Demonstrators waving Georgian national flags gather in front of the Parliament building during an opposition protest against “the Russian law” in the center of Tbilisi, Georgia, early Monday, May 13, 2024. Daily protests are continuing against a proposed bill that critics say would stifle media freedom and obstruct the country’s bid to join the European Union.
The opposition denounces the bill as “the Russian law,” because Moscow uses similar legislation to crack down on independent news media, nonprofits and activists critical of the Kremlin.The government says the bill is necessary to stem what it deems as harmful foreign influence over the country’s politics and to prevent unspecified foreign actors from trying to destabilize it.
Police sought to disperse the demonstration, and by Monday morning, only hundreds remained near parliament. Georgia’s Interior Ministry said 20 people were arrested in the morning, including three foreign citizens — two Americans and a Russian. It took lawmakers less than a minute to give a green light to the third and final reading of the bill for Tuesday.
Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili, who is increasingly at odds with the governing party, has vowed to veto the law, but Georgian Dream has a majority sufficient to override a presidential veto.EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has described the parliament’s move as “a very concerning development” and warned that “final adoption of this legislation would negatively impact Georgia’s progress on its EU path.
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