Georgian police used force on Tuesday April 30 against demonstrators in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, where thousands of people gathered for the third week against a bill on “foreign influence” deemed liberticidal.
While protesters gathered in the evening in front of Parliament to demonstrate, masked riot police intervened, without warning, using tear gas and rubber bullets, beating and arresting dozens of people, noted a journalist from Agence France-Presse (AFP).
According to its critics, the project is inspired by the Russian law on foreign agents used to stifle dissenting voices. Brussels claimed that this text jeopardized the aspiration of Georgia, a former Soviet republic in the Caucasus, to become a member of the European Union.
An aborted attempt in 2022
The ruling party, Georgian Dream, has been trying to pass this text since April 9, after an aborted attempt in spring 2023 in the face of massive protest actions. Georgian MPs debated the second reading of the bill on Tuesday, which the ruling party hopes to pass by mid-May.
“They are afraid because they see our determinationa 21-year-old protester, Natia Gabissonia, told AFP on Tuesday evening in front of Parliament. We will not let them pass this Russian law and bury our European future. ».
Protests also took place in Georgia’s second city, Batumi, and Kutaisi, according to independent media Formula TV. The day before, several thousand people took part in a counter-demonstration organized in front of Parliament by Georgian Dream.