美国国家公共电台 NPR--Police in the Georgian capital Tbilisi break up protests against a foreign agents law

Police in the Georgian capital Tbilisi break up protests against a foreign agents law

Transcript¹

NPR's A Martinez talks to Atlantic Council researcher Eto Buziashvili about antigovernment protests in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

The ruling party in the Eastern European country of Georgia appears to be bowing to two days of anti-government protests, where police deployed² water cannon³, tear gas and stun⁴ grenades. Journalist Mikheil Gvadzabia says he was assaulted by police this week.

MIKHEIL GVADZABIA: It was really bad, not only because, like, I was beaten, but it happened after we told them that we were journalists. And I had my press card on my neck. It was really scary.

MART?NEZ: But now a draft law that was criticized as a Russian-style crackdown on civil liberties and press freedoms is being withdrawn⁵. Eto Buziashvili is a researcher at the Atlantic Council. She was also at the protests in the capital of Tbilisi.

Are you surprised about the ruling party's about-face on this proposed legislation?

ETO BUZIASHVILI: Hi. Thank you for having me. Before I jump to the question, I would like to highlight that there are three important factors to have in mind for the context. The first is that Georgian people have long been striving for Euro-Atlantic integration⁶, which has the high majority support - basically, joining NATO and EU. Second, Georgian Dream-led government has been attempting to undermine this process and distance Georgia from the West. And the third - there is a strong and vocal⁷ civil society in Georgia, which has been doing their best to support this process of Euro-Atlantic integration and expose government's attempts to undermine rule of law and democracy. And this is the context when the foreign agents law is introduced, which basically intends to label media and civil society organizations that are recipient⁸ of the foreign funding as an agent of foreign influence. Basically, it mean that the civil society will be stigmaticized (ph), weakened and isolated⁹. And it's crucial that Georgia has to have the strong civil society to advance democracy and get closer to the EU and NATO and not be isolated and the weakened one.

Yeah, so in this context, there is always the threat that the ruling party will pass this law any time. Many in Georgia perceive this move, the withdrawal¹⁰, as a tactical retreat. According to Georgian legal experts, Parliament cannot just withdraw a law which was already passed in the first hearing. It means that the law will either be put on the shelf for some time or voted down in another hearing, which doesn't really have a high probability for now.

MART?NEZ: But why does the ruling party say it's backing down?

BUZIASHVILI: They didn't really elaborate on that. They are just saying that people are protesting and basically, they are not going into the details. They're just saying that we are withdrawing it. And again, it should be highlighted that it's not just a law. The ruling party has long been preparing Georgian society for this law in the information space via attempting to demonize and discredit¹¹ free media and civil society organizations. And during this past two days, the ruling party was surprised to discover that people were not deceived with the propaganda and manipulation. And that's why we are now seeing that they are kind of withdrawing in a tactical retreat, and maybe they are buying time to regroup and try to disperse¹² protest in this way.

MART?NEZ: But can this be seen as a win for the anti-government demonstrators in the capital?

BUZIASHVILI: Yeah. I mean, they see this as a kind of small win, but many people - the protesters are posting on social media that they should not calm down, and they should not take this as a big win because, again, there is always threat that the ruling party will pass this law again.

MART?NEZ: Eto Buziashvili is a researcher at the Atlantic Council in Tbilisi. Thank you.

BUZIASHVILI: Thank you for having me.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 deployed   

（尤指军事行动）使展开( deploy的过去式和过去分词 )； 施展； 部署； 有效地利用

参考例句：

• Tanks have been deployed all along the front line. 沿整个前线已部署了坦克。
• The artillery was deployed to bear on the fort. 火炮是对着那个碉堡部署的。

3 cannon   

n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮

参考例句：

• The soldiers fired the cannon.士兵们开炮。
• The cannon thundered in the hills.大炮在山间轰鸣。

4 stun   

vt.打昏，使昏迷，使震惊，使惊叹

参考例句：

• When they told me she had gone missing I was totally stunned.他们告诉我她不见了时，我当时完全惊呆了。
• Sam stood his ground and got a blow that stunned him.萨姆站在原地，被一下打昏了。

5 withdrawn   

vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出

参考例句：

• Our force has been withdrawn from the danger area.我们的军队已从危险地区撤出。
• All foreign troops should be withdrawn to their own countries.一切外国军队都应撤回本国去。

6 integration   

n.一体化，联合，结合

参考例句：

• We are working to bring about closer political integration in the EU.我们正在努力实现欧盟內部更加紧密的政治一体化。
• This was the greatest event in the annals of European integration.这是欧洲统一史上最重大的事件。

7 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

8 recipient   

a.接受的,感受性强的 n.接受者,感受者,容器

参考例句：

• Please check that you have a valid email certificate for each recipient. 请检查是否对每个接收者都有有效的电子邮件证书。
• Colombia is the biggest U . S aid recipient in Latin America. 哥伦比亚是美国在拉丁美洲最大的援助对象。

9 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

10 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

11 discredit   

vt.使不可置信；n.丧失信义；不信，怀疑

参考例句：

• Their behaviour has bought discredit on English football.他们的行为败坏了英国足球运动的声誉。
• They no longer try to discredit the technology itself.他们不再试图怀疑这种技术本身。

12 disperse   

vi.使分散；使消失；vt.分散；驱散

参考例句：

• The cattle were swinging their tails to disperse the flies.那些牛甩动着尾巴驱赶苍蝇。
• The children disperse for the holidays.孩子们放假了。