Tbilisi, Georgia –
Georgia’s parliament canceled its plenary session on Thursday following mass protests against a bill that critics fear will stifle press freedom and jeopardize the country’s bid for European Union membership.
The parliament announcement said the cancellation was related to damage to the building during Wednesday’s protests in which police used water cannon, tear gas and pepper spray on tens of thousands of protesters.
The legislature on Wednesday approved a second reading of the bill that would require media and nonprofit organizations to register as “pursuing the interests of a foreign power” if they receive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad.
The third and final reading was expected in mid-May and it was unclear whether the cancellation of Thursday’s session would affect the bill’s progress. The ruling Georgian Dream party withdrew a similar proposal last year after large crowds protested.
Protesters denounce the bill as “Russian law” because neighboring Russia uses similar legislation to stigmatize independent media and organizations critical of the Kremlin.
Eighty-three of Georgia’s 150 lawmakers approved the bill on its second reading, while 23 voted against it.
Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili, increasingly at odds with the ruling party, criticized the bill and vowed to veto it if it is approved by Parliament. But the ruling party can override the veto and ask the speaker of parliament to sign the bill.
The EU’s foreign policy arm earlier this month also criticized Georgian Dream’s decision to reintroduce the law, which it said “raises serious concerns” around press freedom in the country, something it called “crucial for the accession process to the EU”.