Surprising turnaround: Georgia withdraws planned law after protests

Tbilisi - Following major protests, Georgia has withdrawn a controversial draft law on the introduction of a register for "foreign agents" in the South Caucasus .

A demonstrator waves the Georgian national flag in front of a burning barricade near the Georgian parliament building in Tbilisi.
A demonstrator waves the Georgian national flag in front of a burning barricade near the Georgian parliament building in Tbilisi.  © Zurab Tsertsvadze/AP

This was announced by the ruling Georgian Dream party in the capital Tbilisi on Thursday. Critics had accused the government of drafting the planned law along Russian lines and paving the way for Georgia's authoritarian orientation.

They also saw this as a threat to the former Soviet republic's EU prospects. There was also international criticism.

"We see that the draft law has led to differences of opinion in society," the Georgian Dream party has now announced. "In view of all this, we (...) have decided to withdraw the bill we supported without reservation."

Several thousand people have gathered on the streets of Tbilisi over the past few days for the anti-government and pro-European protests.

The police repeatedly used force against them, including tear gas and water cannons. Arrests were also made.

Police use water cannons against demonstrators in front of the Georgian parliament building in Tbilisi.
ContentImage.Description   © Uncredited/AP/dpa

Russia takes massive action against dissidents

In Russia, numerous independent media - as well as non-governmental organizations - are branded as "foreign agents". The regulation is criticized internationally as a politically motivated measure aimed at stigmatizing and silencing critics of the Kremlin.

Since the beginning of the war of aggression against Ukraine ordered by President Vladimir Putin (70) more than a year ago, Russia has been taking massive action against dissidents in its own country.