.-') _      .-') _  
                      ( OO ) )    ( OO ) ) 
          .-----. ,--./ ,--,' ,--./ ,--,'
         '  .--./ |   \ |  |\ |   \ |  |\  
         |  |('-. |    \|  | )|    \|  | ) 
        /_) |OO  )|  .     |/ |  .     |/  
        ||  |`-'| |  |\    |  |  |\    |   
       (_'  '--'\ |  | \   |  |  | \   |
          `-----' `--'  `--'  `--'  `--'
       lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial
       
       
       ARTICLE VIEW: 
       
       /
       
       Violent clashes break out in Georgia amid controversial ‘foreign
       agents’ law debate
       
       By Radina Gigova and Niamh Kennedy, CNN
       
       Updated: 
       
       6:50 PM EDT, Tue April 16, 2024
       
       Source: CNN
       
       Violent clashes erupted between protesters and police in Georgia’s
       capital, Tbilisi, on Tuesday as the country’s parliament continued
       debating a controversial “foreign agents” bill, criticized by
       Western and domestic opponents as authoritarian and Russian-inspired.
       
       The bill, dubbed “the Russian law” by critics due to parallels with
       legislation used by the Kremlin to crack down on dissent, has been
       reintroduced for debate by the ruling Georgian Dream party, after it
       was dropped last year amid a wave of protests.
       
       The legislation, which would require organizations that accept funds
       from abroad to register as foreign agents or face fines, has been
       criticized by Western countries, including the US and Britain, and seen
       by rights groups as an attempt to curtail basic freedoms in the
       country.
       
       “Second night of massive protest in Tbilisi against the Russian
       Law,” Georgia’s President Salome Zourabichvili said in a post on
       social media on Tuesday.
       
       “Insistence of the authorities to push through this law against the
       will of the population and despite partners protest is a direct
       provocation – a Russian strategy of destabilization,” said
       Zourabichvili, who has vowed to repeal the law if it crosses her desk.
       
       The Georgian Dream party, which has been pushing for the law, has the
       parliamentary majority which could override a presidential veto.
       
       Videos shared on activist Telegram channels and news agencies showed
       riot police trying to clear demonstrators from the area around the
       parliament. In the videos, police could be seen grabbing protesters by
       the clothes and firing what appeared to be water cannons.
       
       At least one employee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs was injured
       during Tuesday’s clashes, the ministry said in a statement.
       
       If protesters “continue their illegal actions,” the Ministry of
       Internal Affairs will “administer special measures defined by law,”
       it warned. “Each illegal action will be followed by appropriate legal
       response from the police,” it added.
       
       Dramatic scenes unfolded inside the ex-Soviet country’s parliament a
       day earlier, as Georgian television showed the leader of the Georgian
       Dream party, Mamuka Mdinaradze, being punched in the face by
       opposition lawmaker Aleko Elisashvili. A wider brawl between several
       lawmakers followed.
       
       Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have denounced the
       “foreign agents” law, saying if adopted, it would also “impose
       additional onerous reporting requirements, inspections, and
       administrative and criminal liability, including up to five years in
       prison for violations.”
       
       The legislation is “incompatible with international human rights law
       and standards that protect the rights to freedom of expression and
       association,” Human Rights Watch warned.
       
       This is a developing story and will be updated.
       
   DIR  <- back to index