Opposition leader injured
Georgia’s police crack down on protests
May 1, 2024, 1:00 p.m
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Similar to Russia, Georgia’s government wants to weaken the democracy movement with a law on “foreign influence” – according to the opposition. Thousands of people are trying to prevent this with peaceful demonstrations. The state reacts with violence.
Police in Georgia used tear gas and water cannons on Tuesday evening against demonstrators who took to the streets against a planned “foreign influence” law. Masked riot police used force against the peaceful demonstration with thousands of participants. Tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons were used and numerous people were arrested. Several journalists were attacked.
The leader of the largest opposition party, the United National Movement of imprisoned ex-President Mikheil Saakashvili, needed medical attention. Levan Khabeishvili published a photo of himself showing his face swollen with blood. He stated that he had been ill-treated by the police. He was also arrested.
Pro-European President Salome Zurabishvili, who is very critical of the ruling party, called on the Interior Minister to immediately end the crackdown on the peaceful demonstration and “the use of disproportionate force.” The demonstration in front of Parliament continued until after midnight despite water cannons and tear gas. According to their own information, the police arrested 63 participants in the protests. Further protests have been announced for Wednesday.
The EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell criticized the police operation. “Georgia is a candidate for EU membership. I call on the authorities to guarantee the right to peaceful assembly,” he wrote on X. “The use of violence to suppress this is unacceptable.”
President’s veto can be overruled
The point of contention is a planned law on “foreign influence”. According to the Russian model, where there is a similar regulation, non-governmental organizations that receive money from abroad should be classified as foreign agents. Many projects to promote democracy in the ex-Soviet republic work with money from EU countries or the USA. The ruling Georgian Dream party speaks of greater transparency. Critics expect the law will be abused to stop money flows and persecute pro-Western forces.
The Georgian Dream party, which has been in power since 2012, announced at the beginning of April that it would put the bill, which was withdrawn a year ago after mass protests with tens of thousands of participants, back to the vote in an amended version. The bill was approved in its first reading in mid-April.
The new proposed law once again triggered mass protests in the former Soviet republic. The EU also called on Tbilisi to drop the law. The former Soviet republic has been officially a candidate for EU membership since December.
The draft law must go through a total of three readings in Parliament. Although President Zurabishvili can exercise her veto, the pro-government MPs in the parliament in Tbilisi have a sufficient majority to override the president’s veto.