Tbilisi, Georgia — The speaker of Georgia’s parliament said he gave his final backing on Monday to a divisive “foreign agents” bill that has sparked weeks of protests by critics who say it will restrict press freedom and jeopardize Georgia’s chances of joining the European Union.
Shalva Papuashvili signed the bill into law after the legislature, controlled by the ruling Georgian Dream party, rejected President Salomé Zourabichvili’s veto.
The invoicewhich was passed by Parliament last month, requires media outlets, non-governmental organizations and other non-profit groups to register as “pursuing the interests of a foreign power” if they receive more than 20% of their funding. from abroad.
Zourabichvili, who is increasingly at odds with the ruling party, vetoed it, accusing the ruling party of endangering the country’s future and “standing in the way of becoming a full member of the free and democratic world.”
The government maintains the law is necessary to curb what it sees as harmful foreign actors trying to destabilize the South Caucasus nation of 3.7 million people, but many Georgian journalists and activists say the bill’s real goal is to stigmatize them. and restrict debate before parliamentary elections scheduled for October.
Opponents have denounced the legislation as “Russian law” because it resembles measures pushed by the Kremlin to crack down on independent media, nonprofits and activists. Critics say the move may have been pushed by Moscow to thwart Georgia’s chances for greater integration with the West.
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Monday again dismissed the criticism as “unnecessary emotions that had only an artificial basis.”
“Now the law has come into force and we all have to act pragmatically, with a cool mind and put aside unnecessary emotions,” he said.
The bill is almost identical to one that the ruling party was pressured to withdraw last year after massive street protests. New demonstrations again gripped Georgia when the bill was passed this time in parliament. Protesters clashed with police, who used tear gas and water cannon to disperse them.
Papuashvili, the speaker of parliament, reaffirmed after signing the bill that its main objective is to “increase the resistance of Georgia’s political, economic and social systems to external interference.” “If non-governmental organizations and media want to participate in the decision-making process and influence the lives of the Georgian people with funding from foreign governments, they must meet the minimum standard of transparency: the public must know who is behind of each actor. ,” he said.
The European Union’s foreign policy arm has said the adoption of the law “negatively impacts Georgia’s progress on the path to the EU.”
The EU offered Georgia candidate status last December, while making clear that Tbilisi needs to implement key policy recommendations for its membership bid to move forward.
Following parliamentary approval of the bill last month, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that travel sanctions would be imposed on Georgian officials “who are responsible or complicit in undermining democracy in Georgia.” He expressed hope that the Georgian government will change course and “take steps to advance his nation’s democratic and Euro-Atlantic aspirations.”
The opposition United National Movement has described the bill as part of Georgian Dream’s efforts to drag the country into Russia’s sphere of influence, claims the ruling party angrily rejects. Georgian Dream was founded by Bidzina Ivanishvili, a former prime minister and billionaire who made his fortune in Russia.
Relations between Russia and Georgia have often been difficult since Georgia became independent following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
In 2008, Russia fought a brief war with Georgia, which had made an unsuccessful attempt to regain control of the breakaway province of South Ossetia. Moscow then recognized South Ossetia and another breakaway province, Abkhazia, as independent states and reinforced its military presence there. Most of the world considers both regions to be part of Georgia.
Tbilisi cut diplomatic relations with Moscow, and the status of the regions remains a source of irritation even as relations between Russia and Georgia have improved in recent years.
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