Protesters in the country of Georgia have gathered for a second night to protest new legislation proposed by the Georgian parliament.
Mass protests in Tbilisi continue. The Ukrainian anthem can be heard in the background.
Protesters gave Georgian government one hour to gulfill their demands: remove the "foreign agents" law from parliament and release all arrested protesters. pic.twitter.com/xOLyOvggzb
— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) March 8, 2023
The new legislation would see any Georgian organization which receives more the 20% of their funding from outside of the country have to register as “foreign agents”.
Yesterday, the first night of protests escalated into violent clashes with police attempting to disperse the crowds.
According to the Georgian Interior Ministry, 66 people were arrested.
RIGHT NOW in ##Tbilisi
Police began using tear gas and water cannons against the protesters. There are heavy clashes. #Georgia #TbilisiProtests #NoToRussianLaw pic.twitter.com/F5U44HxyJt— Tamar Kakabadze (@TamarKakabadze1) March 8, 2023
Protests again kicked off earlier today with the protesters criticizing the new legislation as being evidence of Russian influence in the country.
The crowd of pro-EU and pro-Ukraine protesters in front of the Georgian parliament in Tbilisi just continues to grow.
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— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) March 8, 2023
Protesters claim the new legislation would be used to crackdown on dissent and also drive a wedge between Georgia and Europe.
Because of this, the protests have taken a pro-Ukrainian stance as well.