TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — Georgia’s parliament moved a step closer Wednesday to passing a law that critics fear will stifle media freedom and jeopardize the country’s bid to join the European Union, as police used water cannons, tear gas and pepper spray was used against tens of thousands of demonstrators crowding the surrounding streets.
Dozens of people were arrested the night before and mass rallies are taking place daily in the capital Tbilisi. Protesters condemn the bill as “the Russian law” because neighboring Russia uses similar laws to stigmatize independent news media and organizations critical of the Kremlin.
The law requires media and non-commercial organizations to register as “pursuing the interests of a foreign power” if they receive more than 20% of funding from abroad. The ruling Georgian Dream party withdrew a similar proposal last year after large crowds protested.
83 of Georgia’s 150 lawmakers approved the bill in its second reading, while 23 voted against it. A third and final vote in Parliament is required before it can come into force. Georgian legislator Iraqi Kobakhidze told reporters on Wednesday that he expects the final vote to take place in mid-May.
Relations between Russia and Georgia have been complicated and turbulent since the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s. The two countries fought a brief war in 2008 that ended with Georgia losing control of two Russia-friendly separatist regions.
As a result, Tbilisi broke off diplomatic relations with Moscow and the issue of the regions’ status remains a key irritant, although relations have improved somewhat.
Georgia joined international resolutions condemning Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, but also became a prime target for Russians fleeing military mobilization and political crackdown. Even Georgia’s ruling party experienced internal tensions with its neighbor.
According to the Interior Ministry, 63 people were arrested following the protests on Tuesday.
Georgian television showed Levan Khabeishvili, leader of the pro-Western United National Movement party, arrived at parliament on Wednesday morning with bandages on his nose and forehead. Members of Khabeishvili’s party said he was attacked by police during the protests.
Purple bruises and cuts could be seen around Khabeishvili’s left eye as he urged his MPs to scrap the bill.
“If you are not interested in how the leader of the largest opposition party was beaten up, then I would like to ask you again – on behalf of the young people who were injured, hit on the head and bruised – even if I have no hope, pull “Back this law,” he said.
Deputy Interior Minister Aleksandre Darakhvelidze claimed at a briefing on Wednesday that Khabeishvili had broken through a police cordon the night before and was injured during his “resistance.” Darakhvelidze claimed that protesters and opposition leaders were “constantly using violence.” Police broke up the protest after demonstrators tried to block the entrance to parliament.
As protesters gathered again on Wednesday, opposition lawmaker Beqa Liluashvili released a live video from the parliament chamber in which MPs can be seen shouting and physically confronting each other. One threw a stack of papers at the opponents. Others held their colleagues back.
Opposition MP Helene Khoshtaria accused the ruling party of trying to “draw Georgia into Russia’s influence” and “shut off its European future.”
Speaking to The Associated Press outside parliament, she described the authorities’ response to the rallies as “extremely authoritarian” but said it would not deter protesters.
“We don’t want the Soviet regime that our parents experienced,” one protester, Kato Salukvadze, told the AP late Tuesday. “I think everyone should be on the streets and say no to Russian law and yes to Europe.”
Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili, who is increasingly at odds with the ruling party, criticized the bill and said she would veto it if it was approved by parliament. But the ruling party can override the veto and ask the speaker of parliament to sign the bill.
At a media briefing on Wednesday, Kobakhidze spoke openly about Georgian Dream’s intention to do so and defended Tbilisi’s forceful response to the protests.
“Today, during the third reading, there will be demonstrations during the veto override. (If the law is passed), there will be discomfort for a few days. “In the long term, however, we will insure the country against polarization and radicalism for years to come,” Kobachidze told reporters.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell posted on X on Wednesday that Tbilisi’s use of force against the demonstrators was “unacceptable.”
“Georgia is an EU candidate country, I call on its authorities to ensure the right to peaceful assembly,” he said.