“I’m here to protest because this isn’t the way Georgia should go,” said Marte, a 19-year-old student in the crowd outside the parliament. “We want to go the European way, we want to be part of Europe, and this law is absolutely opposite what we want.”
Georgia’s Interior Ministry issued a statement Tuesday evening demanding protesters move away from the gates around the parliament building ‘‘to ensure the safe movement of MPs and staff” and “avoid artificial escalation of events.”
Police started beating up protesters including women and teenagers during dispersal in Tbilisi! #NoToRussianLaw pic.twitter.com/K34mjzC33o
— Nodar Rukhadze (@xonoda) April 30, 2024
The violence marks a sharp escalation after weeks of public demonstrations opposing the ruling Georgian Dream party’s proposals to require NGOs, campaign groups and media outlets to register as “foreign agents” if they receive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad.
The measures were initially proposed last year, but were dropped amid widespread public outcry and criticism from abroad in which comparisons were drawn with rules introduced by Russia to stifle dissent and suffocate civil society.
The EU, which granted Georgia candidate status in November, has said the bill is “incompatible with European values.” A spokesperson told POLITICO earlier this month that the government should withdraw it or else risk undermining its chances of joining the bloc.
The U.S. State Department, meanwhile, said the “Kremlin-inspired” legislation could “limit freedom of expression, stigmatize organizations that deliver these benefits to the citizens of Georgia, and impede independent media organizations working to provide Georgians with access to high quality information.”