A showdown in Georgia between authorities and a mass protest movement, fueled by the government’s determination to push through legislation that could limit the ability of independent watchdogs to scrutinize officials’ actions, is entering a critical phase. Critics of the bill mounted one of the largest public protests seen in decades in Tbilisi, while university students across the country said they would boycott classes starting May 13. The government, meanwhile, is vowing to press ahead with the legislation, and punish those who try to stand in their way.
About 50,000 individuals participated in a mass rally on May 11 against the so-called foreign agents bill, which critics say will render non-governmental organizations and independent media outlets receiving a significant chunk of funding from foreign entities vulnerable to government harassment. The law, critics add, can be used to shield officials from accountability for their actions, and permanently tilt the country’s political playing field in favor of the incumbent, Georgian Dream-dominated government. In addition, passage of the bill would seriously damage Georgia’s constitutionally mandated efforts to join the European Union, EU officials in Brussels have warned.
Student groups from at least 10 higher education institutions across Georgia announced a boycott of classes to enable more active participation in protests against the foreign agents draft law. The students assail the government for pursuing anti-EU policies. “Today it’s not only about protecting the European future, which we’ve never been so close to losing,” but also about countering the “dictatorial processes” in the country,” said a statement issued by students at Tbilisi State University. Elsewhere, a prominent business organization announced its opposition May 13 to adoption of the bill.
At a May 12 news conference, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze brushed off criticism, citing unsourced statistics showing strong public support for the government’s stance. He claimed that 60 percent of Georgians favor the foreign agents bill, which officials portray as a measure to enhance the transparency of NGO operations. He did not give any specifics about who conducted the survey he cited, when it was taken and how the data was collected. He promised that parliament would pass the foreign agents bill at its third and final reading, currently scheduled for May 14.
Kobakhidze likewise announced without offering any substantiating evidence that he had “information” that radical opposition elements were planning violent disturbances, adding that participants in any such actions would face harsh penalties. He also took shots at the United States and EU, saying the handling of mass demonstrations by Georgian police was superior to responses in the West, according to a report published by the Tbilisi-based outlet Civil.ge.
“The harsh forms that are normal for American and French police should not be acceptable for Georgian law enforcers,” Kobakhidze said. Georgian police have been accused of firing rubber bullets, deploying water cannon and using excessive force against peaceful protesters in recent weeks. According to an eyewitness account of a protest outside the Georgian parliament on May 13, police repeatedly used force during attempts to disperse peaceful demonstrators.
While Georgian Dream’s defiant pursuit of a foreign agents law has drawn plenty of jeers in the West, it is getting cheers from state-controlled media in authoritarian-minded states, including neighboring Azerbaijan. The government in Baku hasn’t publicly commented on the situation in Tbilisi, but official media has offered plenty of support for the bill.
One prominent Azerbaijani news agency, Report.az, characterized Western criticism of the Georgian draft law as a case of double standards.
“The West itself adopts normative legal acts on foreign influence … but tries to prohibit [adopting such laws] to other countries. This is the most obvious example of double standards,” said the Report.az commentary. “It can be assumed that the US and the EU are doing this on purpose – deliberately putting the government against the people.”
Report.az, along with another commentary published by the APA news agency, speculated that the West wants to oust the Georgian Dream government, and is preparing the ground for another “color revolution” in Georgia. Last fall, the Georgian Dream government, without providing any evidence, accused USAID of involvement in fomenting a coup attempt, an unsubstantiated allegation vehemently denied by the US Embassy in Tbilisi.
Top Biden Administration officials have in recent days stepped up the rhetorical pressure on the Georgian government.
“Georgian Dream’s recent rhetoric, proposed legislative changes, and actions go against the aspirations of the Georgian people and are designed to isolate Georgians from the United States and Europe,” Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, wrote on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. “We stand with the Georgian people.”
