Georgia’s ‘day of betrayal’ – Technologist

Two months of widespread protests and international pressure did nothing to change the outcome: The controversial “foreign influence” bill was adopted in Georgia on Tuesday, May 28. As expected, the presidential veto was overridden in the parliament by the ruling Georgian Dream party, passing by 84 votes to 4. Thousands of people watched the proceedings on giant screens set up outside the building in a tense atmosphere, under the surveillance of masked security forces.

The date will be remembered in the former Soviet republic located in the Caucasus, torn between a pro-European population and a pro-Russian government, and which has been trying to free itself from Moscow’s influence since its independence in 1991. Opponents of the bill have already given it a name: the “day of betrayal.”

A betrayal of the Georgian people, first of all. Nearly 80% of the country’s 3.7 million residents aspire to join the European Union (EU), according to opinion polls. Yet, Brussels has warned that the “foreign influence” bill – modeled on the Russian one and aimed at silencing civil society and independent media – is incompatible with European norms and values. Its adoption will bring the country’s European integration to a halt, just five months after it gained official candidate status.

In the eyes of the protestors, this bill is also a violation of the Georgian constitution, which stipulates that “all measures” must be taken to “ensure the full integration of Georgia into the EU and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization [NATO].” Ever since the country’s independence, its successive leaders have never questioned this goal.

Constitutional court ‘taken over’

In the 30 years since independence, the US and Europe, Georgia’s main financial backers, have provided billions of dollars in aid to promote the country’s transition to democracy and align it with the West.

Now, with the passing of this bill, the country’s strongman, billionaire oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili, is radically shifting Georgia’s geopolitical orientation away from Europe and towards Russia. The shift is all the more dramatic given that Moscow is considered to be an enemy in the country, 20% of whose territory has been occupied by Russian troops since the 2008 war between the two.

The Georgian government, which has accused the West, the opposition, and Georgian civil society of fomenting revolution and trying to drag the country into war, is now also turning to China. In a telling sign, while parliamentarians were voting to revoke the presidential veto, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze hailed the visa liberalization agreement made with Beijing, which was announced at the end of February.

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