US imposes new visa restrictions, launches review of relations with Georgia in response to repressive law

CNN
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The US State Department is implementing a new visa restriction policy in response to a repressive law and a crackdown on protests in Georgia, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Thursday.

Blinken, who said he hoped the country’s leaders would reconsider the so-called “foreign agents” bill, said the new visa policy would target “individuals responsible for or complicit in undermining democracy in Georgia , as well as members of their families. »

“This includes individuals responsible for the repression of civil society and freedom of peaceful assembly in Georgia through a campaign of violence or intimidation,” he said in a statement. The United States will also launch a review of its bilateral cooperation with Georgia, Blinken added.

The move comes nearly a week after Georgian President Salome Zurabichvili vetoed the bill, which would require organizations receiving more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as “agents of influence.” foreign” under penalty of fines.

The country’s parliament can still override its veto by a simple majority.

The Georgian parliament approved the bill on May 14, with 84 MPs voting for and 30 against, despite widespread opposition in the country. Georgian Dream, the ruling party that spearheaded the bill, has insisted it promotes transparency and national sovereignty, while critics say it draws inspiration from Russian laws used to eliminate opposition.

“This law, in its essence and spirit, is fundamentally Russian, contrary to our constitution and all European standards,” Zourabichvili said after vetoing the bill.

The European Union has warned that the bill would jeopardize the country’s chances of joining the bloc if it becomes law. Georgia, a small country nestled in the Caucasus Mountains, applied to become an EU member in 2022 and was granted candidate status late last year.

The bill has encountered resistance both within and outside the country’s parliament. Thousands of people marched in the streets of the Georgian capital against the bill. Fights and shouting matches broke out during debate on the bill. Masked police clashed with the crowd shortly after he passed.

Zourabichvili told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour last week that the upcoming elections in October would give people a chance to “overturn” the bill. ”

“We must use this mobilization of society and this consolidation of political parties to win these elections because it is the European way,” she said.

Michael Rios of CNN, Ekaterine Kadagishvili, Joshua Berlinger, Jessie Gretener and Amy Cassidy contributed to this report.