Clashes have broken out in Georgia’s parliament. The row is about a controversial bill, which means that media and organizations with foreign connections could be labeled as pursuing “the interests of a foreign power”.
Tens of thousands of people in the capital have protested against the bill.
Video footage from a hearing in the Georgian parliament on Monday shows an opposition lawmaker punching a member of the ruling party in the head.
This is followed by continued scuffling and the live broadcast is interrupted.
Georgians have gathered outside parliament in protest against the bill, which they say could undermine the country’s bid to join the EU. Demonstrators have unfurled a large EU flag and chant “no to the Russian law”.
– Georgian society is strong enough not to let the country slide into Russian authoritarian style, says participant Saba Gotua outside parliament.
– We will not let Georgian Dream waste Georgia’s historic chance to become an EU member.
Forced to back off
The ruling Georgian Dream party tried to introduce a similar law last year, but was forced to back down after widespread protests in the capital, Tbilisi.
The new reformulated bill now under discussion means that independent organizations that receive more than 20 percent of their funding from other countries will be registered as an “organization that pursues the interests of a foreign power.”
Around 10,000 people took to the streets of the capital Tbilisi to criticize the bill.
Georgia has been trying to strengthen its ties with the West for several years, but the now ruling party is accused of trying to strengthen ties to Russia instead.