The “March of freedom against the Russian law” took place in the capital of Georgia

In the center of Tbilisi, about ten thousand people on Tuesday took part in a demonstration against the plans of the ruling party “Georgian Dream” (GM) to adopt the law “On transparency of foreign influence”, which representatives of non-governmental organizations and opposition parties call the “Russian law”.

Opponents of the measure note that a similar law on foreign agents, adopted a few years ago in Russia, eventually led to repression, restriction of media freedom, and stigmatization of representatives of civil society.

Member of the Parliament of Georgia, former head of the National Police of Ukraine, Khatiya Dekanoidze, said that the government of “Georgian Dream”, despite its pro-Western rhetoric, “is carrying out the same plans to establish an anti-democratic regime.”

The “Freedom March” began on Respublika Square. Thousands of civil activists and oppositionists marched along Rustaveli Avenue following a poster with the main slogan: “Yes – Europe! No – Russian law!”.

The procession ended at the parliament building, in the same place where a turning point in the recent history of Georgia took place on April 9, 1989: more than twenty people died in clashes between supporters of independence and Soviet troops sent to Tbilisi to suppress protests.

The organizers of the current march did not hide that they decided to hold it precisely on the next anniversary of the tragic events in order to “underline the continuity of the struggle for the free and democratic future of Georgia.” Former Ombudsman Nino Lomjaria made such a statement in an interview with journalists during the protest.

The “Freedom March” ended with the performance of the national anthem of Georgia, as well as the anthem of the EU.

The country’s authorities claim that the law, registered for consideration in the parliament, “serves only the transparency of external financing of non-governmental organizations.” At a government meeting, Prime Minister Irakliy Kobakhidze accused NGOs of “concealing the sources of funding and the goals of their activities.” And the executive secretary of the GM warned that if the West imposes sanctions against the Georgian authorities due to the adoption of the law, “it will be a huge injustice, since similar laws are in force in the USA and many Western countries.”

Soviet-era dissident Levan Berdzenishvili, who founded the “Republican Party of Georgia” in 1979, believes that the authorities are clearly deceiving and preparing this law only as the first step in the process of building an autocratic regime: “This law will be followed by other laws arising from it! Exactly so same as it happened in Russia,” Berdzenyshvili assured. According to him, the goal of the ruling party is to silence the mass media and civil society. Berdzenyshvili also mentioned the “clear order of Moscow”.

Professor Tornike Sharashenidze of the Tbilisi Institute of Public Affairs said that he could not understand the logic of the authorities: “They do not listen to the warnings and advice of Western partners, although they declare their desire to integrate into the EU and NATO.”

• Last year, Georgia was granted the status of a candidate for EU membership with the condition of carrying out institutional reforms and strengthening democracy, including the implementation of a nine-point program, one of which recommends that the authorities create favorable conditions for the free work of civil society organizations and mass media.