TBILISI: Thousands of people staged a march in the capital of Georgia, Tbilisi, on Sunday, against a bill on foreign agents that the country’s opposition and Western nation term authoritarian and Russian-inspired.
Parliament of Georgia said that it would hold the bill on Tuesday, with opposition parties and civil society groups calling for mass demonstrations against its expected adoption.
If adopted, the organisations receiving more than 20 percent of their funds from abroad need to register as foreign agents otherwise they have to face fines.
A protester Nika Shurgaia said many non-government organisations might be closed because of the proposed bill which is a Russian law.
Shurgaia went on to say there are hundreds of such NGOs who have done so much for the country and now they are facing shutdown.
The EU and Western nations have warned that the law could prevent Georgia’s integration with the EU, which granted Georgia candidate status in December.
The bill must pass three readings in parliament to become a law, as well as a veto by Georgia’s president, who opposes it.
Rights groups opposed to the bill have been protesting outside parliament, controlled by the Georgian Dream ruling party, for over a week.
Thousands of student demonstrators have blocked central Rustaveli Avenue in Tbilisi.
Opponents of the bill who organized the mass demonstrations on Sunday have also asked the protesters on its second reading on Tuesday. The government has also called a rally in support of the bill for Monday.
