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Agent law: Mass protests in Georgia again

Demonstrators in front of the Ministry of the Interior in Tbilisi

(Bild: AFP)

The mass protests in Georgia continue: on Friday evening, thousands of people once again protested against the planned law on "foreign influence". In the capital Tbilisi, the demonstrators marched to the Ministry of the Interior, as a reporter from the AFP news agency reported. The demonstrators also demanded the release of protesters who had been arrested during earlier protest marches.

Many people waved the Georgian and European flags. "We will never tolerate a pro-Russian government in Georgia," student Misha Kavtaradze told AFP.

Following the adoption of the so-called agent law, Georgia's head of state Salome Zurabishvili vetoed it last week. AFP has learned that parliament intends to initiate a procedure on Monday to override the president's veto. The Legal Affairs Committee will formally initiate the procedure to override the veto on Monday, the parliamentary press service told AFP. A vote in plenary is already planned for Tuesday.

(Bild: APA/AFP/Giorgi ARJEVANIDZE)

Law passed on Tuesday
Last Tuesday, the Georgian parliament passed the controversial law. According to the law, organizations and media that receive at least 20 percent of their funding from abroad must in future register in the former Soviet republic as bodies that "pursue the interests of foreign powers".

They will also have to submit to monitoring by the authorities. Critics see parallels with the law against "foreign agents" in Russia, which enables the authorities there to take massive action against media and organizations critical of the government.

Mass protests have been taking place in Georgia for weeks because of the law. The adoption of the law also triggered international criticism. The EU, the UN and NATO called on the government in Tbilisi to change course.