Thousands of protesters took to the street after Georgia’s parliament approved a draft bill requiring non-governmental agencies that receive 20% of funding from abroad to register as “foreign agents” on Tuesday March 7.
The draft bill was allegedly modeled behind a Russian law passed in 2012, which allowed the Russian government to start a crackdown on free speech.
During the large-scale demonstrations against the :Russian-like” law, police used high-frequency sounds to disperse the crowd, but protesters were unfazed and danced instead.
Opponents also criticized the law will be a hurdle for the country to obtain EU membership.
Protestors in the country’s capital, Tbilisi, were heard chanting, “No to the Russian law,” according to the Guardian.
Videos shared on social media showed police officers using tear gas and water cannons on protestors.
Georgian officers also used high-frequency sirens, but young protesters remained in place.
“We go to the nightclubs for gas and sirens, you morons,” one protestor said, according to a tweet.
Followed by two nights of large scale protests in Tbilisi, the government announced it would permanently withdraw the bill on Thursday.
“The protest was against what people called a Russian law, but it was also against the Russian government,” Georgian politics professor, Ghia Nodia, said according to the New York Times.
The opposition of the current Georgian government has criticized the party for its deep ties with Russia.
Although the government has not openly backed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it has yet to impose sanctions against Russia like other countries.
