Thousands of protesters have taken to the streets of Georgia’s capital Tbilisi for a second day. Riot police have used tear gas, stun grenades and water cannons to control the crowds; protestors responded by throwing stones, flares and in some cases even Molotov cocktails. A group of those demonstrating even tried to break into the parliamentary building. Over sixty arrests have been made so far.
The focus of demonstrators’ anger is legislation to create a ‘foreign agents’ register. People’s Power (PP), the populist party which introduced the legislation, claim it will encourage ‘transparency over foreign influence’ in Georgia. But critics fear a crackdown on freedom of speech and criticism of the government – and claim the bills are a copy of repressive legislation used in Russia to target dissidents.
For Georgians these bills are also about whether the time has finally come for Georgia to break ties with Russia
Protestors say the proposed legislation presents a threat to Georgia’s democracy.
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