TBILISI -- Thousands of Georgians took to the streets of central Tbilisi after the parliament passed the first reading of a controversial "foreign agent" law that critics, including the United States and EU, say will impact freedoms in the South Caucasus country.
Riot police faced off with protesters late on March 7 in front of the parliament building as demonstrators blocked Rustaveli Avenue, with some in the crowd shouting "Down with the Russian law."
As tensions soared, police used what appeared to be pepper spray on demonstrators, with several protesters breaking through barriers and some throwing objects at security personnel.
Later, police -- using water cannons and tear gas and amid unconfirmed reports of stun guns being deployed -- moved to break up the protests in the early morning hours, although it was not immediately clear if protesters had left the main demonstration area or moved to other sites.
Firebombs, Tear Gas In Tbilisi As 'Foreign Agents' Protest Turns Violent
The clashes came after lawmakers voted 76-13 in the first reading of draft legislation in a ballot originally scheduled for March 9 but moved up for unexplained reasons.
Second and third readings are to follow, but given the voting margin, the bill is expected to pass parliament.
The legislation, which is backed by the ruling Georgian Dream party, would require any organizations receiving more than 20 percent of their funding from overseas to register as a "foreign agent" or face substantial fines.
Critics say it mirrors Russian legislation that has restricted the work of independent journalists and democratic institutions there.
Russian influence is a sensitive issue in Georgia. Russia invaded Georgia in 2008 after which Moscow recognized South Ossetia and another region, Abkhazia, as independent countries and stationed thousands of its soldiers in those areas.
The draft law will be sent to the Council of Europe's Venice Commission, a democracy-and-rights advisory body than can offer an opinion but has no enforcement power.
On March 6, Georgian lawmakers brawled while discussing the law, and security at the parliament building was beefed up as protesters rallied in front of it, demanding consideration of the law be dropped.
President Salome Zurabishvili has said she will veto the bill, although parliament can override her veto.
Late on March 7, Zurabishvili said in a video address made while in the United States on an official visit that she supported the protesters’ demands.
"This law -- which no one needed -- does not come out of nowhere. It is something dictated by Moscow."
"The Georgia that sees its future in Europe will not allow anyone to take away this future...[it] belongs to our next generations, to all of us," she said.
The U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi responded to the March 7 vote, calling it "a dark day for Georgia's democracy."
"Parliament's advancing of these Kremlin-inspired laws is incompatible with the people of Georgia's clear desire for European integration and its democratic development."
"Pursuing these laws will damage Georgia’s relations with its strategic partners and undermine the important work of so many Georgian organizations working to help their fellow citizens. The process and the draft laws raise real questions about the ruling party’s commitment to Euro-Atlantic integration," it added.
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the parliament action was a "very bad development" for Georgia and could negatively affect its ties with Brussels. Georgia has long had aspirations of joining the EU.
Before the vote, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International called on Georgia's parliament to rebuff the law.
"Georgia's parliament should firmly reject" the legislation, the watchdogs said in a March 7 statement, calling it "incompatible with international human rights law and standards that protect the rights to freedom of expression and association."
More than 60 media outlets and civil society groups last month vowed not to comply with the legislation if it were to pass.
