Thousands protest Georgia ‘foreign influence’ bill

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets in Georgia on Thursday to protest against a “foreign influence” bill likened to Russian laws silencing dissent, an AFP journalist saw.Unlike previous demonstrations, Thursday’s protests took place in two different locations: the traditional one in front of parliament in Tbilisi, but also on Heroes’ Square, home to a monument remembering Georgian soldiers that died at war, through which moves most of the traffic between the city’s neighbourhoods.Georgia’s parliament on Wednesday approved the second reading of a bill on “foreign agents” that has been criticised as Kremlin-inspired.The bill, which would require organisations receiving more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as agents of foreign influence, has sparked a political crisis in the South Caucasus country.On Thursday that UN human rights chief asked Georgia to withdraw the divisive draft law.United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk urged authorities to withdraw the law and engage in dialogue with civil society and journalists who risk being affected by the proposed legislation that takes aim at organisations receiving foreign funding.“I am concerned by reports of unnecessary and disproportionate use of force by law enforcement personnel against demonstrators and media workers in Georgia’s capital Tbilisi this week,” he said.The ruling Georgian Dream party says the law is needed to ensure transparency.The party’s billionaire founder insisted this week that Georgia must defend its sovereignty against Western attempts to dictate to it.