Dhe reactions to the actions of the Georgian government came promptly: while the members of parliament were still debating a law on “foreign agents of influence”, thousands gathered in front of the building in the center of Tbilisi for spontaneous protests. Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili from New York in solidarity with the demonstrators: “I stand by your side because today you represent free Georgia.” A little later she announced that she was breaking off her visit to the United States because of the developments in Georgia .
In a statement, the American Embassy in Georgia spoke of a “dark day for Georgian democracy”. The “Kremlin-inspired law” damages Georgia’s relations with its “strategic partners”. A little later, the EU also said: The law is “incompatible with the values of the EU” and is directed against Georgia’s declared goal of joining the EU, according to a statement by Foreign Affairs Representative Josep Borrell.
By the time the EU released its statement, security forces in Tbilisi were already using water cannons, tear gas and pepper spray to crack down on the demonstrators. Eyewitnesses report that the crowd was perfectly peaceful when the police began to evict them from Rustaveli Boulevard in front of Parliament. According to an eyewitness, the security forces brutally attacked the crowd in several waves of attacks until, well after midnight, there were no longer any demonstrators on the boulevard. Videos showed police officers spraying pepper spray directly in the faces of peaceful demonstrators and water cannons aimed at people waving European flags.
The number of injuries is still unclear the morning after, as is the number of arrests. New protests were announced for Wednesday afternoon.
Attacks on government critics
The law, which passed Tuesday’s first reading, requires media and civil society organizations that receive more than 20 percent of their income from abroad to register with the Justice Department as “foreign influence agents.” They would then be under special surveillance by the Ministry. This affects hundreds of organizations, not only those that deal directly with political issues such as the rule of law, human rights and the fight against corruption, but also aid organizations for the disabled or socially disadvantaged families. Officially, the government justifies the law by saying that transparency should be created in this way.
At its core, however, it follows the model of the “Foreign Agents” law, which has been Russia’s main tool for discrediting and harassing critics for the past decade. And also the purpose is the same. As police officers beat demonstrators outside parliament, Irakli Kobachidze, leader of the ruling Georgian Dream party, said Tuesday night the law would create a list of groups opposed to the interests of the country and the church. This will have a “preventive effect”. In an interview last week, Kobachidze described well-known human rights organizations as “deformed organizations” that spat “into the soul of the Georgian nation”. A “targeted campaign to erase our identity” is underway – it must not be allowed.
