Thousands of people took to the streets in Georgia’s capital, Tbilisi, for a second consecutive day to protest against a controversial “foreign agents” bill.
The latest demonstration on Wednesday came a day after the bill was passed in parliament at first reading. At least 66 people were arrested on Tuesday night as protests against the proposed legislation turned violent.
Here’s what you need to know.
What does the law mean?
The bill “On Transparency of Foreign Influence” officially targets the disclosure of money flows from abroad, but critics feared it was a way for the government to crack down on dissenting voices.
The proposed legislation stipulates that organizations such as media outlets can be classified as “foreign agents” if they receive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad.
Critics have pointed to a similar law passed in Russia declaring all organizations or individuals receiving financial support from abroad or under any form of “foreign influence” to be “foreign agents”.
Ghia Nodia, Georgia’s former education minister, told Al Jazeera the law was likely to undermine press freedom in a country where much of the media is controlled by the government.
“Much of the independent media in Georgia has outside support. The government says it is only for transparency, but this draft law models Russian law, and in Russia the legislation was a step towards suppressing independent media,” he said.
Member of Parliament Khatia Dekanoidze told Al Jazeera that “Georgia has a very vibrant civil society that strengthens democracy and the rule of law,” which receives funding and technical assistance from the European Union and the United Nations.
Georgia, along with Ukraine and Moldova, applied for EU membership just days after Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year.
In June, EU leaders granted formal candidate status to Kyiv and Chisinau, but said Tbilisi needed to implement a number of reforms first.
Restricting funding opportunities to civil society organizations would be an obstacle to joining the European Union, Dekanoidze said.
What’s the latest?
Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, who also chairs Georgian Dream, the party that heads the government and the largest branch of parliament, has defended the bill, saying it would help root out those who oppose the interests of the country and the powerful Georgian- Enter Orthodox Church. He also accused Georgia’s “radical opposition” of inciting protesters to “unprecedented violence” during Tuesday’s demonstrations, according to Georgian news agencies.
But Salome Zourabichvili, the president of Georgia, addressed the demonstrators and assured them of her support. The pro-European leader said lawmakers who voted in favor of the bill had violated the constitution and promised to veto it if passed by parliament.
The protests began again on Wednesday afternoon with a march to mark International Women’s Day, a holiday in Georgia.
Demonstrators carried Georgian and EU flags down the central Rustaveli Avenue in the direction of parliament, shouting “No to Russian law”.
The Interior Ministry has accused protesters of petty hooliganism and defiance of state authority, Georgian media reported Wednesday.
“People started an organized attack on the parliament building, throwing so-called ‘Molotov cocktails’ and fireworks,” the ministry said.
Up to 50 police officers were injured in Tuesday’s clashes, the ministry added, with several still in hospital.
What was the international response?
In a joint statement on Wednesday, the foreign ministers of the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania — all of which were under the control of the Soviet Union during the Cold War years — expressed concern over the bill.
“We call on the Parliament of Georgia to responsibly assess the real interests of the country and to refrain from making decisions that would jeopardize the aspirations of the Georgian people to live in a democratic country moving towards the EU and undermine NATO,” wrote the chief diplomats of the three countries, who are members of both organizations.
At the same time, they called on the Georgian government to respect the people’s right to peaceful protest.
In recent years, Georgian authorities have faced growing international criticism over a perceived decline in democracy, which has seriously damaged Tbilisi’s ties with Brussels.