Georgian president says a foreign influence bill passed by parliament is unacceptable

By SOPHIKO MEGRELIDZE
Associated Press

TBILISI, Georgia (AP) — Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili said Thursday a “foreign influence” bill passed by parliament that critics call a threat to free speech is “unacceptable.”

In an interview with The Associated Press, Zourabichvili harshly criticized the ruling Georgian Dream party for pushing the bill that also is widely seen as a threat to Georgia’s aspirations to join the European Union.

“It’s unacceptable because it reflects a turn of the Georgian attitudes towards the civil society, towards the media and towards the recommendations of the European Commission that are not consistent with what is our declared policy of going towards a European integration,” shei told the AP.

Huge crowds of protesters have blocked streets in the capital of Georgia and milled angrily outside the parliament building after lawmakers on Tuesday approved the legislation despite strong criticism from the U.S and the EU.

Zourabichvili, who is increasingly at odds with the governing party, has vowed to veto the bill, but Georgian Dream has a majority sufficient to override it.