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Demonstrators protest the controversial “foreign influence” bill out the Georgian parliament – Copyright AFP Vano SHLAMOV<\/small><\/em><\/p>\nOla CICHOWLAS<\/em><\/p>\nAround 1,000 protesters were still outside Georgia\u2019s parliament Monday morning after an all-night last-stand demonstration against a highly controversial Russian-style \u201cforeign influence\u201d bill.<\/p>\n
The ex-Soviet republic has been gripped for weeks by huge protests over the bill, dubbed the \u201cRussian law\u201d as it resembles repressive legislation used by the Kremlin. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Protesters \u2014 largely young people \u2014 are furious over the bill, saying it will sabotage the Caucasus country\u2019s hopes of joining the EU and will end democracy in the country.<\/p>\n
The ruling Georgian Dream party \u2014 which was forced to drop a similar bill last year after a huge backlash \u2014 are intent on passing the bill Tuesday, arguing it is all about transparency.<\/p>\n
The law requires NGOs and media receiving more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad to register as an \u201corganisation pursuing the interests of a foreign power\u201d.<\/p>\n
MPs on Monday pushed the bill through a parliamentary legal committee in minutes. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Tens of thousands protested against the bill Sunday, with some staying all night to stop ruling party MPs from entering the parliament building Monday.<\/p>\n
At dawn, AFP saw police detain and beat a group of protesters.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hundreds of riot police lined a small street behind parliament, with some scuffling with protesters.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Authorities had warned they would arrest people who blocked parliament, but thousands defied the warning and came to the building\u2019s gates anyway.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The protests in Georgia have been led by students from Tbilisi\u2019s universities who declared a strike Monday.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are planning to stay here for as long as it takes,\u201d 22-year-old Mariam Kalandadze told AFP.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2013 \u2018We know this scenario\u2019 \u2013<\/p>\n
\u201cThis law means not joining Europe,\u201d she said, adding that \u201cthis is something that I have wanted my whole life.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Protesters accuse Georgian Dream of lying when it says it is still committed to Georgia joining the EU.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They say the bill will bring Georgia closer to authoritarian Russia.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A similar law was passed in Russia in 2012 and has been used to crack down on dissent.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIf this law passes we will slowly become Russia. We know what happened there and in Belarus,\u201d said 26-year-old Archil Svanidze.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know this scenario.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The face of Georgian protests has been remarkably young, with people under 30 taking a leading role on the street and some freshly out of school.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But many said their parents and grandparents supported them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe always knew we were part of Europe. Every generation knows about this \u2014 not only Gen Zs and millennials,\u201d Svanidze said, proudly adding that his father was at the protest most of the night.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2013 \u2018We will leave\u2019 \u2013<\/p>\n
Georgian Dream \u2014 in power since 2012 \u2014 has portrayed the protesters as a violent mob and has defended the law as necessary for Georgian sovereignty.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It brought back the bill in a shock move in April, a year after it was dropped due to a massive backlash.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Its billionaire backer Bidzina Ivanishvili \u2014 who made his fortune in Russia \u2014 has declared NGOs as the enemy from within, accusing them of plotting a revolution and of taking orders from foreign countries.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Officials often accuse protesters and the opposition of having links with the previous government, which was led by their nemesis Mikheil Saakashvili, who is now in jail.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ironic part is that they always criticise the last government as corrupt and brutal,\u201d 18-year-old Salome Lobjanidze said, who did not go to university lectures Monday to stand outside parliament.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She was six when Georgia\u2019s previous government fell, saying she was tired of these arguments.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lobjanidze, who was at parliament with her friend, said she was \u201cdevastated\u201d by the law.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf it goes through, many of the people standing here will leave (the country),\u201d she told AFP.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The stand-off is one of the most tense in the country\u2019s recent political history.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
Georgians protest in last stand against ‘foreign agent’ bill
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#Georgians #protest #stand #foreign #agent #bill<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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