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Protest paralyzes access to Tbilisi against foreign agent law
Hundreds of protesters rallying against the law on transparency of foreign influence, known as the foreign agents law, have brought traffic in Tbilisi to a standstill on Thursday after blocking Heroes’ Square.
© GIORGI ARJEVANIDZE/AFP via Getty Images
Mundo Tbilisi
Protesters, who demand that the parliament withdraw the new law, approved the day before in a second reading, moved from Rustaveli Avenue to the Heroes' Square intersection and cut off traffic towards the airport, the train station and other crucial arteries.
Detractors of the controversial law, which they equate to the one in force in Russia, only allowed ambulances to pass.
"Get out of your cars! We must prevent Russia from taking control of Georgia! No to the Russian law!", the protesters shouted at drivers, many of whom expressed their discomfort with these actions, describes the EFE agency.
In a failed attempt to unblock traffic, the police detained a dozen protesters, according to the Rustavi-2 television channel.
Kakha Kaladze, mayor of the capital and secretary general of the ruling party, Georgian Dream, criticized that "the radicals intend to destabilize" the city and must answer before the courts.
The mayor and former AC Milan footballer suggested similarities between what is happening in Georgia and the Euromaidan revolt in Ukraine in 2014, when opponents of then Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych accused him of being manipulated by Moscow and forced him to flee the country.
In previous days, tens of thousands of protesters had already gathered in front of parliament to protest. On Tuesday, police dispersed the crowd with tear gas and rubber bullets and made about 60 arrests.
If approved, the law will require any non-governmental organization or media entity that receives more than 20% of its funding from abroad to register as an "organization that follows the interests of a foreign power".
The government, in turn, claims that this measure aims to force organizations to demonstrate greater transparency regarding their funding.
A first version of the text was abandoned last year, after large-scale street protests.
In the meantime, the Georgian national football team players, whose prestige has grown considerably after qualifying for the 2024 European Championship, have joined the protests to support the country's European aspirations.
"No to Russia! Georgia's path is towards Europe", wrote Giorgi Kochorashvili, from the Spanish club Levante, on Instagram, supported by Giorgi Chakvetadze, from the British Watford, who demanded "the withdrawal of the law to return to normality".
Read Also: Georgia. UN urges authorities to withdraw law on foreign agents (Portuguese version)
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