Johnny Melikian | Georgia Law on Foreign Agents, Protests, and Aftermath | Ep. 238 - Mar 15, 2023

Georgia’s Law on Foreign Agents, Protests and Aftermath
A conversation with Johnny G. Melikian

On March 7, the Georgian parliament voted into law a bill that would require political actors to clarify their foreign funding sources and their activities to lobby lawmakers with such funding. This ignited large protests in Tbilisi, and on March 9 the parliament agreed to rescind the law and to release arrested opposition members. We analyze the events and the outcome.

Guest:
* Johnny G. Melikian is a senior research fellow at the Orbeli Center for analysis, and the head of the Center for Political and Legal Studies. He has worked as a consultant for the International Crisis Group, and was a visiting fellow at Georgia’s Ilia State University

Hosts:
* Hovik Manucharyan TW/@HovikYerevan
* Asbed Bedrossian TW/@qubriq

00:00 Intro to Topic and Guest Johnny Melikian
01:02 What was the law on foreign agents all about?
10:50 Why was this law not right for Georgia?
14:52 Why was the EU up in arms about this law?
22:40 Did the law threaten EU soft power in Georgia?
23:39 Who won and who lost in this showdown?
28:50 Is Saakashvili a factor?
32:00 About foreign media influence in the region
34:12 EU’s biased approach to protests and governments
39:58 Is Georgia being set up for another color revolution?
40:56 Is this issue closed, and can it come back?
43:21 Closing comments

Episode 238 | Recorded: March 15, 2023
Website: https://podcasts.groong.org/238