Georgia’s president vetoes controversial foreign agents law
The President of Georgia today vetoed the controversial foreign agents law approved by parliament, saying that it obstructs the process of European integration, and demanded its immediate repeal.
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Mundo Geórgia
"Today I vetoed the Russian law. In its content and spirit, it is Russian and contradicts our Constitution and all European norms. It obstructs our path to Europe," Salome Zurabishvili said in a televised address.
Zurabishvili said the veto would be sent to parliament later on Tuesday, which approved the legislation earlier this week and which critics likened to a law used by the Kremlin to prosecute and silence dissent.
"The law cannot be subject to any changes or improvements. It must be repealed," she said.
Parliament must now debate and vote on the presidential veto, which can be overturned by a simple majority of lawmakers, or 76 out of the 150-seat chamber.
The ruling Georgian Dream-Democratic Georgia party, which sponsored the legislation, currently holds 84 seats, putting it in a strong position to reject the veto and send the bill back to the president for enactment.
If she refuses, the bill can be signed into law by the parliament speaker.
The so-called "Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence" has sparked mass protests in Tbilisi in recent weeks, with the opposition saying it could be used to target political parties and non-governmental organisations critical of the government.
Georgian opposition leader Levan Iashvili told EFE news agency that anti-government demonstrations would continue, saying they were "not party protests" but a "popular initiative" driven by young Georgians who want to be part of the European community.
"The West wants to see Georgia as its Black Sea partner. But the Kremlin, through Bidzina Ivanishvili, the leader of Georgian Dream, is sending a message that Russia has a monopoly over the entire region and that there is no alternative to Russia in this region," he said.
Zurabishvili met in Georgia this week with the heads of diplomatic missions from Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, who joined an opposition rally in their capacity as representatives of the European Union, which has warned that such legislation takes Tbilisi further away from the bloc.
The United States has also voiced opposition to the legislation, while Russia has denounced Western interference in the country's internal affairs.
Read Also: PM da Geórgia junta-se a marcha para promover "pureza da família" (Portuguese version)
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