Ruling party rejects For Georgia’s bill on Russian influence

In violation of mandatory regulations, the ruling Georgian Dream party on Monday refused to discuss the initiative by the For Georgia opposition party on the Russian influence, Kakhaber Kemoklidze, the party member said. 

 

The initiative has been raised in contrast to the controversial foreign agents bills that were proposed by former members of the ruling Georgian Dream party who still remain in the parliamentary majority, envisaging the registration of domestic NGOs and media organizations as “foreign agents” if they obtain more than 20 percent of their incomes from abroad. 

In his social media post, Kemoklidze stressed the GD had rejected his party’s initiative when it was discussing “obviously Russian laws with high enthusiasm” that, according to domestic and foreign organizations, as well as the EU, US and other partner states, were expected to “stigmatize and restrict’ the activities of domestic entities being funded by western donors. 

 

“I have seen for the first time in my life such an open betrayal to national interests for the sake of chair, money, and micro power”, Kemoklidze said. 

 

Calling the ruling Georgian Dream party an “united Russia” [in reference to the largest Russian political party in office], Kemoklidze said the country’s de facto Abkhaz authorities in the Russian occupied region had acted “more bravely to stand against the same Russian law” than the current Georgian government. 

 

The bills by the People’s Power movement are now being discussed in the legal affairs committee amid protests in and near the parliament building.