Opposition claims ruling party proposed bill on rallies “censorship”, “vague”

Opposition lawmakers in the Georgian Parliament on Wednesday slammed the amendments proposed by the ruling Georgian Dream party last month, which tighten the rule of arranging temporary constructions at rallies.

 

The MPs said if approved the bill would pose threats to the right of assembly and manifestation of the country’s citizens.   “This is a pre-censorship. A person who rents a stage, microphones, sound amplifiers and this is the source of their income, is unlikely to take a risk and bring them to demonstrators”, opposition MP Tamar Kordzaia said, and added that such a law will allow the police to be arbitrary.

 

“What you are proposing is police arbitrariness. It is impossible for a police officer to determine in advance whether the construction provided by me or any other citizen is needed for our expression or not. You are proposing to regulate content in the name of content-neutral regulation and deny freedom of expression altogether. You do not offer concretization, you offer a completely vague regulation”, she said. 

 

The GD proposed the bill following the claims by the Georgian State Security Service last month that an unrest was planned in the country in late Autumn, which it said was “coordinated and funded from abroad”. 

 

The bill says demonstrators will not be allowed to set up temporary constructions if they pose a threat to the participants of the assembly or demonstration or other persons, prevent the protection of public order and security by the police, cause disruption of the normal functioning of an enterprise, institution or organization, or is not related to holding a rally.