TBILISI, March 7. /TASS/. Georgian riot police squads had to resort to ‘special measures’ to disperse the crowd protesting against the foreign agent law in downtown Tbilisi, the Georgian Interior Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
"Despite warnings coming from the Interior Ministry, protestors were acting violently and refused to obey police orders. As a result, the police had to use proportional force and special measures, warranted by the law," the ministry said, without elaborating on what those ‘special measures’ implied.
According to the report, several police officers were injured in the ensuing violence. Some police vehicles and equipment were damaged.
The rally, which began peacefully earlier on Tuesday, turned violent when a group of protestors attempted to block an exit from the country’s parliament.
Georgian lawmakers passed the bill on foreign agents in the first reading on Tuesday. During the parliamentary session, thousands of the bill’s opponents gathered outside the building. Clashes with police began shortly after the vote had taken place, and continue until now.
In February, the Georgian parliament registered two versions of the foreign agents bill, namely a Georgian iteration and an American one, the latter being a translation of the US Foreign Agents Registration Act. Under the Georgian version, a foreign agent is defined as a legal entity, including a media outlet, that receives more than 20% of its financing from foreign sources. The bill would not apply to individuals, whereas the US version applies to both legal entities and individuals, and stipulates criminal liability.
The initiative to enshrine the concept of foreign agents in law has given rise to serious criticism by both Georgia’s opposition and Western politicians. Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili promised to veto the bill if it is passed, whereas its initiators, the Power of the People public movement and the leaders of the ruling Georgian Dream Party, contend that the law is needed to ensure the transparency of entities financed from abroad. They plan to refer the bill to the Venice Commission after it passes in the first reading.