Russia and NGOs - July 2006

Russian Civil Society Examined, As G-8 Looms

Jul. 07: Int'l Herald-Tribune - Putin and the NGOs

Jul. 06: AP - NGOs Urge G8 to Reprimand Russia

Jul. 05: Kommersant- President Splits Civic Society into Discrete Parts

Jul. 05: Moscow Times - Putin Says NGOs Won't Be Crushed

Jul. 05: MosNews - Amnesty International Urges Putin to Review NGO Legislation

Jul. 04: RIA Novosti - Putin restates opposition to overseas financing for NGOs

Jul. 04: AFP - Putin on charm offensive at NGOs meeting


Jan.-Apr. 2006

Nov. - Dec. 2005
   Nov. 29: JTA - Bill could harm Jewish organizations

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Associated Press - 07.06.2006

NGOs Urge G8 to Reprimand Russia

By Maria Danilova

(AP) - Leading nongovernmental organizations appealed Wednesday to Group of Eight leaders to address at the G8 summit next week what they called Russia's rapid democratic rollback and rampant human rights abuses.

At a meeting held a day after President Vladimir Putin defended Russia's human rights record, the groups listed what they called gross and systematic rights violations and called on the international community to press Russian leaders to return the country to a democratic path.

"A gulag has been created in Russia. ... The most horrific crimes in the Soviet Union took place in the gulag, millions of people were killed there and human rights were violated," said Lev Ponomaryov, of the group For Human Rights, which monitors abuses by law enforcers.

"Today we can already apply the term gulag to the Russian penitentiary system."

Ponomaryov charged that all kinds of abuse, including physical and mental torture and even extrajudicial killings, were commonplace, and said Russia's prison system was worse than it was in the 1960s and 1970s under Leonid Brezhnev.

"Today people are not only tortured with impunity ... but also killed," he said.

Valentina Melnikova, head of the Union of Soldiers' Mothers Committees, which advocates for soldiers' rights, said Russia could not hope for progress until it abolished compulsory military service.

The poorly trained and underfunded army suffers from vicious bullying and sees some 3,000 noncombat deaths and up to 50,000 noncombat injuries among soldiers and officers every year, she said.

"The most important evil, which makes the Russian soldier a slave, is being preserved -- compulsory military service," Melnikova said. "It's not a duty, it's not an obligation, it's the use of force -- the state is simply continuing to take live young men, their lives, their health, their blood."

Natalya Taubina of the Public Verdict, which monitors police abuse, lamented that the law enforcement system was poorly funded, had insufficient training and poor management, which breeds corruption. Prosecutors are often reluctant to press ahead with cases in which their colleagues or other law enforcers face charges, resulting in impunity, she said.

"Today the system is in crisis and urgently needs to be reformed," she said.

Defense lawyer Ernst Cherny accused the Federal Security Service, or FSB, of manipulating juries and trials in order to ensure the conviction of academics and scholars, some of whom have been sentenced to lengthy prison terms on charges of spying.

The scientists, which include arms control researcher Igor Sutyagin and physicist Valentin Danilov, were innocent, Cherny insisted, but the FSB had sought their conviction to demonstrate the effectiveness of its work.

"The FSB ... infiltrates its agents into juries and prevents normal justice from being done," Cherny said. "The lawlessness and the impunity of special services only leads to their further degradation."

Speaking at the opening day of the so-called Civil G8 meeting Tuesday, Putin also defended a controversial law on nongovernmental organizations, which some NGOs warn could result in their shutdown.



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Kommersant - 07.05.2006

President Splits Civic Society into Discrete Parts

Russian president visits forum of loyal NGOs 

By Andrey Kolesnikov 

Russian President Vladimir Putin met with participants in the Civic Eight forum of noncommercial organizations at the International Trade Center in Moscow yesterday. Some of them performed an act of civil disobedience to protest against the spread of atomic energy. After that meeting, the president met with leaders of the International Chamber of Commerce, who demanded that he and other G8 leaders develop atomic energy more intensively. Kommersant special correspondent Andrey Kolesnikov reports the president's contradictory day.

The atmosphere was rather tense at the forum before the president arrived. I asked ecologist Alexey Yablokov how NCOs were getting along since the controversial amendments to the law “On Noncommercial Organizations” were passed.

