U.S. Says "Foreign Agent' Law Could 'Potentially Undermine Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic Integration'

Washington D.C./16.02.23/Turan:   The State Department on Wednesday expressed its 'deep concerns' over Georgia's newly introduced "foreign agent" resolution, saying that such a law "could potentially undermine Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic integration," TURAN's Washington correspondent reports.

A draft legislation introduced in the Georgian Parliament that would require civil society organizations and the media that received more than 20 percent of its income from foreign sources to register with the government as a “foreign agent.

"We are aware of the draft legislation in the Georgian parliament... We are deeply concerned about its implications for freedom of speech and democracy in Georgia," State Department's spokesperson told his Wednesday briefing, when responding to TURAN's questions.

"We’ve expressed those deep concerns directly to our interlocutors in the Government of Georgia.  The proposed law would stigmatize and silence independent voices and citizens of Georgia who are dedicated to building a better future for their own communities. We believe such a law could potentially undermine Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic integration," he said.

Some in Georgia argue that the new draft resolution is similar to the American Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) law.  Price rejected the comparison, calling those statements as "patently false."

"In fact, this draft legislation appears to be based on similar Russian and Hungarian legislation, not on FARA or any other American legislation, Price said.

"It would also subject them to enhanced financial declarations.  Those who refuse to register would be fined.  They are also saying that it is similar to our FARA law which is disinformation," he concluded.

Alex Raufoglu