Posted on 03/19/2023 3:20:50 AM PDT by Timber Rattler
Last week, the Georgian parliament, led by the Georgian Dream (GD) party, advanced new legislation that would label civil society and media organizations that receive at least 20 percent of their funding from foreign entities as foreign agents. In addition to the stigma of such a label, the government would be able to conduct investigations, access personal data, demand detailed reporting, and levy restrictions, fines, and prison sentences on media and civic groups deemed to be non-compliant. The legislation closely resembles the Russian Foreign Agents Act, which the European Court of Human Rights found violated freedom of association and assembly and effectively handicapped the country’s civil sector.
Understanding the new law for what it was—an attack on democracy and act of repression—tens of thousands of Georgian citizens took to the street in Tbilisi, the capital, and other cities to peacefully protest. Security forces assaulted them and arrested participants. It was a familiar chapter from the autocrat’s playbook.
The public outrage worked, for now. Two days after the law passed its first hearing in parliament, the government withdrew it—at least temporarily—and has since released the arrested protesters.
The reversal has sparked outrage in Moscow, which has been trying to return Georgia to the Kremlin’s orbit. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called the protests an “attempt to change the government by force” that looked “very much like the Kyiv Maidan.”
(snip)
Some of the Russian propaganda social media accounts tracked by the German Marshall Fund’s Alliance for Securing Democracy issued ominous threats. The popular MFA in Crimea account, for example, warned Georgians to “recall a similar situation in Ukraine in 2014 and what it finally led to!” State propagandist and RT Editor in Chief Margarita Simonyan went on television to call for a rocket strike on Tbilisi.
(Excerpt) Read more at foreignpolicy.com ...
“resembles the Russian Foreign Agents Act, which the European Court of Human Rights found violated freedom of association and assembly”
Both Russian and Georgian acts are a lukewarm versions of the US FARA. Europe has such a law too.
Just go over there and offer up YOUR body and YOUR sons and daughters for NO U.S. national interest.
Yeah, I didn’t think so.
you’ve been telling us “it’s over” for the last 2 months
and every time, it’s not over ...
LOL
Note that Russia also illegally invaded Georgia in 2008, for no reason
and Russia STILL continues to occupy 1/4 of Georgia
yet another example of Russia being a menace to its neighbors and not respecting their sovereignty
Everybody on a frontline feels that way.
Russia is a regional adversary of the US and degrading their conventional military forces without losing any US soldiers IS in our benefit.
Things not going well for Pooty Poot...anywhere.
Ukraine has become an endless war for Russia. No way to win, no way out.
Why would anyone take the word of a non-American seriously?
And yet, the article hints than Russia cares more about Georgian sovereignty than astroturfed protestors.
Why so?
Why exactly is the regulation of foreign influence a bad thing? Does the author of this piece not realize that Russia also counts as a foreign influence, and would have been impacted by this law as well?
Understanding the new law for what it was—an attack on democracy and act of repression
Oh please.
tens of thousands of Georgian citizens took to the street in Tbilisi, the capital, and other cities to peacefully protest.
Strangely, many of these protestors were waving Western flags and signage in English, as though this was all geared for a Western audience:
(These 'We Are Europe' signs are a dime a dozen, widely available in numerous photos at numerous protests...as though they were readymade for the occasion.)
More mass-produced signage.
Bottom line: given that Russian affiliates would have been impacted just as heavily by this proposed law, the fact that this is being styled as a "pro-Russian law", rather than an expression of Georgian nationalism, is rather telling. How ironic, that so much foreign influence is pouring into Georgia to protest its attempts at regulating foreign influence!
There's always a reason. The question is whether such reasons are justifiable.
Tensions between Georgia and Russia over Abkhazia and South Ossetia stem from independence movements going back decades. Consider this timeline of relevant events.
The money quote: "A report from an EU fact-finding mission determines that historical tensions and overreaction on the part of both Russia and Georgia contributed to the five-day conflict. Georgia’s attack on the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali on the night of August 7 is seen as the start of the armed conflict, however the report notes that the attack was the culmination of years of increasing tensions, provocations and incidents."
Yep, I wonder why is it still referred as “Russian aggression”.
Finland and Sweden must not agree. Great move by Putin lol
Yes. I posted the link to our similar law here:
https://freerepublic.com/focus/news/4137547/posts?page=5#5
Is this a front for the CIAs next color revolution. How much is the war in Georgia going to cost us, how many years will it run and what will be the cover story for our sudden withdrawal after years of another bootless democracy - OUR way - at gunpoint excercise
>Why would anyone take the word of a non-American seriously?
Funny to hear it from you, Ivan Preservativovski.
Georgia is just another country that the CIA is willing to sacrifice for no gain to American interests - except maybe covering up Democrat malfeasance, like the color revolution in Libya.
Bad things happen when a country gets in bed with the CIA.
60% of the population agree that male perverts need to be in the underage girls’ bathrooms. Do you see the difference between fact and narrative?
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