(Recasts with police using tear gas) TBILISI, March 7 (Reuters) - Georgian police used tear gas to disperse protesters on Tuesday in central Tbilisi after parliament gave its initial backing to a draft law on "foreign agents" which critics say represents an authoritarian shift in the South Caucasus country.
The draft law would require any organizations receiving more than 20% of their funding from overseas to register as 'foreign agents' or face substantial fines
By Ben Tavener and David Chkhikvishvili TBILISI (Reuters) -Police in the ex-Soviet state of Georgia used tear gas and stun grenades early on Wednesday to break up a protest outside Parliament against a draft law on foreign agents . Reuters witnesses in the capital, Tbilisi, saw police with riot shields making arrests along Rustaveli Avenue, the main thoroughfare running through the centre of the city. Hours earlier police had clashed with demonstrators, some of whom threw petrol bombs and stones. The crowd then gathered outside parliament, where some people pulled aside light metal barriers intended to keep the public away from the building. In a statement, the interior ministry said people on both sides had been injured in what it called an extremely violent protest. Police would react to violations of the law, it added. The ministry said 66 people had been detained over the hours-long clashes. The protests erupted after legislators gave initial backing to the law, which critics say r
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