As expected, and as we now know, a large portion of the Georgian Civil Society showed a responsible, and sane, approach to the issue. This is what the Chairman of Georgia’s Parliament, Shalva Papuashvili, writes on the social network.
Papuashvili points out that 156 foreign-funded organisations have already completed the registration procedure in the transparency registry of the Ministry of Justice.
According to him this number is already higher than the 136 nongovernmental organizations that protested the law on transparency of foreign influence.
“As expected and now we are convinced, a large portion of the Georgian Civil Society has shown a responsible, rational approach to the issue of Transparency: so far, the 156 foreign-funded organisations have completed the registration procedure in the transparency registry of the Ministry of Justice. This number is already higher than the 136 nongovernmental organizations who protested the law on transparency of foreign influence. The registration applications of 300 more organizations are also being considered.
All of this happened despite the threats made by several political NGOs, and their donors, that the Georgian civil community would be against more transparency and accountability.
It became apparent that the groups who came out in violent protests in March 2023 or May 2024 were not civil society but were instead mobilized by radical parties, their politicized NGO’s and party televisions.
The real civil society has spoken. Up to 25,000 of the more than 30,000 registered non-profits in Georgia have been inactive since years. Out of the active organizations, about 600 organizations seem to receive foreign funding. However, only 136 organizations were found to have unacceptable transparency. The transparency law does not pose a problem for more than 75% of non-governmental organisations funded from abroad. The sun still shines in the beautiful villages, towns and cities of Georgia, despite what was promised as the end of the earth.
Read More @ www.interpressnews.ge