Georgia's richest man behind 'Russia law' that will scupper country's entry into the European Union

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Georgia News

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After weeks of constitutional ping-pong it will be illegal in Georgia for media and non-commercial organisations to get financial support from abroad.

President Salome Zourabichvili says she’ll veto the Foreign Agent’s Bill when it arrives on her desk, but the government has enough votes in Parliament to override her.

When Vladimir Putin introduced a law like this in Russia back in 2012 it became the principal means of suppressing free media, NGOs and opposition parties. No wonder the Georgian opposition have dubbed it the “Russia Law”. Ivanishvili became rich beyond the dreams of avarice as an oligarch in post Cold War Russia, amassing a $5 billion fortune from privatised Russian assets.

It was just five months ago that the EU granted Georgia Candidate status, an important step on the road to membership. The Foreign Agents Law will scupper that, just as it will poison Tbilisi’s relationship with the US. Putin could hardly he happier.So is it all a done deal? Well that depends on how hard and for how long the protesters are prepared to fight. There are many parallels with what happened in Ukraine’s Maidan Square ten years ago.

 

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