Tens of thousands are protesting in Georgia against a law modeled on Russia. “The government says that it’s about transparency. But in fact it’s about control,” says the office manager of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Tbilisi, Stephan Malerius. “One can, no, one must assume that the resubmission of the law was a Russian initiative.”
ntv.de: How broad is the protest against the Georgian government’s planned law against “foreign influence”?
Stephan Malerius: It is very wide. Since yesterday it has also been covering the regions. There was a large mobilization there on social media, people were keen to come to the demonstrations in Tbilisi. This was very successful, many people hitchhiked or carpooled to the Georgian capital. In Tbilisi, on the other hand, there were people who agreed to take them in overnight. That’s why you can say that this is a nationwide protest. It remains to be seen whether this will also be reflected in demonstrations in Telavi, Kutaisi, Batumi and other cities in the country.
Stephan Malerius heads the South Caucasus regional program of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Tbilisi.
(Photo: private)
The ruling party “Georgian Dream” has a clear majority in the Georgian parliament. Doesn’t that suggest that a majority of Georgians support their course?
The mandate of the Georgian government dates back to 2020, when the last elections were held. The government does not have a majority for what it wants to implement. She already failed with the same legislative proposal last year – back then she withdrew the bill after massive protests. The fact that she is trying this again is astonishing. There is absolutely no support for this among the population.
The law stipulates that organizations that receive at least 20 percent of their funding from abroad must be officially registered. What is the official meaning behind it?
The government says it’s about transparency. But in fact it’s about control.
Who should be controlled?
Georgia is a democratic transition country with the usual difficulties and defects. The judiciary is not independent. The economy is largely not independent. The regions are subordinate to the central government, the administration is dependent on the government. But civil society is critical and courageous. This is a thorn in the side of the government. NGOs will also monitor the conduct of the upcoming parliamentary elections in October. The government wants to prevent that. She wants to gain control over civil society.
The opposition says it is a “Russian law.”
It is quite obvious that this is a Russian law. The law is modeled on the Russian Law on “Foreign Agents” of 2012. The aim is similar, even the wording is similar. Non-governmental organizations should be controlled and, under certain circumstances, banned or forced abroad. One can, no, one must assume that the resubmission of the law was a Russian initiative.
To what extent on Russian initiative?
The ruling party actually had nothing to fear with regard to the elections in October. She leads by a wide margin in all polls. The opposition is divided and has no charismatic leader. The granting of candidate status by the European Union in December and the qualification of the national football team for the European Championship had the potential to at least partially fill in the very deep rifts in the country. Now the trenches are open again, and they are deeper than ever. That is why the Georgian government’s actions so surprised all observers. The only explanation that my Georgian interlocutors have was that there must have been a call from Russia.
With Georgian Prime Minister Iraqi Kobakhidze?
No, with the Georgian oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili. That is the real decision maker here in the country – an illegitimate decision maker. It is assumed that he was coerced or convinced to have the law presented again.
Didn’t the Georgian Dream originally start out as a pro-European alliance?
On paper they are still pro-European, and the party claims, rightly so, that it has taken many important steps towards Europe: the signing of the Association Agreement with the European Union, the achievement of visa-free travel between Georgia and of the EU and also the anchoring of the goal of membership in the EU and NATO in the Georgian constitution. All of this happened during the term of the current government. But of course the government was also driven.
Driven by who?
From the population. The Georgian population has been consistently very pro-European for two decades, with values of over 80 percent. Hardly any other country has such approval for the EU. That means the government couldn’t do anything else. Now many say that the government is doing what it actually wants. That the masks had fallen.
In addition to Moldova, Georgia is considered Putin’s next possible target; There are territorial conflicts between Russia and Georgia similar to those between Russia and Ukraine after 2014. Is the Georgian government giving in to pressure from Moscow because it is afraid of an invasion?
This fear certainly exists. Georgia is neither a member of NATO, nor does it have an allied power – like Azerbaijan with Turkey – nor is it a member of the European Union. Georgia is ultimately defenseless at the mercy of Russia. The border with Russia is several hundred kilometers long. Russian troops are stationed in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and it would be easy for Russia to mobilize these troops and march them on Georgia, as happened in 2008. At that time the Russians were in Gori, which is only fifty kilometers from Tbilisi. Georgia would have nothing to counter a possible Russian aggression.
The police are acting quite harshly against the demonstrators in Tbilisi – not only with water cannons, but also with rubber bullets and pepper spray. Is this violence excessive?
Yes. It is also a new quality. Protests against the government’s plans have been going on for a few weeks now, and so far they have always been peaceful. I have experienced situations in which demonstrators were directly confronted by a police cordon. They raised their hands to signal that they were peaceful. That’s been over since the day before yesterday. Last year, water cannons were used on the second or third day of the protests against the same law, which was also absolutely disproportionate back then. As was the case then, the order must come from the Ministry of the Interior. This has set in motion a spiral of escalation, the end of which we cannot yet see.
Would you say that Georgia can retain its candidate status if the law is passed?
In any case, if the law is passed and comes into force, candidate status will be frozen. Accession negotiations would not be started with Georgia – as they have been with Moldova and Ukraine since the beginning of the year. The cooperation would be reviewed and possibly reduced. The law would cause great damage to relations between the EU and Georgia.
They said that Georgia is defenseless against Russia. Has the EU or the West as a whole made a geopolitical mistake?
The key date was the 2008 NATO summit in Bucharest. There, Ukraine and Georgia applied to join and the Americans signaled their willingness to agree. France and Germany did not support this, in fact they vetoed it. Whether that was the right decision is still being debated to this day.
Georgia has been classified as a safe country of origin by the Federal Republic for a few months. How does this fit with the fact that the leader of the largest opposition party, Levan Khabeishvili, was apparently beaten up by the police?
After the police violence against the protesters, the classification would have to be put to the test, especially if what I am currently assuming continues. But so far there has been no structural violence against people who think differently or against minorities – with the exception of the LGBTQ community. In this respect, the decision in December was understandable.
What role does former President Mikheil Saakashvili’s United National Movement play?
The United National Movement is the largest opposition party in parliament, and it still has a very solid voter base. She will definitely return to parliament in the October elections. But it plays no role in the protests, which are mainly organized by young people. After a series of secession, the United National Movement has weakened. In my view, it is not the driving force of political change that the country urgently needs.
As a representative of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Tbilisi, should you also expect to be classified as a kind of “foreign agent”?
We do not know that, yet. We are registered as a Georgian NGO, but this registration also states that we are a branch of a German foundation. The other foundations from Germany have the same status: the Ebert, Böll and Naumann Foundations. That’s why we’re currently figuring out what the law would mean for us. But it must be made clear that the law is not directed against us, but against the strong Georgian NGOs, some of which we support.
The second reading took place in the Georgian Parliament on Wednesday. Is it already clear when the law will finally be passed?
The date is May 17th, when the third reading will take place. It would then go to President Salome Zurabishvili, who has announced that she will veto it. She has ten days to do this. If it did, the project would go back to parliament, where the government has the majority to override the veto. So there are still a few hurdles to overcome.
Do you expect the law to ultimately be passed and come into force?
I assume.
Hubertus Volmer spoke to Stephan Malerius