The political dispute in the Southern Caucasus nation of Georgia over a planned law to control foreign influence in politics is deepening as protester took to the streets again on Monday.
The ruling Georgian Dream party, which is pushing for the law, brought together tens of thousands of its supporters in the centre of Tbilisi.
Media reports spoke of more than 100,000 people who had been brought to the capital on buses from all parts of the country.
It was a reaction to days of mass protests against the law, which, according to its opponents, is based on Russian laws intended to control civil society.
There were clashes with the police during a demonstration on Sunday evening. The Georgian parliament's legal committee prepared the second reading of the controversial law on Monday. 14 members of the opposition were excluded during the session.
The draft stipulates that non-governmental organizations must disclose foreign sources of funding. The government says this is intended to ensure greater transparency and tighten controls on foreign influence.
Many projects to promote democracy in Georgia are financed by the West, including money from the EU and the US. Critics fear that this law, modelled on the Russian model, will be misused to stop the flow of money and persecute pro-Western groups.
Georgia, a former Soviet republic, is oriented towards the West and is a candidate for EU accession.
The Georgian Dream government is also in favour of rapprochement with the EU, but at the same time advocates leaning towards Russia.
Billionaire oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, the strongman in the party, accused the West on Monday of using Georgia, like Ukraine, as cannon fodder in the fight against Moscow.
The EU and many of its member states have sharply criticised the planned law on so-called foreign agents.