Your trusted source

Following the latest developments in Georgia, I don't know whether to be jealous, surprised, or amused.

Mass protests erupted in Tbilisi on Tuesday after Georgia’s parliament passed the first reading of a controversial draft law that would require Georgian nonprofits and media outlets receiving more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as "foreign agents" or face fines.

At first, I was like, "Look, this seems to be a political decision, but passing the bill, the government puts itself in a position where, without developing the country’s economy to a point where everyone could be self-sufficient, it would now be hit hard by mass protests.”

And now I see protests have already started against the draft law, involving Georgian NGOs, civic activists, media workers, students and professors from Tbilisi universities, scientists, sports and culture figures. Demonstrators also blocked the city's central Rustaveli Avenue, chanting "No to the Russian-style law!" "Georgia will not become Russia!" and "Slaves!”.

Here I had a couple of second thoughts. After all, I didn't think Georgia was heavily dependent on the Russian funding, so why Russian?

Or is calling the bill "Russian-style" going to drum up greater popular support for the protests?

Incidentally, those who introduced the bill consider it "U.S.-style," while the opponents call it "Russian-style”.

But since the law was passed by the parliament overwhelmingly, the parliament majority presumably is U.S.-leaning.

I would probably consider it national, for the reason I mentioned above, but I am going to continue following the protests in Georgia before giving any assessment.

Although all this already reminds me of France: traditionally dubbed as the most revolutionary country in Europe, France deems fit to occasionally organize at least student protests involving stone pelting, water cannons, setting fire to cars... And I wouldn't call it that way if I hadn't noticed that students protest against something and then demand the same thing a few years later with the same passion.

Anyway, it's not funny, but rather ludicrous.

Imagine this bill is passed in Armenia. Migrant workers, organizations receiving funding from abroad, a government with an assload of foreign loans, a generation burdened with this debt... There wouldn’t be a person or organization left who, under the law, would not be called a “foreign agent”.

LoL!

A. Voskanyan

The author used a quote from Armenian writer Hovhannes Tumanyan's famous fairy tale "The Dog and the Cat" in the title.

The next time he came and still no hat,
The situation turned very bad inappropriate, offensive words.
You old this! You fat that!
Your mon this! Your dad that!
You thieving cat!
You bald hound!
Things got so bad the judge had to be found.