The protest in Tbilisi on Saturday against the ‘foreign agents’ law is noted as the largest demonstration in modern Georgian history, according to Georgian media. This observation is based on the analysis of drone footage using the Mapchecking method.
“There were at least 200,000 people, but in total during the day this number was probably larger and approached 300,000,” the Newsgeorgia.ge portal reported, among others, citing information from the Visioner project (OSINT analytics) on the X platform. The crowd size was determined by analyzing drone recordings using the Mapchecking platform, a tool that estimates the number of people in a given area based on crowd density (the number of people per unit area).
During the demonstration, both participants and observers of the Saturday protest emphasized that it is likely the largest of the Georgian demonstrations to date.
For over a month, Georgians have been taking to the streets, demanding that the ruling party withdraw from the procedure of the law on transparency of foreign influences, also known as the ‘foreign agents’ law or Russian law.
On May 1, despite nearly a month of mass protests, the Georgian parliament, which is controlled by the Georgian Dream party, passed the law on transparency of foreign influences in its second reading. This law grants additional prerogatives to control non-governmental organizations and the media. Opponents of the authorities believe it could potentially dismantle the opposition and independent media, mirroring the situation in Russia.
According to the law, legal entities and media that receive more than 20% of their financing from abroad would be subject to registration and reporting. The Ministry of Justice would place them on a special register of foreign influence agents. Under any circumstances, the Ministry of Justice would have the authority to conduct inspections of such organizations.
Representatives from the U.S. and EU have expressed concern about the law’s implications and have appealed to Georgian authorities to withdraw it. They point out, among other things, that it contradicts Georgia’s aspirations for European integration. In December 2023, Georgia received EU candidate status. According to surveys, about 80% of Georgians support joining the Union.
Even though Georgians have once again taken to the streets en masse (a year ago, the law was withdrawn from the procedure following protests), the Georgian Dream party insists that it will not back down. The U.S., EU, or international organizations are labeling critical comments and appeals as ‘interference in internal affairs.’
President Salome Zourabichvili will sign the law after the third reading. She has already announced a veto because, in her opinion, the law is contrary to Georgia’s pro-European path. The ruling party has the majority in parliament necessary to reject the presidential veto.
During the protests, the police repeatedly used special measures, including water cannons, pepper gas, and tear gas. There were also unconfirmed reports about the use of rubber bullets.
There have been several attacks by “unknown perpetrators” on protest participants and opposition representatives in recent days. Media reports suggest that these could have been hooligans hired by the authorities. Similar situations were observed during protests in Ukraine.
During the demonstration, both participants and observers of the Saturday protest emphasized that it is likely the largest of the Georgian demonstrations to date.
For over a month, Georgians have been taking to the streets, demanding that the ruling party withdraw from the procedure of the law on transparency of foreign influences, also known as the ‘foreign agents’ law or Russian law.
On May 1, despite nearly a month of mass protests, the Georgian parliament, which is controlled by the Georgian Dream party, passed the law on transparency of foreign influences in its second reading. This law grants additional prerogatives to control non-governmental organizations and the media. Opponents of the authorities believe it could potentially dismantle the opposition and independent media, mirroring the situation in Russia.
According to the law, legal entities and media that receive more than 20% of their financing from abroad would be subject to registration and reporting. The Ministry of Justice would place them on a special register of foreign influence agents. Under any circumstances, the Ministry of Justice would have the authority to conduct inspections of such organizations.
Representatives from the U.S. and EU have expressed concern about the law’s implications and have appealed to Georgian authorities to withdraw it. They point out, among other things, that it contradicts Georgia’s aspirations for European integration. In December 2023, Georgia received EU candidate status. According to surveys, about 80% of Georgians support joining the Union.
Even though Georgians have once again taken to the streets en masse (a year ago, the law was withdrawn from the procedure following protests), the Georgian Dream party insists that it will not back down. The U.S., EU, or international organizations are labeling critical comments and appeals as ‘interference in internal affairs.’
President Salome Zourabichvili will sign the law after the third reading. She has already announced a veto because, in her opinion, the law is contrary to Georgia’s pro-European path. The ruling party has the majority in parliament necessary to reject the presidential veto.
During the protests, the police repeatedly used special measures, including water cannons, pepper gas, and tear gas. There were also unconfirmed reports about the use of rubber bullets.
There have been several attacks by “unknown perpetrators” on protest participants and opposition representatives in recent days. Media reports suggest that these could have been hooligans hired by the authorities. Similar situations were observed during protests in Ukraine.
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