'Foreign Agent' Bill Withdrawn After Days of Protests in Georgia

Protesters were blasted with a water cannon during a demonstration against a so-called “foreign agent” bill in Tbilisi, Georgia, on Wednesday, March 8, with Georgia’s ruling party announcing the following morning it would withdraw the bill.

According to a statement on its website, cited by RFE’s Georgian service, the Georgian Dream party said it had “decided to unconditionally withdraw this bill that we supported”.

A joint statement posted by Georgian Dream’s coalition partners, People’s Power, said a “machine of lies” had misled the public about the bill, according to a machine translation.

Video by journalist Mariam Nikuradze for OC Media shows protesters being blasted by water.

Georgia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs said 66 people were arrested during the protesting on Wednesday due to “petty hooliganism and disobedience to the legal demands of the police.” Credit: Mariam Nikuradze/OC Media via Storyful