Police in Georgia forcefully break up protest in front of parliament

Police in the Southern Caucasus nation of Georgia used tear gas and water cannons to break up a crowd of peaceful demonstrators outside the country's parliament building on Tuesday evening.

The protests, which have been going on for weeks, are directed against a planned law to control foreign influence in politics.

The police pushed the demonstrators away from the parliament in Tbilisi and cleared the capital's main street, Rustaveli Avenue. Georgian media reported that several people were injured. The police said that the rally was no longer peaceful and that public order had to be restored.

Members of Parliament debated the controversial law in its second and penultimate reading.

The hotly debated law is based on similar rules in Russia, which is why critics in Georgia refer to it as a "Russian law." It stipulates that NGOs that receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad must disclose these sources.

The Georgian government says it wants to ensure greater transparency and control the extent of foreign influence more closely.

Many projects in Georgia depend on foreign funding, and opponents of the law accuse the government of attempting to weaken pro-Western forces.

A vote is expected on Wednesday.

Georgia, a former Soviet republic, is oriented towards the West and is a candidate for EU accession. It is due to hold parliamentary elections in the autumn.

The EU and many of its member states have sharply criticized the planned law on so-called foreign agents. Last year, the leadership in Tbilisi put the draft on ice in the face of mass protests.