Press
People in Georgia have been protesting against a government law for weeks. An expert suspects Russian influence behind the project.
Tbilisi – There have been large demonstrations in Georgia in recent days against a law planned by the government. It stipulates that non-governmental organizations that receive more than 20 percent of their money from abroad must account for the origin of the money and register with the authorities. According to an expert, the Kremlin could be behind the proposed law in Georgia.
Protests in Georgia: Expert suspects Kremlin is behind the law
Thousands of people protested against the law in Georgia on Friday (May 3) with slogans such as “No to the Russian government!” or “We will not get tired”. The bill passed its second reading on Wednesday (May 1). For weeks, however, people have been taking to the streets and confronting the police, who are responding to the demonstrations with tear gas, water cannons and rubber bullets.
Critics accuse the Russia-aligned government in Georgia of drafting the law along the lines of a Russian “agent law.” “In terms of domestic politics, there is actually no explanation for this,” says Stephan Malerius, representative of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Tbilisi, in the “ZDF today journal”. The “Russian law,” as some have called it, was withdrawn by the Georgian government in March 2023 after mass protests. For Malerius, the fact that it should now come into force comes “out of the blue”.
Georgia: Law through “outside intervention”
The head of the regional program in the South Caucasus suspects “an intervention from outside, namely from Russia”. He says: “There must have been a call from the Kremlin or the Kremlin area.” Malerius suspects that the Georgian oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, who is the informal decision-maker in the country, is behind the law. “He was told or made clear that he has to introduce this law now,” Malerius continues to speculate. Ivanishvili was the initiator of the party alliance and today’s ruling party, the Georgian Dream.
The law still needs to be passed by Parliament in a third reading. This is scheduled to take place in two weeks. Pro-European President Salome Zurabishvili is expected to veto the measure. But the pro-government MPs in Parliament have a sufficient majority to override the president’s veto. The governing party is aiming for the law to come into force in mid-May. Georgia has been an official candidate for EU membership since December. Green Party politician Anton Hofreiter sees Georgia’s accession at risk from the law. (vk/afp)