The Georgian authorities announced this Wednesday, May 1, the arrest of 63 pro-European demonstrators during a nighttime rally, violently repressed by the police, against a bill on “foreign influence” that its detractors consider similar to a Russian legislation used against the opposition. The Caucasus country has been gripped by massive anti-government protests since April 9, after the ruling Georgian Dream party reintroduced the bill seen as contrary to Tbilisi’s aspirations to join the European Union (EU). .
Masked riot police used tear gas and rubber bullets against demonstrators, an AFP journalist noted. Several journalists were targeted, including an AFP photographer who was hit with a baton even though he was clearly identified as a reporter. MP Levan Khabeishvili, president of imprisoned ex-president Mikheil Saakashvili’s United National Movement, the main opposition party, was violently beaten and had to receive treatment. Local television channels broadcast images showing his face marked with beatings.
The Ministry of the Interior assured that the police had used force in a “legitimate” manner because the demonstration had “become violent” and indicated that 63 people had been arrested for having “disobeyed the police” and committed acts of “hooliganism”. Georgian Rights Defender Levan Iosseliani called for an investigation into the use of “disproportionate force” against protesters and journalists. “I call on the Minister of the Interior to immediately end the repression of peaceful assembly, the use of disproportionate force and violence against young people,” declared the President of Georgia, Salomé Zourabichvili, who is opposed to the ruling party.
The protesters blocked traffic in front of the Parliament on the main artery of Tbilisi, as well as on several other important roads. “We will not let them pass this Russian law and bury our European future,” 21-year-old demonstrator Natia Gabissonia told AFP on Tuesday evening. Early Wednesday morning, some had set up barricades in front of the Parliament building after the riot police left. Around 10 a.m., the demonstration was over, but was expected to resume in the evening.
Second reading
Georgian MPs debated on Tuesday the second reading of the bill that the ruling party hopes to pass by mid-May. The text must undergo three readings in Parliament and be ratified by the presidency. The Georgian president is expected to veto, but the ruling party has enough seats in parliament to override it. Critics say the plan mimics Russia’s “foreign agents” law used to stifle dissenting voices. The President of the European Council Charles Michel considered that the text was not compatible with Georgia’s wish to become a member of the EU.
Protests also took place in Georgia’s second city, Batumi, and Kutaisi, according to independent media Formula TV. On Monday, several thousand people took part in a counter-demonstration organized in front of Parliament by the Georgian Dream. Powerful billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, chairman of the ruling party and considered the country’s de facto leader, addressed the crowd on Monday. He defended the bill aimed, according to him, at strengthening transparency on foreign financing of associations, believing that “the non-transparent financing of NGOs is the main instrument for the appointment of a Georgian government from abroad”.
In the spring of 2023, the ruling party had to abandon a first attempt to pass the law, after massive protests. Several Georgian governments have sought to bring Georgia closer to the West, but the current ruling party has been accused of wanting to bring this former Soviet republic back into Russia’s orbit. In December, the EU granted the country official candidate status for membership of the Union, while warning it must reform before any negotiations. Georgia’s candidacy for membership in the EU and NATO is enshrined in its Constitution and, according to polls, widely supported by the population.