Day: May 16, 2024

On May 15, Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili gave interviews to foreign media and publications, including DW, RFI, La Croix, Franceinfo, BBC, and LTV Ziņu Dienests, in which she addressed the issues surrounding the Russian-style foreign agents law, including the threats it poses to Georgian democracy, the presidential veto, the Georgian Dream government, the ongoing massive protests against the law, and the upcoming parliamentary elections.

We have compiled the President’s key messages from the interviews:

Why is the Foreign Agents Law a Russian Law? The President explained the nature of the law on transparency of foreign influence, reiterating several times that it is modeled on similar legislation passed in Russia in 2012. She told the media that the law aims to silence critical voices and thus undermine Georgia’s democracy by targeting the CSOs and media outlets that receive foreign funding and declaring them foreign agents. 

President’s Veto and Possible Negotiations over the Law: The President said that she would veto the law within the 14-day period. Noting that the parliamentary majority has enough power to override her veto, the President said that her veto would only be a demonstration of the vast majority of the Georgian people who oppose the law. She categorically ruled out any possibility of negotiating with the ruling majority on any part of the law, and firmly stated that the law as a whole is problematic and must be dropped. 

Importance of Elections: In the interviews, the President stressed the crucial importance of the upcoming parliamentary elections in October, saying that the elections will be like a referendum in which the people will decide and vote whether they want a European or Russian future for the country. She said that she will work to lead the people on the path to the elections. She also said that the government wants to rig the elections and noted that the people can prevent this with mass mobilization. Salome Zurabishvili also said that the will of the youth and the emigrants will be decisive in the elections. Commenting on possible Western measures against Georgia as a country over the foreign agents law, Salome Zurabishvili said that no decision should be taken before the elections, including by the EU. 

GD-Government: President Zurabishvili slammed the Georgian ruling authorities not only for the reintroduction and the adoption of the foreign agents law, but also for its recent openly anti-Western stance, noting that the Georgian Dream and Russia share the same narrative. She mentioned GD patron Bidzina Ivanishvili and his April 29 speech several times, saying that he and his party had declared war on the West. 

Development of the ongoing mass protests: The President refused to make any predictions about the development of the process concerning the foreign agents law and especially about the ongoing popular protests. She said that she wouldn’t want Georgia to see the development of a process similar to Maidan in Ukraine or Lukashenko’s victory in Belarus and reiterated that she would try to lead the people to the elections peacefully. 

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— Michael Novakhov (@mikenov) May 16, 2024