Mass protests against the adoption of the law on “foreign agents” continue in Georgia. Thousands of protesters marched to the building of the Georgian parliament.
People are chanting the slogan “No Russian Law”, because the law, which caused outrage in the Georgian society, is a copy of a similar Russian law. The video from Tbilisi was shown by the Russian TV channel Dozhd.
“A procession of protesters against the law on “foreign agents” began in Tbilisi. People walk down the street to the parliament building in a column with a banner and the slogan No Russian Law,” the report says.
Protests in Georgia over the adoption of the law on “foreign agents” by the parliament began on March 6, when deputies discussed the scandalous bill on “foreign agents” in parliament. While the degree of tension inside the parliament reached such a level that some deputies staged a brawl, people gathered at the walls of the parliament with the flags of the European Union and Georgia, they turned on the EU anthem. There were a lot of police patrolling nearby, and limited access to the building was introduced.
The participants held an action under the slogan “No to Russian law in Georgia.” Many held posters of Russian dictator Putin and Irakli Kobakhidze, chairman of Georgia’s ruling party who supports the passage of the law on “foreign agents.”
And already on March 7, the Georgian Parliament adopted in the first reading the draft law “On the transparency of foreign influence.” It has a great similarity with the Russian legislation on “foreign agents”.
In particular, it provides for the registration as agents of foreign influence of non-commercial legal entities and the media, whose income is more than 20% received from abroad.
For evading registration as an agent of foreign influence or failure to complete the declaration, the organization will be fined about 9 thousand dollars.
Therefore, on March 7, the protests resumed with renewed vigor: thousands of people took to the streets.
In Tbilisi, Georgian police used rubber balloons, water cannons and tear gas to disperse protesters. In response, the protesters used Molotov cocktails. In the end, however, the police took over.
The world has already reacted to what is happening in Georgia. The EU has warned Georgia of “serious consequences” due to the law that caused massive protests, and the US has announced sanctions.
Source: Obozrevatel
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