Authorities in Georgia dropped the Law on "Foreign Agents" after Mass Protests

Georgia's ruling "Georgian Dream" party and the country's government have announced they are withdrawing the draft law on "foreign agents," which has sparked tensions in the country and fears of undermining democracy and pluralism.

This came after two consecutive nights of protests against two separate bills on the subject, one of which was said to be inspired by an analogue in Russia, and the next a copy of another in force in the United States. Both are obstacles on Georgia's path to the European Union, after it was denied candidate status last summer due to a lack of reforms.

The text of the former was adopted at first reading on Tuesday, when the excitement continued late into the night. Last night, the demonstrators gathered for an even bigger protest and stormed the parliament again, but were dispersed by special forces.

Georgia. This is what happens when post-Soviets don't accept russian rules of life. Stay strong, Tbilisi! pic.twitter.com/eejuRZjB0x

— Iuliia Mendel (@IuliiaMendel) March 8, 2023

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also addressed the demonstrators, thanking that the Ukrainian national anthem was played in the center of Tbilisi and wishing "democratic success, European success" to Georgia.

The withdrawn bill, according to "Rustavi 2" TV, is the already adopted "On the Transparency of Foreign Influence". The vote on the second, "On the registration of foreign agents", was supposed to be today and its fate is unknown.

The bills were introduced by a new movement that describes itself as opposition, but follows the ruling line, albeit with a prominent anti-Western course. "We see that the adopted bill caused disagreements in society. The machine of lies managed to...