President Says Georgia's Survival 'At Stake' After Controversial Law Approved

TBILISI -- President Salome Zurabishvili warned that Georgia's survival as a state is in danger after parliament approved a contentious "foreign agent" law despite weeks of popular protests and warnings from the West that the move endangers Georgia's Euro-Atlantic aspirations.

Speaking at a news conference in Tbilisi with the visiting foreign ministers of Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, and Iceland on May 15, Zurabishvili reiterated she would veto the legislation approved a day earlier, as the government "did not listen to the voice of its people, nor to the advice of its friends, nor to anyone's warning, and went its own way."

"The issue of Georgia's survival is at stake today," she said.

"I told our friends about our plans for the future, about what should be a European platform that I have been working on for several weeks now and which I will officially present to our people," Zurabishvili said, adding that her platform is meant to mobilize Georgians ahead of elections later this year.

"Our immediate plan is mobilization for elections, a peaceful path on which we will all undoubtedly win together, in order to bring our motherland onto a peaceful and European path," she said.

The law has been condemned by the United States, the European Union, and rights watchdogs for emulating a similar piece of Russian legislation used by President Vladimir Putin to crush dissent and stifle independent institutions.

A NATO spokesperson on May 15 called the legislation "a step in the wrong direction" that takes Georgia "further away from European and Euro-Atlantic integration."

Zurabishvili, who is at odds with the ruling Georgian Dream party that pushed the legislation through parliament, has 10 days to exercise her veto powers. However, the dominant position of Georgian Dream and its partners in parliament is strong enough to override a presidential veto.

Zurabishvili spoke shortly after thousands of Georgian demonstrators continued their protest into the early hours of May 15 in Tbilisi against the bill.

After nightfall, protesters marched from the parliament building some 2 kilometers to Heroes' Square, a main intersection in the Georgian capital, where riot police violently arrested at least 10 people, RFE/RL correspondents on the ground reported.

Protesters Vow To Keep Fighting After Georgian Parliament Approves 'Foreign Agent' Bill

On May 14, in the third and final reading, lawmakers voted 84 to 30 in favor of the law initiated by the Georgian Dream party, which has used its control over security forces to violently crack down on protesters over the past weeks using water cannons, tear gas, and rubber bullets.

Thousands of protesters, mainly young people, massed in front of parliament ahead of the vote.

As word got out that final approval had been given to the bill, angry protesters outside parliament tried to break metal barriers near the building and were attacked violently by masked riot police. At least 13 people were arrested, some of whom were being violently snatched from the crowd by police.

TV and social media footage showed activist Davit Katsarava being violently detained outside parliament. He was later pictured with serious injuries to his face. Doctors at a Tbilisi clinic said he had suffered a broken clavicle and fractured jaw and undergone surgery.

SEE ALSO: Clashes Erupt Inside, Outside Georgia's Parliament Over 'Foreign Agent' Law's Approval

Lazare Grigoriadis, a young protester, who was arrested during the police crackdown, was beaten while in custory, his lawyer, Eka Kobesashvili, told RFE/RL.

"His face is damaged, his head is also injured, his hands are cut from the handcuffs, his head and sides hurt," Kobesashvili said.

"The police beat him on the head, physically assaulted him and kept him in the courtyard of the parliament for several hours after his arrest, until he was taken first to the division and then to the isolation ward."

Another young protester told RFE/RL in English, "I'm Georgian and therefore I'm European," adding, "we want freedom, that's all. My name is Irakli Beradze, I am a student of Ilia State University, and I'm here protesting against the Russian law, against the Russian[-style] regime and I'm fighting for freedom."

Scuffles, Protests As Georgian Lawmakers Adopt 'Foreign Agent' Bill

Georgian Dream Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has accused the protesters of "following the agenda of the political minority" and charged that they were showing a "great irresponsibility" toward their country.

Kobakhidze has also criticized the United States, one of Georgia's biggest backers, for making "false" statements about the legislation.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State James O'Brien, who was in Tbilisi on May 14, said Washington's relationship with the South Caucasus country would be at risk and U.S. aid for Georgia would come under review if the bill officially becomes law.

"If the law goes forward without conforming to EU norms and this kind of rhetoric and aspersions against the U.S. and other partners continue, I think the relationship is at risk," O'Brien said.

"This is a dark day for Georgian democracy," a group of 11 U.S. senators said in a statement issued after the vote.

The massive rallies against the bill are some of the largest protests since Georgia became independent in 1991.

Under the terms of the proposed legislation, media outlets, NGOs, and other nonprofits would be required to register as "pursuing the interests of a foreign power" if more than 20 percent of their funding comes from abroad.