Not Your Casual News Week 16: Tbilisi's fight against the "Russian Law"
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On Tuesday 16 April, Georgian police sprayed tear gas to disperse protesters who gathered outside the parliament building in Tbilisi. But it did not discourage Georgians. On 22 April, they were still there, for the eighth day of unrest in a row.
Their anger is directed against a proposed bill that would require media and non-profit organizations to register as “agents of foreign influence” if they receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad.
The law has been dubbed the “Russian law” because of its close resemblance to Russia’s foreign agents law, signed in 2012, whose broad definitions allow the Kremlin to label almost anyone a foreign agent — even becoming a meme in Russian liberal society: “All decent people are included into Foreign Agents list.”
The clashes between protesters and police resulted in injuries among both groups. Protesters threw rocks and other objects at police, who responded with tear gas and water cannons. A police officer was hospitalized with a head injury, and several protesters were also injured.
“Today’s demonstration has gone beyond the discussion around this law. We are now protesting because we cannot have the police intimidating law-abiding citizens in our country. [...] Intimidation of those standing at a rally is not normal.” said Tekla, a Georgian protester interviewed by RFE/RL on 18 April.
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The protests are the latest in a series of demonstrations against the proposed law, which critics say is an attempt to stifle dissent and control the media. The government has defended the bill, saying it is necessary to protect the country from foreign interference and “pseudo-liberal values” imposed from abroad. However, the bill has been widely condemned by human rights groups and Western governments.
Georgia’s prime minister, Irakli Kobakhidze, has said he remains firm in his position.
“As for the West, the opposition talked about this as if we consider the West as an enemy. I will repeat once again that transparency is not a criterion for distinguishing between enemies and friends. First of all, of course, a friend should be transparent, this is the friends’ responsibility before the Georgian public.”
“Georgians are against this law. I hope they will be smart enough enough to reject it at the second reading, as they did last time”, said Anna, who also protested in Tbilisi on 18 April.
The newly proposed law is similar to one introduced and withdrawn last year by the current ruling party, Georgian Dream, which sparked widespread public outcry and major street protests.
Under the law, non-commercial organisations and news media that receive 20% or more of their funding from abroad will have to register as “pursuing the interests of a foreign power.” This is the same as the bill that was withdrawn last year, which would have required such groups to register as “agents of foreign influence.”
It remains to be seen whether the government will back down in the face of protests. There are also fears that the proposed law could derail Georgia’s bid to join the European Union, which was officially accepted last December.
“It is not only about the ‘Russian Law.’ [...] The country must finally live a peaceful life. This is the most important thing. The country must return to those European values that were the order of the day for us Georgians until the Russian and communist world took us over,” said Eka, another protester from Tbilisi.
On 8 August, 2008, Russian forces began the invasion of Georgia, flying to the rescue of the Russian-backed self-proclaimed republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Russia falsely accused Georgia of committing “genocide” and “aggression against South Ossetia.”
You should recognize the playbook. Yes, it was already happening in 2008. The short Russo-Georgian war was greeted with shyness by the international community. Its mutism paved the way for today’s madness in Ukraine.
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The EU has told Georgia that the proposals, which have brought thousands onto the streets in protest in recent weeks, are incompatible with European values and should be withdrawn, while Washington branded the “Kremlin-inspired” legislation as an attack on civil society.
When the European Commission granted Georgia candidate status last year, it set out specific steps needed for the South Caucasus country to become a full member, including tackling political polarisation and strengthening human rights protection.
According to the bloc’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, the adoption of the foreign agents law, as well as the government’s new proposals to crack down on LGBTQ+ rights, would “negatively impact Georgia’s progress on its EU path.”
According to a poll conducted by the National Democratic Institute in December 2023, 79 per cent of Georgian respondents supported their country's EU membership ambitions.
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What Else Happened?
Protesters have also gathered in Tenerife, Spain, on 20 April, calling for a temporary halt to tourist arrivals and a new tourism system for the Canary Islands. An estimated 50,000 people, according to Spanish media, turned out for the rally under the slogan “Canarias tiene un límite” — “The Canary Islands have a limit”, marching with banners reading “People live here” and “We don’t want to see our island die.” They believe that the current tourism model has led to high living costs and reduced housing affordability, while increasing environmental problems for the local population. “We are not against tourism, we are against a model that has led us to the deterioration of our land, of our people, because the profits and growth of tourism are not reflected in society,” said Rosario Correa, secretary of the Salvar Chira-Soria platform. The demonstration was supported by organisations such as Greenpeace and WWF. For a population of 2,2 million, the Canary Islands welcomed 13.9 million tourists in 2023, and tourism contributes about 35% to the region’s GDP. However, statistics show that 33.8% of the local population live in poverty or social exclusion, the second highest rate in Spain.
