Georgia’s ruling party abandoned a draft law targeting “foreign agents” after a night of violent clashes between police and protesters in the capital, Tbilisi.
(Bloomberg) — Georgia’s ruling party abandoned a draft law targeting “foreign agents” after a night of violent clashes between police and protesters in the capital, Tbilisi.
“We saw how the legislation caused some turmoil,” the Georgian Dream party said in a statement Thursday abandoning the draft law that was bluntly criticized by the European Union and the US, which compared it to one used by President Vladimir Putin to crush dissent in Russia. “We have decided to withdraw the law unconditionally,” it said.
The announcement came hours after riot police fired tear gas and used a water cannon against demonstrators protesting outside the parliament in Tbilisi. It was the second night of violence in a row after lawmakers passed the draft law at first reading on Monday.
The measure threatened fines and imprisonment for as long as five years to organizations or individuals who receive at least 20% of their income from abroad and fail to register with the government as an “agent of foreign influence.” The EU and the US State Department both warned in unusually blunt terms that passage of the law would harm Georgia’s relations with them.
Opposition groups had labeled the proposal a “Russian law,” warning it would undermine Georgia’s decades-long efforts to escape Moscow’s influence and join the EU and NATO.
They won support from President Salome Zourabichvili, who called for the law to be dropped in a late-night video address from New York on Tuesday. She also pledged to veto the legislation that’s aimed at media and non-governmental organizations, and accused lawmakers who supported it of violating Georgia’s constitution.
Georgian Dream plans to submit the draft law for a further vote by lawmakers but will commit to ensure it doesn’t pass, Mamuka Mdinaradze, head of the party’s parliamentary faction, told reporters Thursday, calling the move a technical step to remove the bill.
Scenes From Protests in Georgia Against ‘Foreign Agents’ Law
Opposition activists held a further street rally Thursday evening and pledged to continue protests until the measure is withdrawn fully.
“The West has to realize that the future of Georgia is still in danger,” said Salome Samadashvili, an opposition lawmaker, adding that new elections should be called.
(Updates with ruling party official in seventh paragraph, further protests in eighth)
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