The U.S. is concerned about the implementation of the law on foreign agents in Georgia

The United States is concerned that Georgia's law on foreign agents is being applied to organizations that have refused to voluntarily register in a special register. The head of the press service of the U.S. State Department said in an interview with the Georgian service of Voice of America.

“We are concerned about the application of this legislation to organizations that have not registered voluntarily, including critical civil society organizations and independent media,” Miller said.

On Sept. 2, Georgia's voluntary registration period for the “Registry of Foreign Interest Organizations” expired. It is designed for registration and submission of declarations of NGOs and media, more than 20% of which are funded from abroad.

Of the approximately 32,000 organizations with non-profit status existing in Georgia, only 476 applied for registration. Most NGOs refused to comply with the law in protest. They believe the law replicates repressive norms used in Russia to destroy civil society and persecute those who disagree with the authorities.

Those who evade registration will be identified through monitoring and forcibly entered into the register. They will have to pay huge monthly fines.

The U.S. sees the law on foreign agents as a turning point in the anti-democratic actions of the Georgian Dream government.

Miller recalled that in response to the undermining of democracy, the U.S. began to review cooperation with Georgia and imposed visa sanctions on dozens of its citizens. It is known that members of the Georgian Dream, members of parliament, law enforcers and others were among them. In addition, Washington decided to freeze aid to Georgia in the amount of 95 million dollars.

Reprinted from https://www.newsgeorgia.ge/