Georgian ruling party withdraws 'foreign agents' bill after two nights of protest

Georgia's ruling party said on Thursday it was dropping a bill on "foreign agents" after two nights of violent protests against what opponents said was a Russian-inspired authoritarian shift that imperiled hopes of the country joining the European Union. 

 

The Georgian Dream ruling party said in a statement it would "unconditionally withdraw the bill we supported without any reservations". It cited the need to reduce "confrontation" in society, while also denouncing "lies" told about the bill by the "radical opposition".

Georgia's ruling party said on Thursday it was dropping a bill on "foreign agents" after two nights of violent protests against what opponents said was a Russian-inspired authoritarian shift that imperiled hopes of the country joining the European Union. 

The Georgian Dream ruling party said in a statement it would "unconditionally withdraw the bill we supported without any reservations". It cited the need to reduce "confrontation" in society, while also denouncing "lies" told about the bill by the "radical opposition".

The bill would have required Georgian organizations receiving more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as "foreign agents" or face fines. Georgian Dream had previously said the law was necessary to unmask critics of the Georgian Orthodox Church, one of the country's most powerful institutions.

The European Union's delegation to Georgia praised the decision to withdraw the bill, writing on Twitter: "We welcome announcement by the ruling party to withdraw draft legislation on 'foreign influence'.
We encourage all political leaders in Georgia to resume pro-EU reforms, in an inclusive & constructive way".

At a joint briefing held by opposition parties after the bill was withdrawn, Giga Lemonjala, a representative of the Droa party, said that protests would continue until the government formally denounced the foreign agents’ bill, and released all those detained during protests.

Parliament gave the draft law initial approval on Tuesday but tens of thousands of protesters then gathered outside parliament, and again on Wednesday. Some protesters threw petrol bombs, stones and plastic bottles at police.

REUTERS