Water cannons and tear gas were used by the Georgian police against protesters on Tuesday as thousands of them took to the streets in Tbilisi to raise their voices against the controversial “foreign agents” bill.
Opposing the law, which would place registration requirements on NGOs and media, a protester threw a Molotov cocktail at the police cordon, as per the television footage.
The protest took place after Georgian lawmakers on Tuesday expressed their support to the draft law, which is similar to the legislation of Russia which was used to crack down on dissent.
The government authorities in Georgia, in recent years, have faced increasing international criticism over backsliding on democracy, which has further damaged the ties of Tbilisi with Brussels.
Russia, in 2012, adopted a law which permits authorities to take action against media outlets, NGOs and others deemed “foreign agents”.
Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili, expressing her support for the protesters, promised to veto the proposed legislation.
“I stand with you because you are representing today the free Georgia which sees its future in Europe and will not let anyone steal this future,” she stated in a video during her official visit to the United States. “Nobody has the right to take away your future,” she added.
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Meanwhile, the US embassy in Georgia said that the legislation was “Kremlin-inspired” and called it incompatible with the desire of the country to join the European Union.
“Today is a dark day for Georgia’s democracy,” stated the embassy in a statement, adding that the proposed legislation was raising questions about “the ruling party’s commitment to Euro-Atlantic integration”.
(With inputs from agencies)
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