Lawmakers brawl as Georgian Parliament considers ‘foreign agent’ bill
Al JazeeraApr 04
Georgia: Third Reading of 'Foreign Agents' Bill Met with Further Protests
The Facts
Thousands of Georgians protested the government's "foreign agents" bill in Tbilisi on Sunday, with many planning to subsequently stay outside parliament overnight to prevent lawmakers from attending the third reading on Monday.
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze proposed the bill last year, which would require that NGOs receiving more than 20% of their financial support from abroad to register as agents of foreign influence or face hefty fines.
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
Younger generations of Georgians are currently mobilizing in the streets to oppose this potential pro-Russian law. This legislation threatens Georgia's progress toward EU integration by suppressing opposition and freedom of speech through targeted actions against NGOs that receive foreign funding. Georgia, trapped between its Soviet past and European future, finally has a chance to move forward. This legislation must not be enacted.
Establishment-critical narrative
There is no similarity between the Russian Foreign Agents Act of 2012 and the Foreign Influence Bill of the Georgian Dream Party. Georgian Dream has no intention of making it illegal for NGOs to receive foreign funding. Instead, the government actively supports foreign financing for its over 25K NGOs, with 90% of them receiving funds from external sources. Georgian citizens, however, have a right to know who finances these partisan NGOs and what ideas they advocate.