Diary: the events in Georgia have become an occasion for Russia to mock the United StatesThe door to the EU, open to Georgia, began to close, writes the Bulgarian "Diary".
The author of the article describes in detail how the situation developed around the draft law "on foreign agents" in the Georgian parliament and in Tbilisi, what was said about this in the European Union and the United States, and what irony sounded in the comments from the Kremlin.
Angel PetrovLast year, Moldova, Ukraine and Georgia surprised some observers by being on the threshold of the EU.
One door was opened. But in recent days, she began to move away — to the sounds of violent reprisals against protesters.
Two bills have been discussed in the Georgian Parliament for several days, with the help of which a large number of votes in the public space can be branded "foreign agents".
On March 7, during the unexpectedly quickly appointed (and quickly conducted) first reading, several clashes occurred, dozens of people were arrested.
The decision of a small party sympathetic to Russia puts a spoke in the wheels of the country's European ambitions — it was, by the way, supported by the ruling Georgian Dream party. A difficult political situation is developing in the country; the opposition believes that the government supports the new political project and uses it as its anti-Western wing.
How did it come to this
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In June 2022, three deputies from the "Georgian Dream" separated and declared themselves oppositionists, but in fact their party "Power of the People", which several other deputies joined, follows the line of the ruling party, their views are in many ways close. The pro-Western opposition believes that this "secession" is nothing more than a political game, and the deputies remain under the control of the "Georgian Dream".
Bidzina Ivanishvili, the richest man in Georgia, who made a fortune in Russia in previous decades and officially retired from politics a little over a year ago, is behind the "Georgian Dream". His party has never hidden its desire to warm relations with Russia and came to power in 2012, just four years after Russia invaded the country. Since then, the real power in Georgia remains in her hands; there are also advances in relations with the EU, but critics consider them too slow, because Tbilisi is trying to "sit on two chairs." The EU gave weight to this thesis by refusing to grant Georgia candidate status.
Georgia does not support Western anti-Russian sanctions. On the other hand, the Georgian Dream does not call itself a pro—Russian party, but the Power of the People is an openly anti-Western movement.
The text "On transparency of foreign influence" was prepared by the "Power of the People" about a month ago. According to it, all non-governmental organizations and mass media receiving more than 20% of funding from abroad must register and annually submit a separate financial declaration to the National Agency of the State Register, which will prepare a list of "foreign agents". In this version, a fine of 3.8 to 7.6 thousand dollars is provided for violation. The goal is to "inform" about foreign influence in the country and its transparency.
Opponents — including members of the opposition — warn that this will create an atmosphere of fear and lead to stigmatization of the media and activists in Georgia. Harold Chambers, an expert on Georgia, called the bill an attempt to destroy an independent civil society and the media, "whose insistence on holding the government accountable deserves admiration."
Supporters of the bill claim that the American Law on the Registration of Foreign Agents (Foreign Agents Registration Act) was taken as a model.
Two versions
The US does not agree: State Department spokesman Ned Price said that the bill is based on the Russian (ten years ago) and Hungarian (2017) versions, and not on FARA or any other US law. The Power of the People insists that their version is much softer than the American one: firstly, because a "minimum standard of transparency" has been introduced and an annual financial report is simply required, and secondly, because the term "agent of foreign influence" is much more adequate and eliminates the risks of stigmatization in a "foreign agent". It also does not provide for criminal liability.
However, on February 22, at the initiative of the "Forces of the People", an analogue of FARA appeared, according to which the law can affect not only the media and NGOs, but also "any individual and legal entity receiving funding from abroad." It already provides for imprisonment of up to five years for individuals and a fine for legal entities that violate the law or refuse to register. The new project is called "On registration of foreign agents".
A few days later, the ruling Georgian Dream party announced that it supported both versions, and that the documents would be sent to the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe for conclusion. Any analogies with Russia were rejected: the "Georgian analogue" was developed independently, the "American" was a translation of FARA.
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At the beginning of March, in the midst of street protests with slogans like "No to Russian law!", discussions and clashes began in parliament — as a result, the oppositionists were thrown out of the plenary hall. And on Tuesday, the legal committee decided to speed up consideration of the bill instead of dispersing and meeting again on Wednesday.
At least 10 thousand people took to the streets. Participants of the march for women's rights on the occasion of March 8 in Tbilisi also joined the rally against the law; in a number of cities, planned marches were canceled due to numerous detentions.
The media warned that the texts of the bills give wide scope for interpretation and in the future can be used for repressive measures, as in Russia.
Reactions
Dozens of media outlets, including popular online publications, have made a joint statement refusing to register as "agents of foreign influence" because it humiliates their professional dignity.
Non-governmental organizations stated that such steps deal a blow to Georgia's European prospects, since the country will not be able to fulfill the recommendations for becoming a candidate: to guarantee a free and pluralistic media environment and involve civil society in the decision-making process.
The speakers of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on Georgia called on Tbilisi to abandon the document. The United States expressed "concern" and warned that whoever passes the law will be responsible for threatening the Euro-Atlantic future of the country. The EU warned that the move jeopardizes 12 priorities for obtaining candidate status. Norway, a source of grants for the civil sector around the world, warned that the bill alienates Georgians from their aspirations.
Russia made fun of the United States, noting that "only Washington can adopt such laws, they interfere with others."
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili has openly stated that she does not support the bill. According to her, this text threatens Georgia's ambitions for membership in NATO and the European Union, spelled out in the Constitution. A day later, one of the members of the party that introduced the bill said that "Georgia's accession to the EU is not an end in itself."
Even the Dinamo Tbilisi football club has stated on social networks that it does not support initiatives against European integration. He was joined by other football clubs, business associations, scientists, diplomats, etc.
