The recent crackdown in Tbilisi occurred following heated debates by lawmakers on a controversial bill regarding foreign funding. Riot police in Georgia used tear gas and rubber bullets against protesters gathered outside parliament for the third week in a row to oppose the bill, which would require organizations receiving more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad to register as “foreign agents”. The protests have been met with violence and arrests by masked riot police, prompting criticism from Brussels and comparisons to Russia’s restrictive “foreign agent” laws. The proposed legislation has deepened divisions between the ruling Georgian Dream party and the opposition-backed protest movement, with international criticism from the US, UK, and EU. Despite a government-organized rally in support of the bill, tensions remain high in Tbilisi as the debate continues. Former Georgian defence minister Tina Khidasheli, who attended the protest against her former colleagues in government, expressed confidence that the demonstrators will ultimately prevail.