Georgia parliament passes 'Russian law' aimed at curbing foreign influence after weeks of mass protests

• The Georgian parliament passed a divisive bill requiring media organizations and nonprofits to register as “pursuing the interests of a foreign power” if they receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad.
• For weeks, Georgian citizens have been protesting against the proposal, which they call “the Russian law,” comparing it to Russia's suppression of independent media.
• Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili has vowed to veto the law, but the ruling parliamentary party has enough of a majority to override a presidential veto.

Georgia's parliament passed a divisive bill on third and final reading on Tuesday that sparked weeks of mass protests, with critics seeing it as a threat to democratic freedoms and the country's aspirations to join the European Union.

The bill requires media outlets, non-governmental organizations and other nonprofit organizations to register as “pursuing the interests of a foreign power” if they receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad.

The government says the bill is necessary to curb what it sees as harmful foreign influence on the country's politics and to prevent unspecified foreign actors from trying to destabilize it.

GEORGIA POLICE ARRESTS DOZENS PROTESTING 'RUSSIAN LAW'

The opposition has denounced the bill as “Russian law” because Moscow uses similar legislation to repress independent media, nonprofit organizations and activists critical of the Kremlin.

Mass protests against the law in recent weeks have hit the South Caucasus nation of 3.7 million people.

European Council President Charles Michel spoke about Georgia in Copenhagen on Tuesday at a conference on democracy, stating that “if they want to join the EU, they must respect the fundamental principles of the rule of law and democratic principles.”

The bill is almost identical to one that the ruling Georgian Dream party was pressured to withdraw last year after street protests. New demonstrations have rocked Georgia for weeks, with protesters fighting with police, who used tear gas and water cannon to disperse the crowds.

Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili, who is increasingly at odds with the ruling party, has vowed to veto the law, but Georgian Dream has enough of a majority to override a presidential veto.

As lawmakers began debating the bill on Tuesday, a large crowd of protesters gathered outside parliament to protest once again, with a heavy presence of riot police at the scene. Over the weekend, thousands of people took to the streets of Georgia's capital, Tbilisi, with many remaining outside parliament until Monday morning.

Inside parliament, the debate was interrupted by a fight. Georgian Dream MP Dimitry Samkharadze was seen attacking Levan Khabeishvili, president of the main opposition party, the United National Movement, after Khabeishvili accused him of organizing mobs to beat opposition supporters.

In recent days, several protesters and members of the opposition have been beaten. The opposition linked the incidents to the protests.

Another Georgian Dream lawmaker, Archil Talakvadze, in his Tuesday speech accused “the radical and anti-national political opposition united by political vendetta” of using the protests for their own political ends and “waiting for events to take a radical turn.”

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“But nothing and no one can stop the development of our country,” Talakvadze said.

Ana Tsitlidze, a member of the United National Movement, said the protests showed how unified Georgia was “in the fight for its European future,” adding that “today, saying no to the Russian law is equivalent to saying no to the Russian regime.”

After the debate, 84 legislators of the 116 attendees at Tuesday's session voted in favor of the law and 30 against. It will now be sent to Zourabichvili, the president, who has 14 days to veto or approve it.