April 3, 2024 - The South Caucasus News - SouthCaucasusNews.com

Russian law on foreign agents in Georgia

The ruling party, ‘Georgian Dream,’ is once again initiating the consideration of the so-called ‘Russian law on foreign agents’ [officially titled the ‘Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence’]. This was announced by the chairman of the parliamentary faction of the ‘Georgian Dream,’ Mamuka Mdinaradze, during a special briefing.

He read out a lengthy statement from the party, indicating that the parliamentary majority is dissatisfied with the non-governmental sector and demands transparency in its funding.

“The parliamentary majority, after consulting with the party’s political council, has decided to reintroduce to parliament the draft law on transparency of foreign influence. The draft law will be initiated with the same text as last year’s, with the only difference being that in the draft we are initiating today, instead of the term ‘foreign influence agent,’ the term ‘organization representing the interests of a foreign state’ is used,” Mdinaradze said.

Gas, water cannons, arrests – Tbilisi against the law “on foreign agents.” Chronology and many photos

Много фото и видео одной из самых горячих акций протеста последнего времени

According to Mdinaradze, the draft law proposes only one requirement: to fill out a declaration once a year and publish a financial report of any organization receiving foreign funding, with specified penalties for violations. Mdinaradze defines this as the minimum standard of public accountability and transparency that any organization, even those formally claiming honesty, should adhere to.

“As you know, last year we made a humane decision and provided a report even to those parts of society that were misled. Moreover, there was a threat of serious provocations that could endanger people’s lives and health. Considering all this, we decided to withdraw the draft law,” Mdinaradze said.

Mdinaradze states that specific organizations funded by foreign states, along with radical opposition parties, still pose a risk of radicalism and remain sources of polarization in Georgia.

“We have repeatedly tried to completely eliminate the problem of opacity, but unsuccessfully. Despite initial promises, donors eventually refused to disclose information about funding… In a situation where the ideal result has not been achieved and the public now has much more information on this issue, we believe that there is no alternative to initiating the draft law,” Mdinaradze concluded.

Mamuka Mdinaradze emphasizes that the logical condition for not adopting the “Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence” was the practical provision of transparency of foreign influence, which, “unfortunately,” was not achieved even after lengthy consultations with embassies and donors.

The influx of opaque money into Georgia increases as the elections approach, with a significant portion of these funds directed towards supporting radical parties, radical NGOs, and radical propaganda media, said Mdinaradze.

According to him, similar laws are in effect in the United States, Israel, and Australia. Over the past year, discussions on such laws have begun and are actively ongoing in the European Union, the United Kingdom, France, Canada, Slovakia, and Ukraine, which once again confirms the relevance of the issue of “protecting democracy and sovereignty.”

“Last year, radical opposition, NGOs, and their lobbyists deliberately disrupted the substantive discussion on the draft law because they knew better than anyone that they had nothing to say, and all their so-called arguments were empty lies. This year, everyone will have to engage in substantive discussion, which will show society the scale of lies they presented to them.

The “Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence” in the long run will protect Georgia from such attempts to artificially provoke unrest in the country, which have been encountered since 2020. Protecting sovereignty, peace, and stability is our main obligation to the Georgian state and society,” said Mdinaradze.

The so-called “Russian draft law” was initially initiated by the “Georgian Dream” in February 2023, which sparked massive public protests. As a result, on March 9, the ruling party withdrew the “law on foreign agents.” On March 10, it was removed from the agenda at a plenary session.

On March 7-8, a protest rally took place near the parliament building in Tbilisi. Similar actions were held in Kutaisi, Batumi, and other cities. In Tbilisi, the police dispersed the peaceful demonstration using water cannons, pepper spray, and tear gas.

Despite this, the crowd did not disperse, after which the police began to detain protesters. Police prevented media representatives from working, and there were cases of violence against journalists. On March 9, the Ministry of Internal Affairs released all 133 people detained administratively.

The only protester who remains in prison to this day is 21-year-old Lazare Grigoriadis.