TBILISI, March 7 Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili expressed support for the protesters in Tbilisi announced that it would veto the law on foreign agents.
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"I am with you, because today you represent free Georgia, Georgia, which sees its future in Europe and will not give anyone the right to take away this future. <…> This law must be abolished in any form,” she said in a video message distributed by her administration.
The head of state added that this initiative should not be sent to the Venice Commission. She stressed that from the very beginning she was going to veto this law and now she adheres to the same position.
Earlier, the presidential administration reported that Zurabishvili, who is on a visit to the United States, canceled all meetings and planned to make an appeal to the population amid ongoing protests.
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According to her, the law on foreign agents alienates Georgia from the European Union and all those who support it violate the country's constitution.
On Tuesday evening, the country's parliament by a majority of votes passed the draft law on foreign agents in the first reading, despite protests from the opposition. The rally at the building of the legislature has been taking place since early morning. Car traffic was blocked on the central Rustaveli Avenue.
The draft law «On Transparency of Foreign Influence» received by the Georgian Parliament proposes to create in the country a register of non-governmental organizations, media and entities receiving funding from a foreign state.
Representatives of the ruling Georgian Dream party , which has a parliamentary majority, announced their intention to support the new bill, and if President Salome Zurabishvili vetoes it, the deputies will try to overcome it. According to the oppositionists, a possible innovation alienates the country from the European Union.