This time, they came from all corners of the country. Thousands of Georgians converged on Tbilisi on the evening of Wednesday, May 1, to demonstrate against the draft law on "foreign influence." They are defending democratic values and the European future of this former Soviet republic in the South Caucasus, more threatened than ever.
The text, modeled on a Russian law designed to break up civil society and the independent media, was voted through Parliament on the same day, with 83 votes in favor and 23 against. It still has to go through a third reading, and the president, Salome Zourabichvili, has said she will veto it. But the ruling Georgian Dream party has enough votes to override it.
After three weeks of peaceful demonstrations, law enforcement officers adopted a strong-armed approach on the night of April 30 to May 1, violently repressing the gatherings with water cannons and tear gas. Videos and testimonies also show the use of rubber bullets, which the government has denied. Clashes broke out. At least 63 people were arrested, and four demonstrators and six police officers were injured, according to the authorities.
In a worrying sign, Levan Khabeishvili, the president of the United National Movement, the main opposition party, was severely beaten by riot police. On Wednesday evening, as "Ode to Joy," the anthem of the European Union, rang out, police used pepper spray and water cannon to dislodge a small group of demonstrators trying to block the side entrance to Parliament.
Condemnations are mounting in the wake of police violence. The US State Department denounced an "unacceptable" use of force and severely condemned the "false" and "anti-Western" rhetoric used by the authorities to defend their bill: "The statements and actions of the Georgian government are incompatible with the democratic values that underpin membership in the EU and NATO and thus jeopardize Georgia's path to Euro-Atlantic integration."
The EU's high representative for foreign affairs, Josep Borrell, also denounced the "unacceptable" use of violence. "Georgia is an EU candidate country," he said. "I call on its authorities to ensure the right to peaceful assembly." European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she was following the situation with "great concern" and condemned the violence. MEP Viola von Cramon-Taubadel called for "concrete consequences," including the withdrawal of Georgia's EU candidate status, which it obtained at the end of 2023.
Ignoring these warnings, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze blamed the violence on "radicalized" political parties and NGOs, as well as foreign politicians, who he accused of fueling it. He regretted the mere "isolated episodes" of police violence, but promised "moral and legal" consequences for those he accused of organizing the clashes.
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