Jorge Maldonado, the mayor of Portovelo, Ecuador, was shot dead on Friday 19 April, two days before a referendum on tougher measures against organised crime. He is the fifth Ecuadorian mayor to be assassinated in the past year, and the third in less than a month. Maldonado's death comes amid a wave of violence in Ecuador, fuelled by drug trafficking and gang activity. The government has struggled to contain the violence and the referendum is seen as a key test of its ability to do so. The referendum will ask voters whether they support a series of measures to crack down on organised crime, including tougher penalties for drug dealing and gang membership. The government has argued that the measures are necessary to restore order in the country, but critics say they are too harsh and will violate civil liberties.
A new discovery has brought hope to the fight against malaria: a new type of bed net could reduce cases by up to 50%. The nets, treated with two insecticides, will be tested between 2019 and 2022 in 17 African countries where malaria is common. Among the countries involved is Nigeria, which has a significant number of malaria deaths. The mosquito-borne disease is becoming increasingly resistant to treatment and prevention. Mosquitoes are becoming more resilient to pyrethroids, a common insecticide used in bed nets. However, when nets were treated with pyriproxyfen or chlorfenapyr in addition to a pyrethroid, malaria transmission was reduced by 20% to 50%. Michael Charles, CEO of the RBM Partnership to End Malaria, an initiative to end the disease, told The Guardian that there is “no silver bullet” in the fight against malaria, but a mix of inventions, or “suite of tools.” “The dual insecticide nets are a shining example of one of those tools,” he said. The cost of the new nets is similar to that of older nets, potentially saving countries millions in malaria prevention. A malaria vaccine roll-out has also begun in Cameroon, with 19 other African countries expected to follow suit by 2023.
Indian citizens are casting their votes in the world's biggest election, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking a third consecutive term on a platform of economic development, social welfare, strong support for Hindu-centric policies and personal popularity. Live coverage from Reuters.
Climate News
Torrential floods inundated parts of the Gulf region over the weekend, killing at least 18 people in Oman and disrupting travel in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as heavy rains and flash floods swept through the region. It is the largest amount of rain the UAE has seen in more than 75 years, the government said, with around 25cm (10in) of rain falling in a single day — about twice the UAE’s annual average. The floods have caused widespread damage, with homes, businesses and roads submerged. Rescuers have been working to evacuate people from the affected areas and provide them with food, water and shelter. “Rainfall from thunderstorms, like the ones seen in UAE in recent days, sees a particular strong increase with warming. This is because convection, which is the strong updraft in thunderstorms, strengthens in a warmer world,” Dim Coumou, a professor in climate extremes at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, told Reuters. The Gulf region and its large cities are particularly vulnerable to flooding because of their arid climate and lack of infrastructure.
Indonesia’s Ruang volcano erupted on 17 April, spewing explosive plumes of lava, rock and ash for days and forcing authorities to close a provincial airport and evacuate hundreds of people from the surrounding area. The eruption, described by officials as “dramatic”, sent a fiery red column of lava, incandescent rock and ash 3 kilometres (2 miles) into the sky. More than 800 people have been evacuated from the danger zone, and authorities are expanding the area as the potential for further eruptions remains high. Heruningtyas Desi Purnamasari, an official from Indonesia's volcanology agency, said the rapid escalation of volcanic activity necessitated the need to “remain alert.” The eruption also damaged homes and forced a nearby hospital to evacuate patients and staff. Transport authorities closed the airport in the provincial capital Manado as a precaution against ash showers.
The deadly heatwave that hit Mali and Burkina Faso in early April 2024 would not have happened without human-induced climate change, according to a new study by World Weather Attribution. The heatwave was 1.4 degrees Celsius hotter than expected due to global warming, with temperatures exceeding 45 degrees Celsius, resulting in many deaths. It was a 200-year event, according to climate models. The extreme heat led to more deaths and hospitalisations, despite the population’s acclimation. Hundreds and possibly thousands of additional heat-related deaths occurred. For example, the Gabriel Touré hospital in Bamako, Mali, reported 102 deaths in 4 days, compared to 130 for the whole of the previous April. The heatwave coincided with Ramadan fasting and power cuts, which affected health services.
Image of the Week
On Tuesday 16 April, Denmark’s famous Børsen, the historic 17th century stock exchange building in the centre of Copenhagen, known as the country’s “Notre Dame”, went up in flames.
Video footage shows the historic Copenhagen building engulfed in flames, with its unique 56-metre spire, shaped like the intertwined tails of four dragons, consumed by fire before it collapsed.
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