New night of protests in Tblisi, the capital of Georgia, where thousands of protesters gathered in front of Parliament to demand the repeal of the law on foreign agents, considered pro-Putin , approved yesterday in first reading. The draft law would have provided for the registration with the Ministry of Justice as "agents of foreign influence" for those media that had received more than 20% of their funding from foreign sources.
Police used water cannons and tear gas to try to disperse the many demonstrators who tried to enter the building. According to the report provided by the Ministry of the Interior, the forces of order arrested 133 people, while dozens of agents and civilians were injured.
Now Parliament has announced its intention to revoke the law : "As a party responsible for government we have taken the decision to withdraw the bill we supported unconditionally," the Georgian Dream party, which holds an absolute majority, said. «We welcome the announcement by the ruling party to withdraw the draft law "on foreign influence". We encourage all Georgian political leaders to resume reforms in favor of the EU, in an inclusive and constructive way and in line with Georgia's 12 priorities to obtain candidate status", commented on Twitter from the European Union representation after the executive decision.
(Unioneonline/F)
