TBILISI, March 9. /TASS/. The situation in Tbilisi remains calm after two days of mass protests that took place in the capital over the bill on foreign agents, according to a TASS reporter.
Traffic is now open on the Rustaveli Avenue, where the police was dispersing the protesters all night. Several dozen people are present at the square near the parliament building, which has become the center of the protests.
Although the ruling Georgian Dream party announced its decision to withdraw the bill in order to prevent further escalation, some opposition groups announced a new protest on Thursday. The opposition claimed that the protests will continue until the authorities release all detained protesters and vote against the bill in the parliament, which would mean final rejection of the initiative.
Despite the calls for further protests, few people are willing to keep protesting in the capital. Since the protests did not involve other districts of the capital, the situation in the city remains calm, just like before.
On March 7 and 8, large-scale protests took place in Tbilisi after the parliament passed the Georgian version of the bill on foreign agents in the first reading. Both protests were dispersed by police using water cannons and tear gas. After the protests, the ruling Georgian Dream party decided to withdraw the bill from the parliament.