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Georgia: law on “foreign agents” angers residents
Georgia: law on “foreign agents” angers residents
(franceinfo)
Georgia is prey to tensions: the country is preparing to pass an “anti-Western” law, pushed by the pro-Russian government. The measure does not please part of the country, just like its pro-European president.
A huge crowd gathered in front of the doors of Parliament: on the evening of April 17, demonstrators made themselves heard for the third consecutive day in Tbilisi, capital of Georgia. After the vote of the deputies for a law considered “anti-Western”, the tone was raised. “This law will not lead us towards Europe: it cannot, in any case, contribute to our European integration,” explains a demonstrator.
A bill on foreign influence
If the bill is controversial, it is because it deals with foreign influence: adopted at first reading by the Georgian parliament, the controversial text is tearing the country apart. On Monday April 15, an opposition deputy even hit one of his majority colleagues. The dividing law requires any company or association financed more than 20% by foreigners to register as an organization pursuing the interests of a foreign power. The pro-European president denounces in particular the Russian influence of the bill.
