(28 May 2024)
RESTRICTIONS SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Tbilisi, Georgia – 28 May 2024
1. Wide of protest
2. Mid of protest
3. Close of police
4. Wide of protesters
5. Mid of protesters chanting (Georgian): "Slaves"
6. Close of protesters chanting (Georgian): "Slaves"
7. Mid of protester holding banner
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Khatia Dekanoidze, MP from United National Movement Party:
"Now we have absolutely new reality. The foreign policy doctrine of Ivanishvili (Bidzina, chairman of the Georgian Dream party and former Prime Minister of Georgia) is very detrimental and egregious for Georgia. Probably, the window for integration into (the) European Union will be closed. There will be personal sanctions against the Georgian Dream members of the parliament. And of course it is very much important to underline that these people (pointing to protesters) will never going to stop and these people will never going to let Ivanishvili to drag Georgia into the Russian swamp again."
9. Various of protesters
10. SOUNDBITE(English) Gigi Ugulava, former mayor of Tbilisi:
"Today the parliament has adopted and overcome the veto of the president on the foreign agent’s law. And this law will be in place in couple of days, but the fight is not over. The fight will come to the next stage. We have elections in five to four months and the choice is very clear: Europe versus Russia. Russia is Georgian Dream and Ivanishvili and united opposition will represent (the) European path."
11. Wide of protest
STORYLINE:
Protesters outside Georgia’s parliament said on Tuesday that the fight for the country’s future in Europe will continue after parliament overrode the presidential veto and adopted the controversial law on foreign influence.
The bill has prompted weeks of massive protests by critics who say it will restrict media freedom and obstruct Georgia’s chances of joining the European Union.
The legislature, controlled by the ruling Georgian Dream party, dismissed the veto of President Salome Zourabichvili, an independent. The president now has five days to endorse the bill. If she doesn’t do so, the parliament speaker will sign it into law.
The bill that was approved by the parliament earlier this month requires media, non-governmental organisations and other non-profit groups to register as “pursuing the interests of a foreign power” if they receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad.
Georgia also has parliamentary elections coming up in October. Gigi Ugulava, the former mayor of Tbilisi, said on Tuesday the choice would be "Europe versus Russia."
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