Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets in cities across Georgia in the past few weeks, demanding the withdrawal of the proposed legislation. However, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has hit out at detractors, accusing them of being “politically bankrupt” and insisting “the Georgian people support transparency.”
On Tuesday night, riot police moved to shut down peaceful demonstrations outside the parliament building in Tbilisi, using tear gas and shields to forcibly disperse protesters. At least 63 people were confirmed to have been detained, while a senior opposition politician was left with a badly swollen eye and missing teeth after reportedly being beaten by officers. The country’s human rights ombudsman has accused authorities of using “disproportionate” force against the crowds, while the EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, urged the ruling Georgian Dream party to ensure the right to peaceful assembly is respected.
The bloc’s enlargement chief, Gert Jan Koopman, arrived in Tbilisi on Wednesday morning as part of a scheduled visit. While he has not yet publicy condemned the violence, he posted online that he would be holding talks with government officials and MPs. “Georgians worked hard to get candidate status,” he wrote, “current challenges need to be tackled and we are here to help to address them.”
Pro-EU Georgians are protesting against the so-called ‘Russian law’ in Tbilisi, despite a major crackdown by riot police.
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Pressure is growing for Brussels to take a tougher line. “The foreign agent law is a betrayal of the Georgian people’s European aspirations,” said Miriam Lexmann, a European People’s Party MEP and member of the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee. “The European Union should not open accession negotiations with Georgia as long as the law will be part of Georgia’s legal order. Furthermore, there is an urgent need to assess the impact on the EU’s role as a donor and its support programs for Georgia.”
Crackdown threat
Bidzina Ivanishvili, a prominent oligarch and founder of Georgian Dream, made a dramatic return to politics earlier this year as honorary chairman of the ruling party and has personally endorsed the proposed foreign agent law. Analysts credit him with having used his connections in politics to bring about a sharp pivot away from the West and towards Russia since the start of the war in Ukraine, with the government refusing to impose sanctions on Moscow and strengthening lucrative economic ties.
In a rare public appearance, Ivanishvili hosted a rally in support of the contentious proposals on Monday evening, with tens of thousands of people bussed in from across the country.