Bone of contention: Foreign agents bill sows discord within Georgian society
Political pundits talk to Caliber.Az

INTERVIEWS  09 March 2023 - 18:04

Protests were held in Georgia against the draft laws "On Transparency of Foreign Influence" and "On the Registration of Foreign Agents". Thus, more than 10 thousand people gathered in front of the Parliament in Tbilisi on March 8. Traffic on Rustaveli Avenue, where the parliament is located, was blocked, the protesters were holding Georgian and EU flags and chanting slogans against the adoption of the bill, which was supported in the first reading on March 8.

It should be noted that the Georgian Parliament adopted in the first reading the Georgian version of the bill on agents of foreign influence. Thousands of protesters against the draft law gathered outside the Parliament simultaneously with the session. The situation at the protest escalated after the MPs supported the document. Special forces fired tear gas and water cannons at the protesters, and security forces drove protesters out of the territory adjacent to the parliament at night.

According to the Interior Ministry, 66 people were detained and 50 policemen were injured in the riots.

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili has sent a letter to the President of the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe, Claire Basi Malori, asking for an opinion on the two draft laws submitted to the Georgian Parliament, "On Transparency of Foreign Influence" and "Registration of Foreign Agents".

"As Georgia progresses towards EU membership, we aim to work with our international partners to ensure the best balance between the legitimate goals of transparency and security on the one hand, and the rights and freedoms of civil society on the other.

In the spirit of our long-standing partnership we are asking the Venice Commission to prepare a legal opinion on the attached draft laws," Shalva Papuashvili says in a letter circulated by the press service of the Parliament.

Government officials publicly articulate the need for the new laws as a way to uphold the country's sovereignty principles while their opponents fear for the future of Georgia's European integration and point to the fact that similar laws have become a tool of political repression in Russia. Opinions are divided.

Today, March 9, it also became known that the draft law on foreign agents, which caused major protests, has been withdrawn from Parliament. This was announced in a joint statement by the ruling Georgian Dream, the People's Power public movement, and the parliamentary majority. However, the ruling party does not intend to abandon its initiative.

"We, as a government responsible to every member of society, have decided to unequivocally withdraw the draft law supported by us without any reservations. As the emotional background subsides, we will better explain to the public why the bill was passed and why it was important to ensure transparency of foreign influence in our country. To this end, we will start meetings with the public and bring the whole truth about every detail of the case to the general public," the party added.

I wonder what is the reason that the current leadership of the country insisted on the passage of the controversial draft law, while the active part of the society and western partners of Georgia directly say that this drop can overflow the cup of patience. Could this be to ensure control of the upcoming parliamentary elections next year and keep the government in power (note: Georgia is a parliamentary republic)? To prevent or label independent observers during the elections as "foreign agents"? There is also a version that this is a manifestation of the authorities' desire to move away from the course towards Europe and the West, so as not to follow the standards already adopted there.

Prominent Georgian experts shared their views on the events with Caliber.Az.

Analyst Tengiz Pkhaladze, the former foreign policy advisor to the Georgian president, believes that there was no need for the draft laws, since the activities of the public sector, mass media, and all the affected parts are already fully regulated by the Georgian legislation. This also includes issuing grants.

"That is, there is a special law on grants, the state defines the organisations that are entitled to receive them, there is a certain procedure of how NGOs have to report for receiving them - they submit monthly, quarterly, and annual various reports. So, everything there is transparent, and accessible to anyone. NGOs are also audited because applying for a grant requires such an audit. In addition, there are also reports required by the donors themselves. Therefore, there was no need to initiate these new laws. There is no issue of transparency here," said Pkhaladze.

According to him, the problem with the two draft laws is that they envisage marking NGOs as "foreign agents," which is, at least, offensive to people who devote their activities to strengthening democracy and the process of reforms in Georgia.

"But on top of that, it says more about the powers given to the Ministry of Justice and the Prosecutor General to control the activities of civil society, including even the right to obtain confidential information. For example, there are NGOs dealing with sociological surveys, which usually guarantee anonymity for the interviewees. Now, if these laws are passed, such research companies would be obliged to disclose the identities of the people they interviewed and the answers they gave. This is one example. All in all, these laws give very serious rights to control, and in fact censor, the activities of the public sector, including the independent media, whose budget consists of more than 20 per cent of donations. That is where the problem lies," says the analyst.

Why is all this happening?

"There is no other explanation, except for the fact that amid the situation in the region, Russia has maximally activated its fifth column in Georgia. Unfortunately, we have these people in the parliament as well. And despite the fact that all of our partners unanimously repeat that passing these laws will alienate Georgia from the EU, the process was initiated and launched. So, this is part of the big geopolitical game, in which Russia is trying to balance its losses on the front in Ukraine in order to achieve some success in other states. And unfortunately, in this regard Georgia is one of the vulnerable countries," Pkhaladze noted.

Head of the School of International Relations of the Georgian Institute of Public Affairs, Professor Tornike Sharashenidze described the situation as "interesting and very confusing".

"I do not have a clear explanation for what is happening. Because it is not in the interests of the Georgian authorities to lose their European perspective, and their chance to gain EU membership in the future. Something inexplicable is going on. Why would they make such a fuss, a scandal, given that they are guaranteed to win next year's elections (because the opposition is too weak)? Hence it is not clear what was their interest when they started pushing these bills," the expert said.

Nika Chitadze, political scientist and professor at the International University of the Black Sea (Tbilisi) said in his turn that the draft laws contradict both interests and the Georgian Constitution.

"According to the Article 78 of the Basic Law, the authorities must ensure Georgia's integration into European and Euro-Atlantic structures. And these bills are an attempt to put pressure on Georgia's civil sector, which contradicts the interests of the country and European values, and pushes Georgia away from Europe," Chitadze said.

Caliber.Az