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On May 23, the US State Department condemned Georgia's “foreign agents” law and imposed visa restrictions on those responsible for “undermining democracy” in the country and their families.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken also said he would launch a review of U.S. relations with Georgia and expected Georgian leaders to reconsider the bill.
Concerns over Georgia's democracy came to a head when the ruling Georgian Dream party passed a foreign agents bill that would require organizations that receive foreign funding to be labeled as “foreign agents,” mimicking repressive Russian laws used to crack down on critics of the Kremlin regime.
The controversial law has sparked mass protests across the country that have escalated into violence, with police reportedly trying to quell demonstrations with water cannons and rubber bullets.
Blinken said the law “stifles the exercise of freedom of association and freedom of expression, stigmatizes organizations that serve the Georgian people, and hampers independent media organizations,” and accused Tbilisi of waging a “campaign of intimidation and violence to stifle peaceful dissent.”
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze (right), Georgian Dream Party founder and honorary chair Bidzina Ivanishvili (center), and Georgian Dream Party chairman Irakli Garibashvili (left) take part in a protest in support of the proposed “Transparency of Foreign Influence” bill in Tbilisi, Georgia, on April 29, 2024. (David Khachikatishvili/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“In response to these actions, the State Department will implement a new visa restriction policy for Georgia that applies to individuals and their family members who are responsible for or complicit in undermining Georgia's democracy,” the statement said, specifying that this also includes “individuals responsible for suppressing civil society and freedom of peaceful assembly.”
The Georgian parliament passed the law in its final reading on May 14, but pro-Western President Salome Zourabichvili vetoed it days later. Georgian Dream has enough votes in parliament to override the veto, and has already announced it will do so.
The bill has drawn criticism from both the United States and the EU.
The US government is considering a series of military, trade and visa liberalisation incentives for Georgia if the state reverses its democratic backsliding and abandons the controversial law, Politico reported on May 20. The paper cited a draft bill that is expected to be submitted to Congress in the coming days.
Several EU countries have reportedly called for sanctions against Georgia over the bill, including suspending its visa-free travel regime, and some members of the European Parliament have responded by calling for the suspension of Georgia's candidacy for EU membership.
Explained: What's behind the ongoing protests in Georgia?
Over the past few weeks, thousands of protesters have gathered every night in front of the Georgian parliament to oppose a controversial foreign agents law that the ruling Georgian Dream party is trying to pass. The final vote is due to take place on May 14.
