UN rights chief Volker Turk on Thursday, May 2, called on Georgia's government to withdraw a controversial "foreign agent" bill going through parliament and expressed concern at police violence against protesters. His statement came a day after Georgia's parliament passed the draft law on a second reading and following another night of protests against the bill, which critics say is a bid to silence dissent.
If adopted, the law would require that any independent NGO and media organization receiving more than 20% of its funding from abroad register as an "organization pursuing the interests of a foreign power."
"I urge Georgian authorities to withdraw this draft law, and to engage in dialogue, including with civil society and media organizations," said Turk. "Labelling NGOs and media outlets receiving foreign funding as 'organizations acting in the interest of a foreign power' poses serious threats to the rights to freedom of expression and association."
Turk said he was "concerned by reports of unnecessary and disproportionate use of force" by law enforcement against protesters and the media, urging an investigation into allegations of mistreatment during protests or in detention. Those arrested "arbitrarily for exercising their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly must be released immediately" and charges against them dropped, he added.
Tear gas and arrests
Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in Georgia again on Thursday to protest against the bill. The Black Sea Caucasus nation has been gripped by mass anti-government protests since April 9, after the ruling Georgian Dream party reintroduced the bill that critics see as repressive.
Unlike previous demonstrations in the capital Tbilisi, Thursday's protests took place in two different locations: the traditional one in front of parliament, but also on Heroes Square, home to a monument dedicated to fallen Georgian soldiers. Police fired tear gas and arrested several protesters who had blocked the main road leading to Heroes Square.
Demonstrators in front of the parliament then headed to the square, shouting "No to Russia!" and holding up placards of Georgia Dream MPs they branded as "traitors." "We are all together to show the Kremlin's puppets that we will not accept the government that goes against the Georgian people's wishes," said protester Giorgi Loladze, 27, from Kutaisi, Georgia's third-largest city.