Georgia’s ruling party announced on Wednesday the 3rd of April that it will resubmit a bill requiring organisations receiving foreign funds to register as “foreign agents”, which was withdrawn last year following protests by opponents who likened it to Russian-style repression, reports Reuters.
Mamuka Mdinaradze, head of the Georgian Dream parliamentary faction, accused the opposition at a briefing of misleading the public about the bill last year.
He said an almost identical bill would be passed before parliament adjourned for the October elections.
The draft law will require Georgian organisations that receive more than 20%
of their funding from abroad to register as “foreign agents” or face fines.
Georgian Dream withdrew the bill in March 2023 after two nights of violent protests in Tbilisi, during which police used tear gas and riot police against demonstrators, and was criticised by Western countries as a retreat from democracy.
Despite the fact that Georgia was granted European Union candidate status in December, the Georgian ruling party has continued its rhetoric against civil society organisations, accusing them of plotting a revolution in the country.
The Georgian opposition has called the draft law a “Russian law”,
a serious accusation in a country where Moscow is widely despised for its support of the breakaway territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
The Georgian Dream, in power since 2012, is accused of authoritarianism and pro-Russianism by both local and Western critics. Founded by billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, the party, while still popular, has seen its popularity decline since 2020, with the party still holding its position in parliament.
Last week, the Georgian government announced that it would submit a draft law criminalising the promotion of same-sex relationships, including a ban on “promoting” same-sex relationships and gender reassignment, similar to Russia’s strict “LGBTQ+ propaganda” rules.
Also read: Georgia to withdraw the «foreign agents» law
Also read: Protests flare up in Georgia against the new draft law
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