Georgian PM rejects US, EU criticism of draft ‘foreign agents’ law
Tbilisi, Georgia Reuters Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze rejected on Friday criticism from the United States and European Union of a draft “foreign agents” law, saying opponents of the bill were unwilling to engage in a meaningful discussion. The draft legislation, which is winding its way through the Georgian parliament, would require organisations receiving more […]
EU, US urge Georgia to halt ‘foreign agents’ bill as protests continue
Tbilisi, Georgia Reuters The European Union and US on Thursday condemned legislation making its way through Georgia’s parliament on “foreign agents” and thousands of protesters snarled traffic in the capital with a peaceful protest against the bill. The bill would require organisations receiving more than 20 per cent of their funding from abroad to register […]
Georgian police disperse protesters as parliament approves ‘foreign bill’ second reading
Tbilisi, Georgia Reuters Georgia’s parliament on Wednesday approved the second reading of a bill on “foreign agents” that has been criticised as Kremlin-inspired, as police fired tear gas and stun grenades to clear a large crowd of protesters opposed to the draft law. The bill, which would require organisations receiving more than 20 per cent […]
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 […]
Georgian police clear protesters against foreign agent bill
Tbilisi, Georgia Reuters Riot police in Georgia waded into demonstrators and cleared them from around part of the ex-Soviet state’s parliament on Tuesday as lawmakers debated a bill on “foreign agents” that the opposition denounces as authoritarian. The bill would require organisations receiving more than 20 per cent of their funding from abroad to register […]
Georgian woman ordered detained for defacing Stalin icon in Tbilisi
Reuters A court in Georgia has ordered five days’ detention for a woman who defaced a religious icon depicting Soviet leader Josef Stalin, an act which ignited large protests last month in the capital Tbilisi, her lawyers said. The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association confirmed in an email to Reuters that Natalia Peradze, also known as […]
Protest in Georgian capital amid anger over “desecration” of Stalin icon
Tbilisi, Georgia Reuters A large protest was held in Tbilisi on Saturday to demand harsh punishment for a woman accused of defacing a religious icon depicting Soviet dictator Josef Stalin which was recently-installed in the Georgian capital. The suspect is alleged to have splashed paint on the icon, which was on display in the city’s […]
Defacing of Stalin icon exposes deep divisions in his home country Georgia
Tbilisi. GeorgiaReuters Georgian authorities are investigating the defacing of a recently-installed icon in Tbilisi’s main cathedral depicting Josef Stalin, a case that has exposed deep divisions in Georgia over the former Soviet dictator’s legacy in his homeland. An unknown culprit splashed paint on Tuesday on the icon, which has been displayed in Tbilisi’s Holy Trinity […]
Georgian police use water, tear gas in move to break up second day of protests
Tbilisi, GeorgiaReuters Police in the Georgian capital Tbilisi used tear gas, water cannon and stun grenades late on Wednesday as they moved to break up the second straight day of protests against a “foreign agents” law which critics say signals an authoritarian shift. Hundreds of police, many carrying riot shields, converged on streets around the […]
Wow!: Musicians fleeing Russia find a new audience in Georgia
FILIPP LEBEDEV and MAXIM SHEMETOV, of Reuters, report on how Russian musicians are forging new lives in Georgia…