A fight between deputies broke out this Monday in the Georgian Parliament, which is debating the reintroduction of the controversial bill on
“foreign agents”
, the cause of large-scale demonstrations last year and considered liberticidal by its critics. The ruling party in this Caucasian country, the Georgian Dream, announced in early April the return of this bill, a first version of which had been abandoned after protests that brought together tens of thousands of people in Tbilisi in March 2023 to denounce a text inspired by Russian legislation targeting critics of power.
When the debates began on Monday in Parliament on this text, several deputies came to blows in the middle of the chamber. Footage from the parliamentary session shows an opposition lawmaker punching a ruling party lawmaker who co-drafted the bill in the head, leading to a widespread scuffle and the shutdown of the hearing. live broadcast. In the morning, several dozen demonstrators gathered in front of Parliament to display a large flag of the European Union, which Georgia aims to join, in protest.
A large rally is planned for the evening against this text inspired by a Russian law used for years by the Kremlin to persecute dissident voices.
“Georgian society is strong enough not to let the country slide towards Russian-style authoritarianism
,” wants to believe one of the demonstrators, Saba Gotoua, a 48-year-old architect.
“We will not let the Georgian Dream spoil Georgia's historic chance to become a member of the EU
,” he added to AFP. Last week, around 8,000 people had already demonstrated against the bill in Tbilisi. Georgia has had the ambition for years to deepen its relations with the West, but the ruling party is accused of wanting, on the contrary, to bring this former Soviet republic closer to Russia. The return of this law, criticized by Brussels, risks reviving deep divisions.
Ruling party accused of secretly collaborating with Kremlin
The text would require organizations receiving more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register under the infamous label of
“organization pursuing the interests of a foreign power”
, under penalty of fines. This label has been changed compared to the term
“agent of foreign influence”
in the first version of 2023. The government is defending a bill which will require organizations to demonstrate more
“transparency”
on their financing. Critics of the text see it as a tool for intimidating NGOs and independent media.
According to experts interviewed by AFP, the ruling party, accused of secretly collaborating with the Kremlin, considers the financing of certain NGOs and media by Westerners as a challenge to its control over the country.
“The Georgian Dream does not hide the fact that the law aims to neutralize Western influence
,” underlines political scientist Ghia Nodia.
“The party keeps saying that it is leading Georgia towards the EU, but in fact it is sabotaging Georgia's European path
,” which is supported by around 80% of the population, according to opinion polls, says -he. The Georgian Prime Minister, Irakli Kobakhidze, known for his anti-Western rhetoric, defends himself against any sabotage of the EU accession process, although Brussels has called for the text to be abandoned.
In December, Georgia was granted official candidate status for membership, but Tbilisi still needs to make judicial and electoral reforms, strengthen press freedom and reduce the power of oligarchs before negotiations can actually take place. launched. The United States estimated last week that the adoption of such a text would
“derail Georgia from its European path”
. The return of the bill to Parliament should also reignite tensions between the ruling party and the Georgian president, Salomé Zourabichvili, a fierce supporter of rapprochement with the EU. In 2023, she openly supported the protesters. However, its prerogatives are limited.