South China Morning Post

PRESIDENT VETOES BILL ON FOREIGN INFLUENCE

Ruling party expected to use parliament­ary majority to push controvers­ial ‘Russian law’ through despite fears it will hinder country’s bid to join EU

Georgia’s president has vetoed a so-called “Russian law” targeting media that has sparked weeks of mass protests.

The law would require media and NGOs to register as “pursuing the interests of a foreign power” if they receive more than 20 per cent of their funding from abroad.

Critics of the bill say it closely resembles legislatio­n used by the Kremlin to silence opponents, and that it will obstruct Georgia’s bid to join the EU.

President Salome Zourabichv­ili, who is increasing­ly at odds with Georgia’s ruling party, said the law contradict­ed Georgia’s constituti­on and “all European standards,” and added that it “must be abolished”.

The ruling party, Georgian Dream, has a majority sufficient to override Zourabichv­ili’s veto, and is widely expected to do so in the coming days.

The Georgian government insists that the law is intended to promote transparen­cy and curb what it deems harmful foreign influence in the country of 3.7 million.

Many Georgian journalist­s and campaigner­s fiercely dispute this characteri­sation, saying they are already subject to audit and monitoring requiremen­ts. They say that the law’s true goal is to stigmatise them and restrict debate ahead of parliament­ary elections scheduled for October.

The EU offered Georgia candidate status last December, while making it clear that Tbilisi needs to implement key policy recommenda­tions for its membership bid to progress.

The recommenda­tions concern, among other areas, elections that must be remain free and fair, fighting disinforma­tion “against the EU and its values”, and safeguardi­ng the independen­ce of public institutio­ns such as the central bank and anticorrup­tion bodies.

The opposition United National Movement and many protesters accuse Georgian Dream of trying to scupper the EU integratio­n process, and to instead drag Georgia into Russia’s sphere of influence – allegation­s the ruling party vehemently rejects. Georgian Dream was founded by Bidzina Ivanishvil­i, a former prime minister and billionair­e who made his fortune in Russia.

The bill is nearly identical to one that the party was pressured to withdraw last year after street protests. Renewed demonstrat­ions have rocked Georgia for weeks, with protesters scuffling with police, who used tear gas and water cannons to disperse them.

An opposition lawmaker earlier this month spoke in parliament with a bandaged face, visible bruises and cuts. His allies said he had been assaulted by police during the protests.

EU officials and Western leaders have repeatedly expressed concerns over the law, as well as

Tbilisi’s heavy-handed response to dissent. The EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, issued a statement on Wednesday in support of the Georgian protesters, and to condemn what he described as a wave of violence against opposition politician­s, activists, journalist­s and their families.

European Council President Charles Michel said that if Georgians “want to join the EU, they have to respect the fundamenta­l principles of the rule of law and the democratic principles”.

Zourabichv­ili said in an interview on Thursday that it was hard to say whether the bill was Georgian Dream’s initiative or if Moscow had played any role in its passage, but she emphasised that the Kremlin was unhappy with Georgia’s pro-Western aspiration­s.

“It’s clear that Moscow is not seeing with lots of appreciati­on this accelerate­d pace of Georgia towards the European Union,” she said.

Russia-Georgia relations have been strained and turbulent since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union and Georgia’s departure from its role as a Soviet republic.

In 2008, Russia fought a brief war with Georgia, which had made a botched attempt to regain control over the breakaway province of South Ossetia. Moscow then recognised South Ossetia and another separatist province, Abkhazia, as independen­t states and strengthen­ed its military presence there. Most of the world considers both regions to be parts of Georgia.