Non-governmental organisations in Georgia are worried for their future after parliament recently passed controversial legislation to counter what it called "foreign interference." Activists have called it the "Russian law" -- comparing it to similar legislation the Kremlin uses against its critics. Groups fearing the new law's negative impacts in Georgia have been speaking to DW.
#GeorgiaNGOs #OIDW #DWVideos #ForeignInterferenceLaw #RussianLaw #ControversialLegislation #NGOImpact #CivilSociety #GeorgianParliament #ActivistConcerns #DemocracyUnderThreat #FreedomOfSpeech #KremlinComparison #HumanRights #LegislativeImpact #GeorgiaPolitics #NGOFuture
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#GeorgiaNGOs #OIDW #DWVideos #ForeignInterferenceLaw #RussianLaw #ControversialLegislation #NGOImpact #CivilSociety #GeorgianParliament #ActivistConcerns #DemocracyUnderThreat #FreedomOfSpeech #KremlinComparison #HumanRights #LegislativeImpact #GeorgiaPolitics #NGOFuture
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NewsTranscript
00:00 The law is expected to target first and foremost NGOs that engage in the political process.
00:07 But some others, far away from politics, also fear the implications of the law.
00:14 Teimuraz Tsikoridze has dedicated 20 years of his life to taking care of and protecting abandoned animals.
00:23 He now runs a non-profit animal village near the capital, Tbilisi.
00:29 He says it's not a traditional dog shelter, it's their home, where there is no pressure for dogs to be placed with new owners.
00:39 All of this was possible thanks to foreign donations, he says.
00:44 We have gotten financial support from abroad, which allowed us to buy this land and build a dog village.
00:54 We managed to exist to this day thanks to that support.
00:59 But now, what shall we do? Shall we now forget all that support?
01:06 Nino Dolidze, director of a key Georgian election watchdog, rejects the transparency argument.
01:13 She believes the bill is a pretext to shut down independent civil society groups that are monitoring the government's actions.
01:22 We are uploading all our expenditures on our websites.
01:26 We have to do all the declarations.
01:29 Donor organizations have officially uploaded all their grants that they are giving to Georgian civil society.
01:35 More than 160 Georgian NGOs have pledged to defy the law when it comes into force in about two months.
01:43 Nino says the election observer group she heads will not register on the foreign influence list.
01:51 She is ready to pay the fine of 8,000 euros for failing to comply with the law.
01:56 Legislation itself is against our dignity.
01:59 Georgian organizations represent only one country's interest, which is Georgia.
02:03 So we cannot register in a registry which is making us spies or enemies of our country.
02:10 Teimur Asas, the foreign influence law, also affects his shelter, as his donations mostly come from abroad,
02:20 and as the economic situation is unstable in Georgia, he fears that donations will decrease and put his animals' well-being at risk.
02:28 Our governments want to register NGOs protecting animal rights like mine as foreign agents.
02:36 We will have a negative perception and donor organizations from abroad will likely to be reluctant to finance us anymore.
02:47 The foreign influence law could also affect other NGOs which tackle social, ecological and educational problems in Georgia.
02:56 Georgia's civil society groups say that the upcoming October elections are the only way for them to avoid the possible fate of being shut down.
03:07 They say they will continue their fight for a free and democratic Georgia as long as it takes.
03:15 it takes.
03:15 [BLANK_AUDIO]