Protesters rally, lawmakers brawl as Georgia debates 'foreign agent' bill

Thousands of Georgians protested on Monday and lawmakers came to blows as ruling party legislators looked set to advance a bill on "foreign agents" that has been criticised by Western and domestic critics as Russian-inspired. More than 5,000 protesters massed outside Georgia's Soviet-built parliament building, demanding the government withdraw the legislation requiring organisations that accept funds from abroad to register as foreign agents or face fines.

Thousands of Georgians protested on Monday and lawmakers came to blows as ruling party legislators looked set to advance a bill on "foreign agents" that has been criticised by Western and domestic critics as Russian-inspired.

More than 5,000 protesters massed outside Georgia's Soviet-built parliament building, demanding the government withdraw the legislation requiring organisations that accept funds from abroad to register as foreign agents or face fines. Georgian critics have labelled the bill "the Russian law", comparing it to similar legislation used by the Kremlin to crack down on dissent in Russia.

Protesters chanted "Russians! Russians!" at cordons of police securing approaches to the parliament, with water cannon deployed nearby. "I hope we push hard enough to get this law out of the parliament," said Tornike, a 24-year-old activist. "But if they don't do it, I think we have to push hard enough to get rid of this government."

The ruling Georgian Dream party said this month it would reintroduce the bill

, 13 months after it was shelved due to protests. Earlier, Georgian television showed Mamuka Mdinaradze, leader of the Georgian Dream's parliamentary faction and a driving force behind the bill, being punched in the face by opposition MP Aleko Elisashvili while speaking from the despatch box.

The incident prompted a wider brawl pitting lawmakers against each other, an occasional occurrence

in the often raucous parliament. OPPOSITION MEMBERS EJECTED FROM HEARING

Footage showed Elisashvili being greeted with cheers by supporters outside the parliament. Several other opposition MPs were removed from the committee hearing by Georgian Dream legislators. The bill has strained relations with European countries and the United States, which oppose its passage. The European Union, which gave Georgia candidate status in December, has said the move is incompatible with the bloc's values.

Georgian Dream says it wants the country to join the EU and NATO, even as it has deepened ties with Russia and faced accusations of authoritarianism at home. It says the bill is necessary to combat what it calls "pseudo-liberal values" imposed by foreigners, and to promote transparency. The government said Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze held a meeting on Monday with the EU, British and U.S. ambassadors at which he defended the bill.

Russia is widely unpopular in Georgia, due to Moscow's support for two breakaway regions in the ex-Soviet state -- Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Russia defeated Georgia in a short war in 2008. Khatia Dekanoidze, an opposition MP expelled from the committee hearing on the bill, said: "It's not about the law, I mean it's not about the legal proceedings. It's about the geopolitical choice. Whether Georgia is going to the European Union, or whether Georgia is going to Russia."

Once approved by members of the legislature's legal affairs committee, which is controlled by Georgian Dream and its allies, the bill can proceed to a first reading in parliament. Georgia is due to hold elections by October. Opinion polls show that Georgian Dream remains the most popular party, but has lost ground since 2020, when it won a narrow majority.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)