The president of Georgia today vetoed the controversial law on foreign agents passed by Parliament, stating that it hinders the European integration process, and demanded its immediate repeal.
This Saturday, the president of Georgia vetoed the controversial law on foreign agents passed by parliament, stating that it obstructs the European integration process, and demanded its immediate repeal. “Today I vetoed the Russian law. In its content and spirit it is Russian and contradicts our Constitution and all European norms. It obstructs our path to Europe,” Salomé Zurabishvili said during a televised speech.
Zurabishvili said the veto would be sent today to parliament, which passed the law this week, which critics liken to the Kremlin’s use of the law to persecute and silence dissidents. “The law cannot be subject to any change or improvement. It must be revoked,” he stated. Parliament must now debate and vote on the presidential veto, which can be rejected by a simple majority of deputies, that is, 76 of the 150 seats in the chamber.
Georgia. The “Russian” law that compromises the country’s European path and brings it closer to Putin (and brought thousands, even in fear, to the streets)
The party in power, the Georgian Dream – Democratic Georgia, author of the law, currently has 84 deputies, which means that it has every chance to reject the veto and return the law to the president for promulgation. In case of refusal, the document can be signed by the president of parliament and come into force.
The so-called “Foreign Influence Transparency Law” has sparked massive protests in Tbilisi in recent weeks, as the opposition believes it paves the way for the persecution of political parties and non-governmental organizations that criticize the Government.
The leader of the Georgian opposition, Leván Jabeishvili, assured the EFE news agency that the anti-government demonstrations will continue, since they are not “partisan protests”, but rather a “popular initiative” led by young Georgians who want to be part of the European community. “The West wants to see Georgia as its partner in the Black Sea. But the Kremlin sends, through Bidzina Ivanishvili, leader of the Georgian Dream, the message that Russia has a monopoly on the entire region and that there is no alternative to Russia in this region,” he stated.
Zurabishvili met this week in Georgia with the heads of the diplomatic missions of Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, who joined one of the opposition demonstrations as representatives of the European Union, who warned that a law of this type separates Tbilisi from HUH. The United States also opposed the approval of the legislation, while Russia denounced Western interference in the country’s internal affairs.
Source: Observadora
