(16 Apr 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Tbilisi, Georgia – 16 April 2024
++EVENING SHOTS+
1. Various of protesters at the gate of the Parliament building, blowing whistles and chanting
2. Mid police pushing protesters from the gate
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Giorgi Rukhadze, Founder of Georgian Strategic Analysis Center: ++DAY SHOT++
"Spirit of the law goes against civil society organizations, free and, independent media, critical media. And, this is just a beginning. So what I expect to happen after this law is adopted, if it is adopted, what also happened in Russia, because the first was when it was accepted in, 2012, if I’m not mistaken, it was a simple law about the CSOS (civil society organizations). But then it was extended to, individuals, then media organizations, then all the others. And we saw what happened in Russia. There is no critical media, there are no donors any longer. And people who we are doing this job simply left Russia and escaped in the West. So this is what is going to happen in Georgia. "
4. Various of protesters blowing whistles as they crowd near gate of Parliament building
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Giorgi Rukhadze, Founder of Georgian Strategic Analysis Center: ++DAY SHOT++
"If it is adopted, it will bring Georgia in line with Russia and Kazakhstan and Belarus and those countries where human rights are trampled and, it will, destroy Georgia’s European path. And, it’s not by chance and by mistake that the, U.S. State Department and Council of Europe, European Council, European Parliament, European Commission, are very clearly saying that this is a law which is not compatible with the European Union. So this law again brings….also kind of shows what kind of country Georgia is going to be in the coming years. Is it going to be a country which allies with the European Union and civilized West, or it’s a country that allies with Russia. "
6. Mid protesters shouting (Georgian) "Slaves"
STORYLINE:
Protests resumed in Tbilisi on Tuesday as the Parliament debated a divisive new law dubbed the foreign agent bill.
Protesters blew whistles and shouted “slaves” outside the parliament, suggesting the house was bending to pressure from Russia.
The draft — proposed by the ruling Georgian Dream party — calls for media and non-commercial organizations to register as being under foreign influence if they receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad.
Opponents of the measure denounce it as “the Russian law” because of similar legislation used by Moscow to stigmatize independent news media and organizations seen as being at odds with the Kremlin.
"If it is adopted, it will bring Georgia in line with Russia and Kazakhstan and Belarus and those countries where human rights are trampled and, it will, destroy Georgia’s European path," warned Giorgi Rukhadze, the founder of Georgian Strategic Analysis Center.
The bill is nearly identical to a proposal that the governing party was pressured to withdraw a year ago after large street protests.
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