The leader of the largest opposition party, the United National Movement of the imprisoned former President Mikheil Saakashvili, had to receive medical treatment. Local television channels showed footage showing his face with missing teeth.
The pro-European President Salome Zurabishvili, who is very critical of the ruling party, called on the Interior Minister to immediately end the crackdown on the peaceful demonstration and “the use of disproportionate force.” The demonstration in front of Parliament continued until after midnight despite water cannons and tear gas.
The point of contention is a planned law on “foreign influence”. At the beginning of April, the ruling Georgian Dream party announced that it would put the bill, which was withdrawn a year ago after mass protests with tens of thousands of participants, back to the vote in an amended version. The bill was approved in its first reading in mid-April.
The draft law stipulates that organizations that receive at least 20 percent of their funding from abroad must register with the authorities. Critics see parallels to the law against “foreign agents” in Russia, which allows the authorities there to take massive action against critical media and organizations.
The new proposed law once again triggered mass protests in the former Soviet republic. The EU also called on Tbilisi to drop the law. The former Soviet republic has been officially a candidate for EU membership since December.
The draft law must go through a total of three readings in Parliament. Although the president can veto President Zurabishvili, the pro-government MPs in the parliament in Tbilisi have a sufficient majority to override the president’s veto.
