Lawmakers applauded after Georgia's parliament voted on Tuesday to override
a presidential veto on a foreign agents bill that has
plunged the country into crisis earlier while expressing his opposition
to the measure, a member of parliament was hit
in the face with water thrown by a representative.
On the other side of the debate, the bill
would require organizations receiving more than 20% of their funding
from overseas to register as agents of foreign influence while
also introducing punitive fines for violations as well as onerous
disclosure requirements. Western nations have called the law Russian
inspired and it has come to be seen as a
key test of whether Georgia for three decades among the
most pro western of the Soviet Union's successor states would
maintain its western orientation or pivot instead to Moscow.
The US condemned the vote while the Eu said it
was considering all its options. Protesters outside parliament like
Ika Giri expressed outrage about the result. We know
where they take our country. It's not about the
law anymore. It's about their decision to Georgia from
, from the west, from the EU, from
the NATO and take Georgia to the direction of Russia
and make Georgia the ally of Russia. So this
is what is happening now and we are ready to
fight. Large numbers of riot police were deployed around
the parliament building where they have used tear gas,
pepper spray and water cannons against protesters. In recent
weeks, the Georgian government which says it still wants
to join the. Eu has accused Western countries of
blackmail over their opposition to the bill. Russia denies
any role in backing the bill which it has defended
from Western criticism.