Georgia's European dream fades: street protests against the “Russian law”
Rights — di Lucia Bellinello
The foreign agents law, used in Russia to suppress dissent, has been passed at first reading, sparking protests.
Georgia's European dream fades: street protests against the “Russian law”
The foreign agents law, used in Russia to suppress dissent, has been passed at first reading, sparking protests.
Thousands took to the streets for several consecutive days, outside the parliament in the centre of Tbilisi, Georgia, to protest against the so-called "Russian law": a law that distances this South Caucasus country, a former Soviet republic, from the European dream and hints at a shift in the direction of Moscow. But let us take things in order.
On 15 April 2024, a bill was tabled in parliament that would require media outlets and non-commercial organisations receiving more than twenty per cent of their funding from abroad to register as "organisations pursuing the interests of a foreign power". The draft, proposed by the ruling party Georgian Dream officially to "ensure transparency" in financial activities, closely resembles legislation already in force in Russia, where it has been used by the regime to classify and stigmatise the independent press and obstruct organisations not aligned with Kremlin policy — mostly bodies that campaign for civil rights and LGBTQ+ equality. Chaos immediately ensued: while parliamentary majority leader Mamuka Mdinaradze was delivering his speech in the chamber, opposition MP Aleksandr Elisashvili, of the Citizens party, launched himself at him and punched him in the head. A brawl broke out.
MP and leader of the opposition Citizens Party, Aleko Elisashvili, has punched Georgian Dream parliamentary leader Mamuka Mdinardze in the face in parliament.
➡️ Follow for live updates on Georgia’s draft foreign agent law: oc-media.org/live-updates-g…
➡️ Follow for live updates on Georgia’s draft foreign agent law: oc-media.org/live-updates-g…
Meanwhile, crowds of protesters began to gather in the square. First hundreds. Then thousands. People assembled outside the Tbilisi parliament waving European Union flags and chanting slogans such as "No to the Russian law!". The previous year, protesters had already managed to halt the passage of this very same law, which had been rejected precisely because of the strong public discontent. A year on, however, the draft was pulled out of the drawer once again. The bill is the same; only a few words have changed: the revised version of the text replaces the designation "foreign agent" with "organisation pursuing the interests of a foreign power". The crowd grew heated and for several days kept vigil outside parliament.
The protests were also joined by members of the men's national football team, which recently qualified for Euro 2024: captain Jaba Kankava shared Instagram stories expressing his support for the protesters; other national team players, including Naples striker Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Giorgi Mamardashvili, goalkeeper for Valencia, also wrote on social media: "Georgia's path is towards Europe. The European path unites us! Forward to Europe! Peace to Georgia."
Women also took to the streets, organising an entirely female protest march.
Among them were many Russian women. In total, twenty thousand people took to the streets, not only in the capital but also in the city of Batumi. There were clashes with police and some arrests. For a moment the crowd seemed to have the upper hand: the debate on the bill was postponed. But not for long.
The law passed at first reading
Two days later, in a vote boycotted by the opposition, the ruling party Georgian Dream passed the controversial bill at first reading, with 83 votes in favour and none against. The first step had been taken. The intention of the executive, led by Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, known for his anti-Western rhetoric, appears to be to push the law through before the parliamentary and presidential elections next autumn. The evident aim is to reduce foreign political interference and nip any potential "colour revolutions" in the bud in the aftermath of the elections.
But the path towards full passage of the text runs up against the decidedly opposed position of the president, the pro-European Salomé Zourabichvili, a French diplomat who became a naturalised Georgian, who has already announced her intention to veto the bill should it receive approval in all three readings.
Third night of dignified protest against the adoption of the Russian law! On one side the people of Georgia , on the other 83 MP’s who voted against our European future. The people always win!
The fear is that this legislation, so similar to the repressive law adopted in Russia and Belarus, could jeopardise accession talks with the European Union: in December 2023, Georgia obtained the status of EU candidate country (the other candidate countries are Bosnia-Herzegovina, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine).
This is how #Gen Z ended today's protest in front of the Parliament of Georgia, announcing an action for tomorrow at 19:00
#NoToRussianLaw
#NoToRussianLaw
Reactions to the protests in Georgia
As expected, criticism came from Brussels: EU High Representative for Foreign Policy Josep Borrell described the Georgian parliament's move as "a very worrying development" and warned that "the final adoption of this legislation would negatively impact Georgia's progress on its path towards the EU", adding that "this law is not in line with EU core norms and values".
Georgia: the “transparency of foreign influence” law is not in line with EU norms & values. If adopted, it would limit CSO & media work and freedom of expression.
We urge Leaders to refrain from adopting legislation that can compromise Georgia’s EU path. eeas.europa.eu/eeas/georgia-s…
We urge Leaders to refrain from adopting legislation that can compromise Georgia’s EU path. eeas.europa.eu/eeas/georgia-s…
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, for his part, said the law is necessary to ensure financial transparency among grant recipients. The parliamentary majority accuses NGOs of interfering in elections and spreading a pseudo-liberal ideology, promoting LGBTQ+ propaganda and attacks on the Orthodox Church.
The leader of the Georgian Dream party, former Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, said the foreign agents law could be abolished once Georgia joins the EU: a statement that has the tone of a challenge, given that Garibashvili stressed how the legislation carries no weight since Brussels is not currently ready for expansion.
Politician Giorgi "Gigi" Ugulava, former mayor of Tbilisi, who also joined the protesters in the streets, explained the return of this law as follows: "It is a hallmark of Russian influence, that is to say of Putinism," he told the Dozhd channel. "This law is being discussed not only in Georgia, but also in Kyrgyzstan, in the occupied territory of Abkhazia and in Slovakia — in other words, in those countries where the Russian authorities exert their influence. I do not think that is a coincidence."
Tbilisi's relations with Moscow
Once part of the Soviet Union, Georgia gained independence in 1991 with the collapse of the USSR. And since then its relations with Moscow have always been turbulent, above all after 2008, when Russia invaded Georgia in support of the separatist regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, defeating Georgian troops within a matter of days and occupying the two territories, which together make up approximately twenty per cent of Georgia's territory.
However, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Tbilisi refused to impose sanctions on Moscow, citing commercial reasons (in 2022, exports to Russia actually increased by 6.8 per cent and imports by 79 per cent: the highest level in sixteen years) and pointing out that the West had continued to do business with Russia as if nothing had happened even after the 2008 war between Moscow and Tbilisi. Russia, with which Georgia has had no diplomatic relations since 2008, responded by restoring direct flights between the two countries and abolishing the visa requirement imposed on Georgian citizens in the early 2000s. This rapprochement should not, however, be read as a full reconciliation.
According to some commentators, Tbilisi's ambiguous stance can