Georgia\u2019s parliament on Wednesday approved the second reading of a bill on \u201cforeign agents\u201d that has been criticised as Kremlin-inspired, as police fired tear gas and stun grenades to clear a large crowd of protesters opposed to the draft law.
\nThe bill, which would require organisations receiving more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as agents of foreign influence, has sparked a rolling political crisis in the South Caucasus country.
\nEver-growing numbers of protesters have been taking to the street nightly for almost a month, with a heaving crowd tens of thousands strong shutting down central Tbilisi on Wednesday, the largest anti-government demonstration yet.
\nGeorgia\u2019s Health Ministry, in a bulletin quoted by Georgian media, said 11 people, including six police officers, had received hospital treatment after Wednesday\u2019s altercations.
\nDeputy Interior Minister Aleksandre Darakhvelidze, quoted by Georgian media, said protesters had tried to push their way into parliament using various objects and were attacking policemen.
\nDarakhvelidze said police action on Tuesday resulted in 63 arrests and six police officers injured.
\nPRESIDENT SAYS LOOK TO THE ELECTION
\nGeorgian President Salome Zourabichvili, who opposes the bill but has only largely ceremonial powers, told protesters in a video posted on social media to show restraint. The real task, she said, was to oust the government in an October election.
\n\u201cOur fate will not be determined by this law,\u201d she said in comments quoted by media. \u201cThis fight will take place in the forthcoming parliamentary election after which (this) law and many others will be rescinded.\u201d
\nGeorgian media cited the country\u2019s Orthodox Church, one of its most respected institutions, as calling for the government and protesters to hold talks to resolve a \u201cpolitical crisis\u201d.
\nProtester Sergi Kapanadze said that for him the protest movement amounted to a struggle for Georgia\u2019s national survival.
\n\u201cWhat are we afraid of more?\u201d he told Reuters. \u201cBeing gassed, being beaten up, or losing the country?\u201d
\nGeorgian critics have dubbed the bill \u201cthe Russian law\u201d, saying it is inspired by laws used to suppress dissent in Vladimir Putin\u2019s Russia. Russia is unpopular among many citizens of Georgia, which lost a brief war with Moscow in 2008.
\nBoth the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the EU\u2019s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, condemned the violence. The EU gave Georgia candidate member status in December but has said the bill could halt its integration into the bloc.
\nPolice cleared the crowd by the parliament building using tear gas and stun grenades fired from within the fortress-like complex. Water cannon were also deployed.
\nProtesters regrouped, with some lighting a bonfire outside parliament, and others attempting to build makeshift barricades to block key roads. A Reuters eyewitness saw at least one man carried away from the action, his face bloodied.
\nThe protests have pitched the ruling Georgian Dream party against a coalition of opposition parties, civil society groups, celebrities and the president.
\nParliament, controlled by Georgian Dream and its allies, voted to advance the bill, prompting a boos from protesters outside. The bill must pass one more vote before becoming law.
\nWednesday\u2019s parliamentary debate was tense, with opposition members expelled and scuffles between legislators, a not uncommon occurrence in Georgia\u2019s often-rowdy parliament.
\nOne pro-government deputy was seen throwing a book at opposition legislators, while others shouted and physically confronted opponents.
\nLevan Khabeishvili, leader of the United National Movement party, Georgia\u2019s largest opposition bloc, spoke in parliament with his face heavily bandaged. His party said he was beaten by police at the previous day\u2019s protest, leaving him with concussion, broken facial bones, and missing four teeth.
\nThe bill\u2019s supporters, including Bidzina Ivanishvili, the billionaire founder of Georgian Dream and former prime minister, say the law would bolster sovereignty amid what he said were Western attempts to pit Georgia against Russia.
\n(Reuters)protest. bill on “foreign agents”, protesters, political crisis<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Georgia’s parliament approved a bill on “foreign agents” that requires organizations receiving more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as agents of foreign influence. The bill has caused a political crisis in Georgia, leading to large protests in the country. President Zourabichvili advised protesters to focus on the upcoming election to change the government. The bill has been criticized as being inspired by Russian laws used to suppress dissent. The European Union has condemned the violence in Georgia, and the bill could affect Georgia’s integration into the EU. Police used tear gas and stun grenades to clear protesters outside parliament. The bill must pass one more vote before becoming law.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":10401,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[8393,2011,7224,3492,8640,8591,4039,3348,233,8569,1240,1793,5255,344,6021,6949,1600,379,1841,2404,6284,988,6144,1939,304,4548,7091,415,210,2581,156,4638,2828,3419,8394,5679,387,1394,2952,3747,3091,1012,5330,1799,7058,7378,5328,184,5831,214,500,4833,8642,4843,1792,463,8641,577,154,453,19,6928,817,1230,1026,8607,4861,1093,2389,134,1357,1774,293,962,6305,18],"class_list":["post-10400","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-other","tag-altercations","tag-arrests","tag-attacking","tag-bill","tag-bill-on-foreign-agents","tag-book","tag-building","tag-change","tag-church","tag-citizens","tag-clear","tag-coalition","tag-crisis","tag-demonstration","tag-draft","tag-draft-law","tag-election","tag-eu","tag-european-commission","tag-european-union","tag-eyewitness","tag-fight","tag-foreign-policy","tag-freedom-of-speech","tag-funding","tag-gas","tag-georgia","tag-government","tag-health","tag-health-ministry","tag-hospital","tag-injured","tag-institutions","tag-kremlin","tag-large-crowd","tag-law","tag-lost","tag-man","tag-media","tag-missing","tag-moscow","tag-numbers","tag-officers","tag-parliament","tag-parliament-building","tag-parties","tag-party","tag-police","tag-police-action","tag-police-officers","tag-policemen","tag-policy","tag-political-crisis","tag-president","tag-prime-minister","tag-protest","tag-protesters","tag-protests","tag-putin","tag-roads","tag-russia","tag-six","tag-social-media","tag-survival","tag-talks","tag-tear-gas","tag-treatment","tag-ursula-von-der-leyen","tag-video","tag-violence","tag-vladimir-putin","tag-vote","tag-war","tag-water","tag-who","tag-world"],"acf":{"keyphrase":"","keywords":"","sourceimg":"","country-category":""},"yoast_head":"\n