Ruling party plans to back new “pro-Russian” bill to hamper country’s EU integration – opposition, NGOs

The part of Georgian opposition and members of domestic non-governmental groups on Wednesday claimed the ruling Georgian Dream party has plans to back a bill earlier proposed by a pro-Russian, far-right, Conservative Movement on banning LGBT propaganda, which they said would hamper the country’s  European Union integration process ahead of the bloc’s forthcoming decision whether to grant the country its membership candidate status. 

 

Posting the bill that was proposed earlier than the controversial draft law on the transparency of foreign influence  – backed by the ruling party and in April shelved due to mass protests in Tbilisi – the government opponents claim the GD was likely to use several pro-Russian lawmakers to propose the new bill for the vote and back it. 

 

The bill reads any assembly or demonstration will be prohibited if the country’s authorities consider they serve to discredit any religious organization or is against faith, is a part of “propaganda of war or violence”, with offenders fined up to ₾3,000 or up to 25 days in prison, while repeat violators will be subject to up to 2 years of imprisonment.

 

They claim following the failure of the foreign agents bill, which was proposed by former members of the GD still remaining in the parliamentary majority and criticizing the country’s foreign parents, the government will use the new legal piece to hamper the country’s obtaining the EU candidacy status by the end of this year. 

 

The previous, foreign agents bill envisaging the registration of domestic organizations and media outlets as foreign agents if they obtained more than 20 percent of their incomes from abroad, was widely condemned as a “Russian law” that could “silence” domestic entities or critical media organizations receiving funding from the west.