they would arrest those who tried to block parliament.
But protesters appeared determined to block the bill – which they fear could harm Georgia’s long-standing goal of joining the European Union and compare it to Russia’s 2012 “foreign agents” law, which has been used to persecute government critics – become law. .
“We, as students, see no future with this Russian law,” said 20-year-old Nadezhda Polyakova, who was born and raised in Georgia but is ethnic Russian.
“We support Europe,” she added.
“I’m not going anywhere. It’s my 35th day of protest and I’ll be here all night,” said student Vakhtang Rukhaia. “I’m so mad and angry.”
The protests were dominated by Georgia’s younger generation, with many still at school or university.
“We are not afraid. We are Generation Z and we are Georgians,” said 19-year-old Nino, who declined to reveal her surname, worried about her mother’s job in the state sector.
The ruling Georgia Dream party initially tried to pass the law last year, but was forced to abandon the plan after a massive backlash.
Since then, the party’s billionaire founder and financier, Bidzina Ivanishvili, has declared NGOs internal enemies, accusing them of working for foreign governments and planning a revolution.
The project was revived with just one change in April. According to the latest version, NGOs, media outlets and journalists have to register as an “organization pursuing the interests of a foreign power” rather than an “agent of foreign influence”.
Protesters accuse the government of bringing the ex-Soviet country back into Moscow’s orbit after a 2008 war in which Russia seized the Georgian region of Abkhazia.
Georgia, which has traditionally had warm relations with the West, was granted EU candidate status in December.
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
