Salomé Zourabichvili declared that the law passed this week in Parliament, triggering demonstrations in the country, “is unacceptable” as it stands and that she will veto it
In an interview with the Associated Press agency, the Georgian president sharply criticized the ruling Georgian Dream party for having passed the bill on foreign interference, which is widely perceived by the public as a “decline in Georgia’s aspirations to join the European Union.”
She reaffirmed her intention to veto it because it “ goes directly against the spirit or letter of the EU recommendations “.
“This is unacceptable because it reflects a change in Georgian attitudes towards civil society, towards the media and towards the recommendations of the European Commission, which are not in line with our declared policy of progress towards European integration », added Salomé Zourabichvili.
The bill, passed Tuesday, requires media outlets, nongovernmental organizations and other nonprofit groups to register as “pursuing the interests of a foreign power” if they receive more than 20 percent of their funding from the foreigner.
The government says this bill is necessary to counter what it considers to be “Harmful foreign actors seeking to destabilize the country“.
The opposition United National Movement accuses Georgian Dream of trying to drag Georgia into Russia’s sphere of influence, allegations it rejects. Georgian Dream was founded by Bidzina Ivanishvili, former Prime Minister between 2012 and 2013, and billionaire who made his fortune in Russia.
The opposition has dubbed this new law “Russian law”, with Moscow using similar legislation to repress independent media, non-profit organizations and activists critical of the Kremlin.
Georgian President fears influence from Moscow
For Salomé Zourabichvili, “it is difficult to say whether the bill was initially an initiative of the ruling party or whether Moscow played a role in it “, but she stressed that the Kremlin “was not satisfied with Georgia’s pro-Western aspirations“. “It is clear that Moscow does not look favorably on Georgia’s accelerated pace towards the European Union”she added.
The president can count on the support of the streets, which have been demonstrating for several days in the capital and elsewhere in the country, to demand the withdrawal of the law. Tuesday, May 14, after the final vote, demonstrators violently clashed with the police in front of the Georgian Parliament.
Salomé Zourabichvili is more than ever at odds with the Georgian Dream party, which has a sufficient majority to override its veto. She has until May 28 to act.