U.S. Embassy in Georgia released a statement on Georgian "parliament’s rushed advancement of Kremlin-inspired legislation on so-called “Foreign Influence” which says that "today is a dark day for Georgia’s democracy."
"Today is a dark day for Georgia’s democracy. Parliament’s advancing of these Kremlin-inspired laws is incompatible with the people of Georgia’s clear desire for European integration and its democratic development. Pursuing these laws will damage Georgia’s relations with its strategic partners and undermine the important work of so many Georgian organizations working to help their fellow citizens. The process and the draft laws raise real questions about the ruling party’s commitment to Euro-Atlantic integration," the statement reads.
Georgian lawmakers have been debating a bill that would see certain bodies deemed "foreign agents," a proposed law that many see as dangerously close to similar Russian legislation.
During the first hearing last week and further discussion on Monday, protesters stormed the parliament building, chanting: "No to Russian law. No to traitors."
After clashes with police last Thursday in the capital, Tbilisi, at least four protesters were detained. Tensions rose as fistfights broke out in the parliament between politicians from the ruling party, Georgian Dream, and the opposition, which accused authorities of pursuing Kremlin-like policies.
However, discontent with the controversial bill has not been voiced just domestically: Brussels and Washington have warned that the adoption of such a law will endanger Georgia's prospects of receiving long-awaited EU candidate status.
