Early on March 8th, Georgian police dispersed a demonstration against a proposed law on “foreign agents” outside the parliament using water cannons and tear gas.
A few hours earlier, police and protesters engaged in combat as some of the latter hurled rocks and gasoline bombs. The mob then assembled in front of the parliament, where some individuals tore down temporary metal barriers meant to keep people away from the structure.
After lawmakers initially supported the measure, which detractors claim reflects a shift towards authoritarianism and could harm the nation’s application to join the European Union, protests broke out.
A law that would compel any organizations receiving more than 20% of their financing from outside to register as “foreign agents” or face significant fines was opposed by thousands of protesters, some of whom were flying EU and Ukrainian flags.
Late on Tuesday night, police with riot shields and tear gas canisters responded aggressively to protestors’ protests. Stones and at least three petrol bombs were thrown at police.
Georgia’s Interior Ministry has issued a request for demonstrators to disperse and has threatened to take “legal measures” to restore order.
“The demonstration on Tbilisi’s Rustaveli Avenue in front of the parliament has turned violent. There have been incidents of violence against ministry staff, and protestors attempted to block one of the parliament’s doors, according to a statement from the interior ministry.
The Georgian measure has drawn a lot of flak for potentially having a chilling effect on Georgian civil society, especially NGOs and journalistic outlets with ties to Europe.
The bill would restrict the freedoms of expression and association in the nation with onerous financial reporting requirements, according to Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International.
The “foreign agent” measures “aim to marginalize and discredit independent, foreign-funded NGOs and media that serve the larger public interest in Georgia,” according to Hugh Williamson, director of Human Rights Watch’s Europe and Central Asia division.
The legislation would be “incompatible with EU values and standards,” according to a statement released by the EU on Tuesday, and it might “have serious repercussions on our relations.”
Ned Price, a spokesman for the US State Department, stated in February that “anyone voting for this proposed legislation” could jeopardise Georgia’s ties to the West and Europe.
The former Soviet country has had to strike a balance between the pro-European sentiment of its populace and its geographic location next to Russia. Dmitry Medvedev, a former Russian president, claimed in 2011 that Georgia would have joined NATO if Russia hadn’t attacked it in 2008.