You may have seen videos this week taken on the streets of Tbilisi, Georgia, where riot police attempted to restore order. The furor was over a proposed law drafted by Georgia’s ruling party, Georgian Dream, that sought to force disclosure by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and press organizations that received more than twenty percent (20%) of their funding from outside of Georgia. Theses NGOs could potentially have been labelled foreign agents under the law. The United States (US) has a similar law. The Russian Federation has one too. These “sunshine laws” are quite common, and serve a useful purpose. It is important for the people to know if there is foreign influence in the issues facing their country.
However, the reaction in Georgia and from the West was pure outrage. The US Embassy stated that this proposed bill, “raises real questions about the ruling party’s commitment to Euro-Atlantic integration” and called the bills’ passage “a dark day for Georgia’s democracy.” Not to be left out, the European Union (EU) stated that the law breaches EU standards, undermines Georgia’s stated intention to become a member of the bloc, and risks “serious repercussions on our relations.”
“The law in its current form risks having a chilling effect on civil society and media organizations, with negative consequences for the many Georgians . . . This is a very bad development for Georgia and its people.” Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign policy chief.
Wow! All of this nonsense arose as a result of the potential passage of a common “sunshine law.” Well, I guess we now know who is funding Georgia’s NGOs and the media!