Georgia's parliament yesterday approved the second reading of a bill on "foreign agents" that has been criticized as Kremlin-inspired, as police fired tear gas and stun grenades to clear a large crowd of protesters opposed to the draft law.
Media reports say lawmakers voted 83 to 23 to adopt the bill in a second reading after a heated debate that included the expulsion of four opposition deputies and a fight between members representing opposition and majority parties.
Some media outlets report that the ruling party has said it wants to sign it into law by mid-May.
Meanwhile, Al Jazeera says that to become law, the bill needs to pass in three separate rounds of voting in parliament. Georgia’s next parliamentary elections are scheduled for October.
Outside the parliament police officers reportedly started dispersing a demonstration by opponents of the bill using rubber bullets, tear gas, pepper spray, and water cannons.
Radio Liberty says the incidents followed overnight clashes between police and demonstrators over the foreign agents bill regarded by many as mirroring a law used by the Russian government to stifle dissent in that country.
The bill, which would require organizations receiving more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as agents of foreign influence, has reportedly sparked a rolling political crisis in the country.
