The United States of America condemns Georgia's parliament for the second reading of the Kremlin-inspired Foreign Influence law and the false narrative used by government officials to defend the law.
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The US State Department spokesperson, Matthew Miller, issued another statement regarding the Russian-inspired law of Georgian Dream:
The ruling party members have been clear that the intent of the law is to silence critical voices and destroy Georgia’s vibrant civil society, which serves as a critical check on government in any democratic nation.
This legislation and Georgian Dream’s anti-Western rhetoric put Georgia on a precarious trajectory. 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. Comments mischaracterizing foreign assistance in Georgia – which we have provided for 32 years to strengthen Georgia’s economy, democracy, and ability to deter Russian aggression – fundamentally undermine the strong relationship we have developed with the government and people of Georgia.
We stand with the Georgian people and their right to have their voices heard. We condemn the use of violence against peaceful protests, including against journalists covering the demonstrations.
Use of force to suppress peaceful assembly and freedom of speech is unacceptable, and we urge authorities to allow non-violent protesters to continue to exercise their right to freedom of expression.”
Matthew Miller also posted on social network X that the Russian Law "undermines US-Georgia relations" and will affect Georgia's aspirations to become a member of the European Union and NATO. The US urges everyone to respect peaceful assembly and avoid escalation.
On May 1, the parliament adopted the Russian Law, which sparked large-scale protests, by 83 votes to 23, in the second reading. Two days before, Georgian Dream organized a protest in front of the parliament building in support of the law, where party leader Bidzina Ivanishvili came out with anti-Western messages. Ivanishvili said that "funding of non-governmental organizations, which we are often thanked and considered as help from abroad, is in fact almost entirely used to strengthen the agency and bring them to power". Ivanishvili admitted that the purpose of the Russian Law - which he referred to as the law on NGOs - is to destroy the non-governmental sector, that is, "agencies".
On April 3, 2024, Georgian Dream once again initiated the Russian Law on so-called Foreign Agents in the parliament, which was withdrawn a year ago as a result of thousands of protests, and promised to never accept it again. The Russian Law requires independent media and non-governmental organizations that operate with grant support from international funds and cannot be controlled by the government or related groups to register as foreign agents. More than 150 non-governmental and media organizations issued a statement that they will not register in the "defamation register" under any circumstances.
