Mamuka Mdinaradze, the head of the ruling Georgian Dream party in the Parliament, on Tuesday alleged that the US was attempting to rekindle “extinguished protests” against the controversial foreign influence bill through a reported forthcoming initiative on visa waiver and intensified trade cooperation.
Mdinaradze criticized the initiative, stating it contained both threats and attempts to trade on the country's sovereignty. "What they are trying to sell today as the position of the US is so far only an initiative of one congressman. Many similar initiatives have been introduced without results," he wrote on his social media account. "The initiative contains both a threat and an attempt to trade on the country's sovereignty - threats with sanctions, and trade with visa liberalization, military aid, and free economic relations."
The executive secretary of the Georgian Dream party referred to the ongoing protests against the foreign influence bill in Georgia as a "diminished protest spark" and stated that the MEGOBARI Act’s (Friend’s Act) goal was to reignite it. "Actually, the purpose of this test initiative is to rekindle the extinguished protest charge. It serves as a new lifeline for the downtrodden opposition, as evidenced by their hysterical reactions. Threatening sanctions from a legislator of a friendly country and trading on the fate of the country and its sovereignty is unthinkable," Mdinaradze said.
According to POLITICO, Washington may provide Georgia with a large economic and security package if the Georgian government stopped its increasingly anti-Western rhetoric and backtracking on human rights. POLITICO reported that it has personally reviewed the bill, introduced to Congress this week by South Carolina Republican Congressman Joe Wilson. The MEGOBARI Act, in addition to improving access to American markets, calls for liberalizing the US visa regime for Georgian citizens.
On May 14, the Parliament of Georgia adopted the bill in the third reading, which will require non-governmental and media organizations funded by Georgia's partner countries to register as "exercisers of foreign influence." The bill has not been implemented yet, as the President vetoed it on May 18 and returned it to Parliament for consideration, labeling it a "Russian law" that contradicted both the country's constitution and European standards. The support of 76 deputies is needed to overcome the veto, and the parliamentary majority has 83 votes.
Protests against the bill have been ongoing for more than a month in Tbilisi and other cities of Georgia. A march is planned from Freedom Square to the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Tbilisi on May 24.
According to organizers, the march will start at 19:00, and demonstrators will express their solidarity with all arrested, imprisoned, and injured protest participants.
