Georgia students stage walk-outs to protest at 'foreign agents' bill

Its billionaire founder, ex-prime minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, has said such interference could drag Georgia into a war with Russia, in which Georgians are used as cannon fodder. Students rallying on Monday said they saw the bill has representing a choice between integration with the European Union and a return to Russian influence.

Hundreds of university students in the Georgian capital walked out of classes on Monday and marched to parliament to voice their opposition to a bill on "foreign agents" that has triggered a political crisis in the South Caucasus country. The bill's opponents have staged near-nightly protests for a month in Tbilisi. A rally on Saturday was one of the largest Georgia has seen since it won its independence from Moscow in 1991.

The European Union has said the bill - which requires organisations receiving more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as agents of foreign influence - threatens Georgia's bid to join the bloc. Polls show an overwhelming majority Georgia's 3.7 million people back EU accession.

The ruling party says the legislation is needed to enhance the transparency of NGO funding and protect the country from interference by Western powers. Its billionaire founder, ex-prime minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, has said such interference could drag Georgia into a war with Russia, in which Georgians are used as cannon fodder.

Students rallying on Monday said they saw the bill has representing a choice between integration with the European Union and a return to Russian influence. "I think (the law) is very disrespectful for students, for every single person who stands here", said Ana Samkharadze, an 18-year-old international relations student.

Student Vache Nikolaishvili said it was crucial for young people to voice their dissent. "When we have such a law, when we have such a government, there is no time for university," the 19-year-old told Reuters outside the parliament building.

Georgian media reported that student organisations at dozens of institutions in the country said they would join in the strike. Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has vowed to press ahead with the legislation.

Western countries and domestic critics have denounced the bill as authoritarian and Russian-inspired, likening it to similar legislation which has been used to hound critics of Vladimir Putin's Kremlin. The Kremlin has denied any association with the Georgian legislation.

On Sunday several thousand protesters staged an all-night rally outside parliament with the intention of preventing lawmakers from entering the building on Monday. Twenty people were detained, including two U.S. citizens and one Russian national. The U.S. Embassy and Russia's diplomatic representatives in Georgia did not immediately reply to emailed requests for comment.

Georgian lawmakers were ultimately able to access the parliament where the judiciary committee - boycotted by opposition parties - formally approved the bill in a one-minute session. The full assembly is expected to debate and approve the bill as early as Tuesday.

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