Georgian PM vows to pass ‘foreign agent’ bill next week after thousands protest
Tbilisi, Georgia Reuters Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze vowed on Sunday to push ahead with a law on “foreign agents” that has sparked a political crisis, after opponents of the bill rallied in one of the largest protests seen since independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Kobakhidze told a televised briefing that the ruling […]
US “alarmed”, 50,000 protest Georgia’s foreign agent bill
Tbilisi, Georgia Reuters About 50,000 opponents of a “foreign agents” bill marched peacefully in heavy rain through the Georgian capital on Saturday, after the United States said the country had to choose between the “Kremlin-style” law and the people’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations. “We are deeply alarmed about democratic backsliding in Georgia,” White House national security adviser […]
Georgian police crack down on ‘foreign agent’ bill protesters with water cannon, tear gas
Tbilisi, Georgia Reuters Georgian security forces used water cannon, tear gas and stun grenades against protesters outside parliament late on Tuesday, sharply escalating a crackdown after lawmakers debated a “foreign agents” bill which is viewed by the opposition and Western nations as authoritarian and Russian-inspired. Reuters eyewitnesses saw some police officers physically attack protesters, who […]
Georgia’s Ivanishvili lashes out at West amid ‘foreign agent’ bill crisis
Tbilisi, Georgia Reuters Bidzina Ivanishvili, the influential billionaire founder of Georgia’s ruling party, accused a Western “global party of war” of meddling in Georgia in a rare speech at a rally backing a bill on foreign agents that has sparked a political crisis in the South Caucasus country. Ivanishvili, who served as Georgia’s Prime Minister […]
Protesters rally, lawmakers brawl as Georgia debates “foreign agent” bill
Tbilisi, Georgia Reuters Thousands of Georgians protested on Monday and lawmakers came to blows as ruling party legislators gave the initial go-ahead for debate on a bill on “foreign agents” that has been criticised by Western and domestic critics as Russian-inspired. More than 5,000 demonstrators massed outside Georgia’s Soviet-built parliament building, demanding the government withdraw […]