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Georgia’s ruling party axes foreign agents bill

It is reported that Georgian opposition parties canceled plans to hold a briefing later on Thursday to initiate a three-stage nationwide campaign for civil disobedience involving angry students and politicians

Tbilisi, Georgia George Darchiashvili/Shutterstock/Fotodom

Tbilisi, Georgia

© George Darchiashvili/Shutterstock/Fotodom

TBILISI, March 9. /TASS/. The Georgian Dream - Democratic Georgia ruling party has decided to revoke a draft law on foreign agents from Georgia’s parliament amid protests in the country, the party said in a statement on Thursday.

"As a ruling party that answers to every member of society, we have made a decision to revoke the bill (on foreign agents - TASS) without any preconditions," according to the statement posted on the party’s website.

The party added that they planned to do a better job explaining to the public why it is necessary to pass the foreign agents bill, for which meetings with the citizenry would be held nationwide. "Georgia will preserve peace and stability while continuing its progress toward Europe with dignity, which is the fundamental sentiment of society," the party concluded.

Georgian opposition parties canceled plans to hold a briefing later on Thursday to initiate a three-stage nationwide campaign for civil disobedience involving angry students and politicians, the Lelo for Georgia opposition party said in a statement.

On Tuesday, Georgia’s parliament passed the first reading of a draft law on foreign agents, causing major dissatisfaction among the opposition, public activists and Georgian citizens. Protests in Tbilisi drew thousands on March 7-8. Both rallies ended late at night, when law enforcement officers dispersed the protesting crowds with water guns and tear gas. More than 130 people were detained, and 60 policemen were hurt over the two days of protests.

In February, two versions of a foreign agents bill were registered in the Georgian parliament — a Georgian version and a US one, which is in effect a translation of the US law on the registration of foreign agents. According to the Georgian version, mass media outlets can also be classified as foreign agents. The initiative does not apply to individuals though. The US version is applicable not only to legal entities, but also to individuals and envisages criminal punishment. The Georgian parliament has already sent the Georgian version to the Venice Commission for examination.

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