On Friday (3), Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze rejected criticism from the United States and the European Union over a draft bill dealing with “foreign agents,” saying his opponents were not willing to participate in a meaningful discussion.
The draft legislation, currently making its way through Georgia's parliament, requires companies that receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as agents under foreign influence, a requirement that opponents criticize as authoritarian and Kremlin-inspired, which gave the project the nickname “Russian Law”.
Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets again on Friday to protest the law. The acts arrived close to the headquarters of the ruling Georgian Dream party. The crowd also participated in a Good Friday mass, before Orthodox Easter Sunday.
The European Union and the United States have called on Tbilisi to scrap the legislation or risk damaging its chances of joining the European Union and a broader future in the Euro-Atlantic.
The standoff is seen as part of a broader issue that could determine whether Georgia, a country of 3.7 million people that has gone through war and revolution since the fall of the Soviet Union, moves closer to Europe or returns to Moscow's influence. .
Kobakhidze said the legislation is necessary for transparency and accountability in the South Caucasus nation. The prime minister added that previous statements by the United States had encouraged violence by what he called foreign-funded actors.
Source: CNN Brasil
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