"BIRN BiH EXPLAINS – Russian Narratives in Disinformation about Foreign Agents Laws in Georgia and BiH"

 

Although they are 2,000 kilometers apart, for Bosnia and Herzegovina and Georgia, the key danger is the proximity to Russia. While both countries stumble on their path to European Union membership, the so-called foreign agents law, inspired by a similar law from Russia, has become one of their main obstacles. Although public reactions in these two countries are completely opposite, propaganda inspired by Russian narratives and disinformation is almost identical.

Illustration. Photo: BIRN BiH

Tens of thousands of Georgian citizens have been on the streets of Tbilisi since mid-April, united in their fight – against the Russian Foreign Agents Law and for the European Union. The law adopted in this country is a copy of the solution adopted in Russia in 2012, based on which Russian authorities, led by Vladimir Putin, have been persecuting their opponents for years. The citizens' struggle is strengthened by the experiences of Russian citizens who, after being declared foreign agents in their homeland, found refuge precisely in Georgia and who explain to them how this law carries danger – not only for non-governmental organizations and media – but literally for all citizens who dare to criticize the government.

On the other hand, while the authorities of Republika Srpska are preparing to adopt the same law, the citizens of BiH are without almost any reactions, except for a small number of non-governmental organizations and activists who point out the repression that could occur with the adoption of this law.

 

 

The form of misleading the public about this law in both countries is almost identical, inspired by Russian narratives and reinforced by anti-Western propaganda.

 

Despite opposition from a greater or lesser part of the public, the authorities of Georgia and Republika Srpska attempt to justify the adoption of this law by citing the fact that the same law exists in the United States, referring to the Foreign Agents Registration Act adopted in this country as early as 1938.

 

However, these claims are not accurate. It is actually a law aimed at preventing the influence of Nazi German authorities, as well as Soviet communist agents, and today serves as a tool to combat money laundering, fraud, sanctions evasion, extortion, terrorism, and hostile foreign forces. Religious, educational, scientific, artistic, and media organizations are exempt from it.

 

In the drafts proposed in Georgia and later in Republika Srpska, which are most similar to the Russian one, "foreign agents" are not Nazis or terrorists but all non-profit and non-governmental

organizations, meaning that scientists, journalists, artists, or professors can be declared foreign agents.

 

"The very purpose of this law is precisely to stigmatize, delegitimize, discredit these organizations, and thereby silence those critical voices, so that government corruption is no longer exposed," says Tina Bokuchava, an opposition member of the Georgian Parliament.

 

While claiming it's an American law, the authorities of Georgia also propagate a conspiracy theory that the West is orchestrating a global war and aims to open a front in Georgia, following the first one, as they say, initiated in Ukraine. Such anti-Western propaganda is one of the main features of Russian disinformation since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine. Through them, Russia portrays America and the West as destroyers of healthy societal values, particularly traditional family values.

 

This narrative of undermining tradition and family values is particularly prevalent in Georgia, where authorities have supported the Day of Family Purity and Parental Respect for years, organized by the Orthodox Church. Although May 17 is marked globally as the International Day Against Homophobia, in Georgia, homophobic attitudes are spread on that day, and conservative people were exploited this year to convince them that those opposing the Russian law are promoting same-sex marriages.

 

"All these various regressive initiatives, including the Foreign Agents Law or anti-LGBT laws, or other laws filled with misogyny and sexism, bring us closer to Russia and are aimed against those who want to be part of the European family and the European Union," explains Ana Subeliani, deputy director of the organization "Tbilisi Pride."

 

These views are very familiar to citizens of Bosnia and Western Balkan countries because officials in Republika Srpska and Serbia often repeat them. One of the loudest voices in spreading these narratives is the president of Republika Srpska, Milorad Dodik, who recently stated in an interview for the News Agency of Republika Srpska that he supports Bosnia and Herzegovina's European path, but only if it allows for the preservation of Serbian culture, independence, and tradition. He also believes that the United States deliberately blame Serbs for the conflict in the 1990s. Similar views were repeated during the campaign against the Resolution on Genocide in Srebrenica, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly, during which they claimed that it was a document declaring all Serbs as a genocidal nation, although the terms Serbs, Serbia, or Republika Srpska are not mentioned in this resolution at all.

 

"This vile Western world pushes Srebrenica into the political arena and into the UN General Assembly, to classify Serbs as the only nation in history to have committed such a thing. This is pushed to erase all the crimes of Germany. Don't do that because it does not contribute to life in Bosnia and Herzegovina," Dodik said at the "Serbian Call" gathering organized in Banja Luka to fight against the resolution.

 

The adoption of the law on foreign agents has become a trend in the Eastern European and Eurasian regions, so, besides Georgia and Republika Srpska, active advocacy for it during this and last year has begun in Kyrgyzstan, Hungary, and Slovakia. There are announcements from certain politicians like Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vulin or convicted war criminal Vojislav Šešelj that they will advocate for the adoption of this law in Serbia, which, through various events, emphasizes traditional family values.

 

All these countries have shown certain friendly ties with official Russia, and this law shows how Russia can mobilize them to simultaneously discuss the same topic.

 

"It is very difficult because the government's official statements now clearly show that they are against the West. They are turning the country against its well-established historical choice to move towards the West and want to put Georgia alongside Russia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, and this union that wants to rebuild the Soviet Union. Now people are defending their choice. It's not about protests and a specific law, but the protests and demonstrations are related to Georgia's choice," concludes Giorgi Chitidze, program manager of the Georgian Civil Society Foundation.

 

Georgia and Bosnia and Herzegovina also have elections in October, and it is important to know that, if the law is finalized, it could target precisely those organizations responsible for monitoring elections and reporting on electoral fraud, which will be one of the first indicators of the harmfulness of this law to the entire society.