Georgia might be punished for passing the \u201cforeign agents\u201d law<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Members of the Georgian government could face sanctions for \u201cundermining democracy,\u201d a senior US diplomat said on Tuesday, after the parliament in Tbilisi approved a foreign agents law that Washington has opposed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs James O\u2019Brien arrived in Tbilisi for meetings with both Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze and members of the opposition, only to find that the Georgian legislature passed the Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI was very clear that there would be consequences if the law were implemented as it now stands,\u201d O\u2019Brien told reporters on Tuesday evening. \u201c[Kobakhidze] has referred to this as coercion, but it\u2019s not. Georgia is attempting to join the EU and NATO. Those organizations have certain standards and certain referees that say what the rules are, and we simply want Georgia to continue to match those standards rather than to deviate,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If the law goes forward, \u201cand there\u2019s undermining of democracy here and there\u2019s violence against peaceful protesters \u2013 peaceful protesters! \u2013 then we will see restrictions coming from the US,\u201d O\u2019Brien added, noting that they would be financial or travel sanctions \u201con the individuals responsible for those actions and their families.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The US diplomat said he does not want this to happen, but for Georgia \u201cto have a continued peaceful path toward the EU and NATO with a robust democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Georgia\u2019s \u201cforeign agent\u201d law would require non-profit organizations, media outlets and individuals with more than 20% foreign funding to register as entities \u201cpromoting the interests of a foreign power\u201d and disclose their income and donors or face a fine of up to $9,500. It does not provide for criminal prosecutions, unlike the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) enacted by the US in the 1930s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is Tbilisi\u2019s second attempt to pass the law. Last spring, the government backed down<\/a> after violent demonstrations outside the parliament and threats from the US and the EU. Opposition activists have been protesting against what they dubbed the \u201cRussian law\u201d again, clashing with police in downtown Tbilisi on several occasions<\/a> this month. During Tuesday\u2019s vote, several dozen lawmakers got into a fistfight on the parliament floor as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The falling out between the US and Georgia has caught the attention of Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, who sought to clarify what O\u2019Brien may have meant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIs the problem that the Georgian law is much milder than the American law?\u201d she posted<\/a> on her Telegram account. \u201cWhy should Georgia or any other country conform to other people\u2019s values? Don\u2019t the \u2018values\u2019 of the US include non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n