Two years ago, Georgia’s administration was forced to do an embarrassing U-turn after just two days of protests. After intense protests triggered by the bill’s initial reading, it backed down from its attempt to create a “foreign agents” statute, which detractors compared to laws President Vladimir Putin had imposed to suppress opposition in Russian.
Ana Tavazde, one of tens of thousands who protested against the bill, recalls, “We fought it off like hell, used every instrument at our disposal.” The bill would have required media outlets and other organisations that receive more than 20% of their funding from overseas to register as “agents of foreign influence” or face fines.
Tavazde was among thousands of Georgians who took to the streets once more after the ruling Georgian Dream party, which proclaimed victory again following a contentious election in October, postponed the nation’s much anticipated application to join the European Union until 2028. Local media reported that the government began mass arrests and made investments in water cannons.
Many in the former Soviet nation believe that Georgia is returning to the orbit of the Kremlin because the government has not changed its direction since then. Furthermore, it is unclear what will end the impasse as the protest movement approaches its third month.
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