By Ben Aris in Berlin
In anticipation of possible sanctions or the suspension of Georgia’s EU bid, the ruling Georgian Dream party lashed out at the West, accusing it of secretly funding violence and the opposition crowds trying to derail the vote.
The Georgian Parliament's Committee on Legal Issues approved the “Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence” that is modelled on a similar law adopted in Russia and has been used by President Vladimir Putin to brutally crush dissent and close down the opposition press.
“We have heard a lot of speculation regarding the country's foreign policy in recent periods. The initiated law’s [domestic bill on transparency of foreign influence] linkage with the change of the foreign course is gross speculation, manipulation,” Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said in a statement emailed to bne IntelliNews.
The passage of the law has sparked large protests culminating in thelargest protests in Georgia’s history over the weekend. Hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets to demonstrate against the law and Georgia’s Western partners have publicly condemned the law. The European Parliament passed a resolution calling for Georgia’s EU accession talks to be suspended as long as the foreign agent law was on the books after the bill passed its first of three readings.
The bill has become atest of strength between the government and Georgia’s nascent civil society. The de facto head of Georgian Dream oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili upped the ante in a speech on April 29, accusing the West of being a Party of War that is intent on undermining Georgia’s sovereignty.
Now the leaders of Georgian Dream have upped the ante again as the protests are set to escalate if the bill becomes law. Amidst the chaos, the government has staunchly defended the bill, claiming that up to 80% of the population support the bill. Independent polls suggest that the same 80% of the population reject the bill and want the government to move towards Europe, not Russia.
The government also alleges covert funding of opposition movements by Western entities, including the European Endowment for Democracy (EED) and the US National Endowment for Democracy.
'Why is EED’s funding being kept secret? It’s a straightforward question without a simple answer, as some actors prefer to obscure the situation in Georgia rather than disclose whom, what, and why the EED and US National Endowment for Democracy are funding,' commented Shalva Papuashvili, Speaker of the Parliament.
When one of the opposition leaders was arrested, he was later released when the EED paid his bail.
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze rebuffed claims linking the new law to a shift in Georgia’s foreign policy. 'The initiated law’s linkage with the change of the foreign course is gross speculation, manipulation,' he asserted. He reminded critics that Georgia’s trajectory towards European and Euro-Atlantic integration was constitutionally enshrined by the current administration, by Georgian Dream, in 2017, as well as the EU-Georgia Association Agreement and DCFTA in 2014, Visa Liberalisation in 2017 and the EU membership candidate status in 2023.
Georgian Dream has been trying to steer Georgia towards EU membership, which has been themost successful reform strategy for any former socialist country, but at the same time, since the republic was politically captured by Ivanishvili its democratic credentials have decayed and it is now seen as drifting into Russia’s orbit.
Ivanishvili made his fortune of an estimated $7bn in Russia in the 1990s, and while not an overt supporter of Putin, Georgia’s economic ties since the war in Ukraine started have flourished. The Kremlin officially lists Georgia as a “friendly country”, which has becomemore economically dependent on Russia than at any other time since its independence in 1991.
In its defence, the government highlighted past foreign policy failures under the previous Saakashvili administration, accusing it of allowing Russian influence to grow, including the occupation of Georgian territories following the brief war with Russia in 2008.
Papuashvili also condemned the diplomatic and donor community for its “silence” over the NGO-led protests, which have become increasingly violence. Papuashvili suggested that the reluctance of the West to condemn the demonstrators’ clashes with the police embolden further unrest.
“I haven't seen a single statement from the diplomatic representation or donors, with the funding of which those NGOs operate, standing on the stage and calling for the action to go to the narrow streets, say, near the chancellery or to block the parliament, which in itself is already a violation of the law,” Papuashvili said. “The only purpose of such a call is to inspire violence.” According to Papuashvili, eight police officers have beeninjured in the clashes with protestors, yet not a single statement was made by the foreign donor organisations or the diplomatic corps in Georgia. Citing a state-backed media report, Papuashvili also claimed that leaked audio recordings from opposition figures suggest plans to intensify protests and paralyse government functions. These recordings, which remain unverified, claim the crowds on the street are being paid by Western and domestic opposition parties to provoke the state authorities.
“Regrettably, none of the foreign embassies and international donor organisations registered in Georgia condemned these violent episodes. Moreover, many of them repeatedly called the violent attacks ‘peaceful’. Our sad experience tells us that ignoring violence encourages even more violence in future,” he concluded.
Georgia’s president Salome Zourabichvili has promised to veto the law if adopted, but Kobakhidze warned in the statement that the government is ready to overturn the veto in this case. Georgian Dream has a large majority in parliament, large enough to overturn a presidential veto, although the process will take several weeks.
