Deputy Interior Minister calls on participants of today’s rally against transparency bill to “stop violent and illegal” actions

Georgia’s Deputy Interior Minister Aleksandre Darakhvelidze on Thursday called  on the participants of the ongoing protests over the controversial domestic bill on transparency of foreign influence outside the Parliament in the country’s capital Tbilisi, to stop “violent and illegal” actions and protest in a “peaceful manner”, otherwise the law enforcement officers would be “forced to stop” the rally.

Darakhvelidze said protesters gathered near the Parliament violently took down police steel cordons, threw various heavy objects, including bottles and stones as well as tear gas and attempted to break into the legislative body by damaging the iron gate of the building.

Despite multiple appeals of the police and other participants of the rally, the violent groups continued to damage the gate of the legislative body and attempted to break into the territory of the parliament without permission", Darakhvelidze noted.

He also stressed the blocking of entrances of administrative bodies was prohibited and that the police would prevent any violation of the law.

Darakhvelidze also said law enforcement officers were using special measures established by law to repel the attack on the Parliament building, including water cannons, tear gas and pepper spray. He emphasised  that “despite the fact that the demonstrators had a full legal basis, the MIA employees did not use rubber bullets".

The Deputy Minister alleged that protesters have used tear gas of “unknown origin”, which were not available for purchase in chain stores, adding the Ministry would investigate how the participants of the rally obtained them.

Despite multiple appeals, the participants of the rally have currently blocked both sided of river Mtkvari and artificially paralyze the traffic movement", he added.

The Interior Ministry recently announced employees of various police units have left the vicinity of the Parliament building, after they had ensured the safe exit of MPs and employees of the legislative body.

The body also called on political leaders, organisers and participants of the rally not to violate the law and express protest peacefully.

The Georgian Parliament on Wednesday approved the second reading of the bill on the transparency of foreign influence that has sparked public protests and criticism by some of the country’s foreign partners.

The legislative piece, which calls for the registration of non-commercial legal entities and media outlets in the country as “pursuing the interests of a foreign power” if they derive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad, was supported by 83 MPs in the 150-member lawmaking body.
It requires groups “considered to be an organisation pursuing the interests of a foreign power” to be registered in the public registry with the status and publicise their received funding.

The Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said protests and demonstrations would continue during the third reading of the bill as well, but passing the transparency law would ensure the elimination of polarisation and radicalism “in the long run”, stressing “this is a principled national task”.