Georgian Dream’s decision last week to enact the Russian-style foreign agents law, overturning President Zourabichvili’s veto, endangers the future of civil society, European Union accession, and democratic governance in Georgia. The enactment of this law not only serves to subvert the will of the Georgian people by driving Georgia towards Russia, but also puts Georgian security at grave risk moving forward.
As the foreign agents law comes into force, we at the Democratic Security Institute stand with our colleagues in Georgian civil society and will not be registering our organization. Despite this draconian legislation designed to silence pro-democracy voices, we persist in our pursuit of a democratic future for our country.
We urge Georgia’s global friends and allies to maintain pressure on Georgian Dream to reverse their current course, realign Georgia with its chosen democratic, pro-Western trajectory, and ensure the upcoming October parliamentary elections are free, fair, and truly representative.