Ruling party MP welcomes bill on “foreign spies” by former party members

Mikheil Sarjveladze, an MP of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Tuesday welcomed the bill proposed by the Popular Force – a movement composed by the former MPs of the party who frequently criticize the US and the west – on foreign spies. 

 

Sarjveladze claimed the public had the right to know about the sources of funding of various individuals and organizations that were engaged in the country’s political life.

 

“The public has the right to see who is being financed and how they are doing their activities, therefore, the initiative implies that this space should be subject to similar regulations,”Sarjveladze said. 

 

The Popular Force on Tuesday said it had completed work on the bill, adding not only the sources of income of politicians should be known to the public, but also the sources of income of non-governmental organizations and the media outlets “whose aim is to influence the public decisions”. 

 

The MPs said the bill offered the creation of a register of agents of foreign influence, where all non-business legal entities and media outlets, whose incomes were financed by foreign forces for more than 20 percent, would be entered. 

 

The opposition says that the ruling party is using the Popular Force to activate anti-western propaganda.