WASHINGTON—In response to the Georgian parliament’s override of a presidential veto against the Russian-style foreign agent law, U.S. Helsinki Commission Chairman Rep. Joe Wilson (SC-02) and Ranking Member Rep. Steve Cohen (TN-09) issued the following statement:
“The forced implementation of this Russian-style law in Georgia, despite the overwhelmingly clear will of the Georgian people, is intended as a final blow to Georgian democracy and the people’s Euro-Atlantic future.
In reality, it is indicative of weakness, as this effort to punitively compel a free people will have consequences.
This is the result of Kremlin machinations, which has long sought to conquer its neighbors—and particularly its elder civilizations in Ukraine and Georgia whose history and culture predate Moscow —for its own imperial ends.
We strongly condemn the Georgian government’s forced enactment of the Russian-style law, and the broader campaign of repression that it has launched.
In Congress, we look forward to the advancement of the MEGOBARI Act to ensure accountability for this assault on the will of the people of Georgia.
The United States stands with our friends, the Georgian people, to safeguard the work done by generations of Georgians for freedom and prosperity. We look forward to continuing support for Georgian democracy through mechanisms outlined in the bill and others.”
On May 28, the Georgian parliament overrode the presidential veto against the Russian-style foreign agent bill. That legislation, along with a variety of other antidemocratic measures, has been aimed directly at Western supported organizations as part of a broader anti-western and antidemocratic campaign that will severely curtail the ability for civil society, independent media, and individual activism and dissent. It follows a raft of similar legislation inspired and advanced by the Kremlin.
