A bipartisan group of 14 US senators have warned in a letter to the Prime Minister of Georgia, Irakli Kobakhidze, that his country’s intention to bring back a “Russian-style foreign agent law” could cause changes in US policy towards Tbilisi.
In the letter, sent on April 26 and obtained by VOA, the senators said they are “deeply concerned that Georgia’s transatlantic ambitions are being undermined.”
The letter was sent shortly after the American Helsinki Committee called on the ruling Georgian Dream party to withdraw the “foreign agents” bill and asked Tbilisi to “get off this harmful path.”
Western governments and human rights groups have condemned Georgia’s controversial “foreign agents” bill, which they say is a copy of a similar Russian law that Moscow is using to crack down on critical voices in place.
Thousands of Georgians have taken to the streets to protest against this bill. This legislation had sparked mass protests even when it was first introduced last year, forcing the Government to withdraw the bill.
Mamuka Mdinaradze, chairman of the Georgian Dream parliamentary group, said this month that the party intends to bring back the bill, which would force foreign-funded non-profit organizations and media that engage in activities “political”, to report on their activities to the authorities.
The bill also provides for authorities to have broad supervisory powers, as well as potential penalties for unspecified criminal offences.
Georgian Dream said that the new bill is the same as the one that was withdrawn last year, only that it has one difference: The term “foreign agents” has been replaced by a more indirect term, “organizations that follow the interests of foreign powers” “.
US senators rejected the Georgian Government’s claims that this legislation is equivalent to US law requiring US citizens to register as foreign agents if they represent the interests of a foreign party in the United States.
Former Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, chairman of Georgian Dream, said on April 27 that the senators’ letter was “based on misunderstandings.”
Georgian Dream officials have insisted the legislation is meant to bring transparency at a time of high tensions.
“Our country, unfortunately, still faces challenges. The main challenge is the foreign occupation of 20 percent of our territory. Russian troops remain in the occupied territory, even though there are other dangers in our country,” said Garibashvili.
Anti-Russian sentiment can often be strong in Georgia. Russian troops still control about a fifth of Georgia’s territory, most of which they took during the 2008 war.
The final reading of the bill will be debated on May 17.
Georgia’s president, Salome Zurabishvili, told the BBC earlier that she would veto the bill if it passed second reading.
Zurabishvili said that her main concern is that the bill in question is “an exact copy of [Russian President Vladim] Putin’s law.”
However, Zurabishvili said the ruling Georgian Dream party has enough MPs to override its veto.
The ambassador of the European Union in Georgia has criticized the return of the draft law, saying that it is not in line with the values of the bloc, which Tbilisi wants to join.
Human Rights Watch has also criticized this legislation.
Georgia has been vocal in its bid to join the EU, and last year it received candidate country status after the government backed out of its first attempt to pass the bill following huge protests.
