The vote came as street protests continued outside the building for more than a month.
Tbilisi:
Georgia’s parliament on Tuesday adopted a controversial “foreign influence” law that sparked weeks of mass protests against the measure, which Brussels warned would undermine Tbilisi’s European aspirations.
Lawmakers voted 84 to 30 to pass, on its third and final reading, the law, which was widely denounced as a reflection of repressive Russian legislation used to silence dissent.
The vote came as street protests continued outside the building for more than a month.
Fights broke out inside the chamber earlier when opposition lawmakers, who strongly oppose the measure, clashed with lawmakers from the ruling Georgian Dream party before the vote.
And there were also clashes between riot police and protesters in front of the building in the center of Tbilisi.
Critics say the bill is a symbol of the former Soviet republic’s move closer to Russia’s orbit in recent years.
Around 2,000 protesters, mainly young people, gathered in front of parliament for another day of protests on Tuesday.
“No to Russian law,” they shouted as news that parliament had adopted the bill spread through the crowd.
Tbilisi saw weeks of mass demonstrations over the bill that culminated on Saturday when around 100,000 people took to the streets in the largest anti-government demonstration in Georgia’s recent history.
The EU said the law was “incompatible” with Georgia’s long-standing attempt to join the 27-nation bloc, while Washington warned that its adoption would signal Tbilisi’s departure from the Western orbit.
Both protesters and Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze promised not to back down.
“We will protest until this Russian government leaves our country,” said Salomé, 20, outside Parliament on Tuesday.
New rallies were called for Tuesday night.
– Fears about EU integration –
The bill requires NGOs and media outlets that receive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad to register as bodies that “pursue the interests of a foreign power.”
Russia has used a similar law to silence public figures and organizations that disagree with or deviate from the Kremlin’s views.
The EU repeated its position on Tuesday that the bill undermines Tbilisi’s desire to move closer to the bloc.
“EU member countries are very clear that if this law is adopted, it will be a serious obstacle for Georgia in its European perspective,” said their spokesman, Peter Stano.
Last year, Georgia was granted official EU membership and Brussels is expected to decide in December on whether to formally launch accession talks – an unlikely prospect after the law’s adoption.
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili – who is at odds with the government – has promised to veto the law, although Georgian Dream has enough MPs to override it.
Young Georgians expressed outrage that Europe’s closer future was at risk.
“We were five years old when the war with Russia happened. We have bad childhood memories of it,” Doborjginidze said, referring to Moscow’s 2008 invasion of Georgia.
Georgian society is staunchly anti-Kremlin. Georgia’s candidacy for EU and NATO membership is enshrined in its constitution and – according to opinion polls – supported by more than 80 percent of the population.
Georgian Dream withdrew from passing a similar “foreign agents” law a year ago in the face of massive street demonstrations.
NGOs and government critics reported months of intimidation and harassment in the run-up to the bill’s reintroduction, in a targeted campaign that intensified amid tensions.
– ‘Worried but not scared’ –
Georgian Dream described the protesters as violent mobs, insisted it was committed to joining the EU and said the bill aimed to increase the transparency of NGO funding.
But the party’s main supporter, Bidzina Ivanishvili – a secretive figure who made a fortune in 1990s Russia – gave an anti-Western speech last month and accused NGOs of planning a revolution with Western support.
The controversy surrounding the bill comes five months before a parliamentary election seen as a crucial democratic test for the Black Sea country.
Some protesters say their ultimate goal is to eliminate Georgian Dream, which has been in power since 2012.
“We are waiting for when we will have the option to choose a new government,” said Peter, a 27-year-old hotel manager who declined to give his surname out of fear for his safety.
“These people inside don’t listen to us,” said teacher Mariam Javakhishvili, standing outside parliament with her son.
The 34-year-old said ruling party lawmakers were undoing the progress made since the collapse of the Soviet Union, adding: “I don’t want to let this happen to my children.”
“I’m worried about police violence, but I’m not afraid of it.”
(Except the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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