Georgia’s ruling party has withdrawn a controversial bill from parliament after two nights of protests against the proposed law, whose critics say marked a slide into Russia-style repression.
In a statement on Thursday, Georgian Dream, the party controlled by the reclusive billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, and its coalition partner said they would withdraw the bill “unconditionally” after the public outcry.
Thousands of protesters took to the streets of Tbilisi on Tuesday and Wednesday waving EU, Ukrainian and American flags in what was reminiscent of massive pro-EU demonstrations in Ukraine before Moscow’s annexation of Crimea in 2014. Georgian demonstrators chanted “No to Russian law’’, “Never going back to the USSR”, “Georgia belongs to Europe” and “Slava Ukraini” (Glory to Ukraine).