The police of the former Soviet state of Georgia used tear gas and stun grenades first thing on Wednesday to dissolve a protest before Parliament against a bill on “foreign agents”.
News agency witnesses Reuters in the capital, tbilisithey saw policemen with riot shields carrying out arrests along Rustaveli Avenue, the main thoroughfare through the center of the city.
Hours earlier, police had clashed with protesters, some of whom threw molotov cocktails and stones. The crowd then gathered in front of Parliament, where some people pushed aside the lightweight metal barriers intended to keep the public away from the building.
In a statement, the Home Office said there had been wounded on both sides in what he called extremely violent protest. Police would react to violations of the law, he added.
The Ministry stated that 66 people had been arrested during the clashes, which lasted for several hours.
The protests erupted after parliamentarians gave their initial backing to the law, which critics say represents a authoritarian turn and could harm the country’s attempt to join the European Union (EU).
In a speech in Berlin on Tuesday, Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Garibashvilireaffirmed his support for the law, stating that the proposed provisions on foreign agents met “European and world standards”.
But the head of the foreign policy of the European Union, Josep Borrellstated that the bill was a “very negative evolution” for the country and could seriously affect its ties with the EU.
Thousands of people, some waving EU and Ukrainian flags, lined up in front of Parliament and listened as speakers denounced the law, which would force all organizations receiving more than twenty% of their foreign funds to register as “foreign agents” or face substantial fines.
Critics say it is reminiscent of a 2012 law in Russia that has been used ever since to suppress dissent.
The president Salome Zourabichviliwho has said he will veto the law if it comes his way, said he was on the side of the protesters.
“They represent a free Georgia, a Georgia that sees its future in the West, and will not let anyone take it away from them,” he said in a recorded speech in the United States, where he is on an official visit.
Late on Tuesday night, protesters angrily clashed with police, armed with riot shields, which used tear gas and water cannons. At least three Molotov cocktails and stones were thrown at the police.
some screamed “No to Russian law” and “You are Russians” to the politicians who were inside the parliament.
State Department spokesman ned pricedeclared that the United States was deeply concerned by a law thatwould violate some of the rights which are central to the aspirations of the Georgian people.”
Georgian opposition parties called new protests for Wednesday, Georgia’s International Women’s Day holiday, with a crowd expected to gather outside Parliament starting at 3:00 p.m. (11:00 GMT).
(With information from Reuters)
Keep reading:
Georgia distances itself from Russia and reaffirms its “irreversible course” towards accession to the European Union
Islamic State terrorist group fighter arrested in Georgia
Georgia falls into the orbit of the Kremlin
Source-www.infobae.com