I will say we are disappointed that the Parliament of Georgia overrode the veto by the President of Georgia regarding the anti-democratic ‘foreign agents’ bill, even though the vote was not expected. – White House press secretary Karine Jean Pierre said at a White House briefing in response to a question on what President Joe Biden is saying to the Georgians.
“We saw tens and thousands of Georgians last week protesting this bill, one of the biggest protests in Georgian history, and we are aware that many Georgians made their opposition known. This legislation requires civil societies organizations to register as foreign agents simply because they receive 20 percent of their funding from overseas. This burden is a threat to the ability of civil society organizations to maintain democracy. Authoritarian governments suppress civil society as a tactic and weapon to suppress dissent. We’re disappointed by what happened, because that’s not something democracies do,” said the White House Press Secretary.
The Parliament overrode President Salome Zurabishvili‘s veto of the law “On Transparency of Foreign Influence”. The Georgian Dream faction’s draft law, which was vetoed and rejected by Salome Zurabishvili, received 84 votes.
Matthew Miller: GD has moved the country further away from European integration.
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