Thousands of Georgians are protesting in Tbilisi to mark Independence Day, coinciding with protests against the recently passed controversial “foreign agents” law, Georgian media reported.
The controversial law, put forward by the ruling Georgian Dream party, targets non-governmental organisations and media outlets that receive funding from abroad, sparking outrage across the country. Protesters held Georgian and EU flags, calling the protest a fight for democracy against a pro-Russian government. Georgia’s ruling party in parliament has said it intends to override the president’s veto of the law.
25-year-old protestor Giorgi told AFP:
This law is a big threat. The government will use this in the way they want. That’s why we are all standing here, to say: we want independence, we want a united Georgia and we want Europe.
Kate, a 41-year-old worker at a local aviation manufacturer, told AFP she believed the law would “kill free society”. She also said:
I don’t want to leave my country. I want to stay here, to raise my child here, I want to see my country really free.
The US State Department announced visa restrictions on individuals involved in or responsible for creating the “Kremlin law,” including their immediate family members. Secretary Antony Blinken stated that the law suppresses freedom of association and expression, restricts the activities of organisations that serve the citizens of Georgia, and suppresses independent media outlets that provide critical information and coverage of events in the country.
Blinken also noted that the government is engaged in intimidating people participating in protests against the law, calling it a repressive tactic that could lead to a democratic setback for the country.
UN human rights chief Volker Turk also said a few days ago that the recently adopted law on foreign agents undermines freedom of expression in the country and that Georgian lawmakers ignored warnings from human rights organisations in passing it.
Since April, police have arrested 300 people, many of whom have faced ill-treatment during arrest and detention.
