Georgia govt's u-turn on controversial media funding bill following massive demonstrations

Georgia's ruling party announced on March 9, 2023, that it was halting plans to introduce a controversial "foreign agent" bill after mass rallies against the legislation seen as reminiscent of Russian legislation used to silence critics.

The announcement came after two days of large-scale protests, including a rally on Women's Day that saw Georgian police fire water cannon and tear gas at thousands of demonstrators and issue a dispersal order. Massive crowds had gathered in front of the parliament building in central Tbilisi on Wednesday, holding EU and Georgian flags, and chanting "no to the Russian law".

Ruling party Georgian Dream said in a statement the bill had been "represented in a bad light and in a misleading way," adding that it would launch public consultations to "better explain" the law's purpose after announcing its withdrawal.

The protesters demanded authorities drop the bill on "transparency of foreign funding," which critics said mirrors a law used in Russia to force media and dissenting groups to shut down.

Concern has been growing that the ex-Soviet nation, which aspires to join the EU and NATO, is taking an authoritarian turn and maintaining links with Moscow.