Georgian lawmakers brawl as parliament weighs fresh 'foreign agents' bill

ISTANBUL

A fight broke out in Georgia's parliament Monday during deliberations on a bill concerning "foreign agents," previously rejected last year after mass protests.

The violence involving several members of parliament erupted after opposition lawmaker Aleko Elisashvili punched majority leader Mamuka Mdinaradze, who was addressing a Legal Affairs Committee session broadcast on national television.

Earlier this month, Mdinaradze announced that the parliamentary majority decided to resubmit the draft legislation, on the "transparency of foreign influence" to parliament after consultations within the ruling Georgian Dream party.

He said the draft would be reviewed using the same text as the previous bill, but that it would differ by its use of the milder term "organization pursuing the interests of a foreign power" rather than "agent of foreign influence."

Lawmakers had voted down the previous bill in a second reading on March 10 last year after it triggered mass protests in the capital Tbilisi, resulting in the arrest of 66 people and the injury of more than 50 law enforcement officers. Critics said the bill, if passed, would undermine democracy, while members of the ruling majority said it would boost transparency.

In a joint statement, Georgian Dream, People's Power, and other members of the parliamentary majority said the retracted law "caused differences of opinion in society" and claimed that it was falsely presented in a negative light to mislead part of the public.

Mdinaradze had previously said the bill requires foreign-funded organizations, including media outlets, to publish annual financial reports.

Talks with foreign ambassadors

On the same day, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze met with ambassadors of the US, UK, and EU in Tbilisi to discuss the bill, according to a government statement.

"The Prime Minister pointed out that the proposed law meets every fundamental legal principle and serves the only goal of making public the annual revenues of NGOs and relevant media outlets," the statement said.

"According to Irakli Kobakhidze, while the Government itself shows an example of transparency, and its every decision or legal act is made public, it is beyond comprehension why it is unacceptable for NGOs to meet a minimum standard of transparency," it added.

The statement went on to say that Kobakhidze reaffirmed his government's "unwavering commitment to open discussions concerning the proposed law" in order to leave no questions unanswered in Georgian society and among the country's allies.