On the 14th and the 22nd of February 2023, a radical faction in the Georgian Parliament, formed by ex-members of the ruling Georgian Dream party, proposed two versions of the “On Transparency of Foreign Influence” bill, which requires that nongovernmental organizations, print, internet, and broadcast media must register with the Justice Ministry as “agents of foreign influence” if they receive 20 percent or more of their yearly revenue from a “foreign power” in the manner of monetary or in-kind donations. The term “foreign powers” is used in the bill to refer to foreign governments, foreign nationals, and legal entities not created under Georgian law, as well as foundations, associations, enterprises, unions, and other groups.
Organizations and media outlets registered as “agents of foreign influence” would have to meet “onerous reporting requirements and inspections”, as considered by Human Rights Watch, while also facing fines of up to 25.000 Georgian lari ($9,600) and up to five years in jail for subsequent offenses, in case they fail to comply. “The term ‘foreign agent’ has a very negative connotation in our region; it’s almost like being labeled a traitor. Moreover, the law contained vague sections that would have left the government room for interpretation,” says Mariam Nikuradze, journalist and co-founder of the independent media Open Caucasus Media (OC Media). Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International declared that the bill’s supporters have not provided any justification for how this redundant and onerous reporting improves transparency or accountability. Instead, it appears to be an overt attempt to limit associations’ and media’s freedom of expression and stigmatize independent organizations. Although the parliament might have overridden her, Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili announced she would have vetoed the bill.
The parliamentary bureau chose to forward both pieces of legislation to the appropriate committees for review on February 27. The legislation received strong backing from the ruling Georgian Dream party. The political opposition accuses the government of Irakli Garibashvili of moving politically closer to Moscow, which has been even more noticeable since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, despite a population that is overwhelmingly pro-Ukrainian. This attitude continues to worry civil society. More so because Georgian Dream’s founder, the billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, former prime minister, still retains close ties with Russia, where he amassed his wealth, thus controlling the party from behind the scenes.
The bill, according to its opponents, was modeled after a 2012 Russian statute that has been widely applied to suppress dissent over the previous ten years. The “foreign agents” law in Russia was ruled to be in violation of Article 11 of the European Convention, which safeguards the freedom of association, by the European Court of Human Rights in 2022. It determined that providing organizations that receive support from foreign sources a special status and legal framework was unjustified.
Strong opposition to the measures has also been expressed by the Georgian civil society, international organizations, and bilateral partners. In a joint statement, approximately 400 local nonprofit organizations and media outlets argued that passing the measure would be harmful to the Georgian people and constitute “an attack on the essential Georgian values of dignity, independence, and togetherness.” The bill, according to the U.S. Helsinki Commission, showed “the current government’s increasing acceptance of Russia.” According to the State Department, the measure had Washington “seriously worried”. Any similarities evoked by the ruling Georgian party with the U.S. 1938 “Foreign Agents Registration Act” have been rejected.
The government would have weaponized this law, if it were passed, to further stigmatize and punish independent organizations and media outlets that support the opposition. These actions would have been made in response to the growing support for the opposition from civil society organizations and media outlets.
Tens of thousands of protesters flooded the streets of Tbilisi at the beginning of March, chanting powerful messages such as “No to the Russian law!” or “We are Europe!”. Tear gas and water cannons were used to disperse the demonstrators. It is safe to assume that the immense societal pressure the Georgian Dream party had to face became the decisive factor in the party’s unconditional dropping of the bill on the 9th of March. “I want to congratulate society on its first victory. I am proud of the people who made their voices heard,” President Zurabishvili said in a televised address from New York. However, the opposition parties and civil society still remain reluctant regarding the ruling majority.
A small step toward victory has been achieved through the impactful rise of the Georgian population, but many say that there is still a long way to go in joining the European Union. Nonetheless, the Kremlin’s domination in Georgian politics has finally found a worthy opponent who will, one day, eliminate its long, invisible hand: the will of civil society.
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