“Several organizations in Murmansk were unable to receive accreditation under the new, more complex requirements,” he said. “Fifteen to twenty organizations decided to unite. They think it will be easier for them to make it that way. At the Center for Ecological Policy, we are worried too. But we haven't even filed our documents yet. We're waiting for the Justice Ministry to loosen up.”

“Why do you think that will happen?”

“They hinted to us that it would. I mean the paperwork. For us, for the handicapped, for someone else…”

“That means they will make it harder for someone else too.”

“I think so. You see, they already have to unite. That means a sharp reduction in numbers of NGOs and of protest organizations. But, on the outside, everything will look fine. Like it does here now.”

I looked around the auditorium. There were several hundred human rights campaigners from around the world. They were waiting for the president so they could present their demands to him before the G8 summit ­ just as in a free society and free country. But then I spoke to Elena Kruglikova from Apatita. She is the head of the Gaia Ecological Center. She told me about how they tried to register the Ivan da Marya Cultural and Ecological Center. The bureaucrats are demanding that the ecologists proof of permission to use the trademarks of Ivan and Marya. Ivan-da-Marya (“John and Mary”) is the name of a wildflower, known in English (to someone at least) as cow wheat.

I joked about finding some Ivan and Marya to give their permission. Standing before me was an honest person who does not play games with the government. But the government was playing games with her.

“You understand, now we have to fill out 96 pages of forms to receive registration!” she replied unhappily.

The meeting was beginning, even though the president had not arrived.

“Look,” I heard whispered around me. “She's from Amnesty. I've read her books. Remember every word she says!”

The NGO representatives spoke about security and defending the defenseless, the criticized world financial organizations at great length. “The WTO should sharply reduce its activities because it hinders the development of the poorest economies,” an Amnesty International spokesperson said (not the one whose entrance caused the stir earlier). “The World Bank should be sunk altogether. Those organizations play an unfairly large role in the life of the planet! Civic society should also have the chance to play a role in those processes.”

About then the president arrived. “The main thing has happened,” Ella Pamfilova, chairman of the forum and the president's human rights commission, exclaimed.

The president said that, thumbing through the draft resolutions of the forum on his way there, he discovered that are related to a topic that they are preparing for the summit. “Although one thing I saw, honestly, will raise arguments among the Eight. I'm not even sure that everyone here agrees that all atomic energy plants should be shut down immediately.”

About 30 yards from the president, in the fifth row of the parterre, six young people stood up on their chairs. Letters on their shirts read “No to AES” [that is, “atomic energy stations”]. Security personnel came running. The president intervened on their behalf. “Let them stand if they want,” Pamfilova put in. Let them stand for two hours if they want.”

They stood for the president's speech. One of them was obviously a foreigner (a Dutchman, it later turned out), since he was wear headphones to hear the translation. There was no particular need to, since he was saying the same things in defense of the amendments to the law “On Noncommercial Organizations” as always.

Evgeny Shvarts read the speech on curtailing atomic energy.

The president responded “Some of my colleagues did not want to touch on that topic at the summit did not even want to touch on that topic because of the extreme positions on the matter of the NGO in their countries. But I was able to convince them to do so.” He went on to say that the security if atomic reactors and not the development of atomic energy would be discussed. The he went on to reactions to other speeches. He seemed to be winning his audience over. “I'm so glad I came!” he concluded. “Because I feel that I am in the company of the likeminded. And that really is so! You expressed my thoughts!” The applause was passionate.

Several minutes later, Putin met in the same building with leaders of the International Chamber of Commerce, including its chairman and chairman of SAAB Marcus Wallenberg, who forwarded his demand to the G8. That was the development of atomic energy, the driving force of progress. He also said good things about the WTO and wished Russia speedy admittance to it, where it would be among friends.

“The economy and laws of Russia are in many ways more liberal than the economies and laws of several WTO members,” Putin replied, “and if we do not reach an agreement with the only country with which we still have not signed a protocol of admittance [i.e., the United States], we will free ourselves of several agreements that we enacted even without being in the WTO.

“As for the development of atomic energy,” he continued, “I just met with nongovernmental organizations. They urged me to shut down all atomic power immediately. You are also a nongovernmental organization and you are urging me to invest in it.”



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Moscow Times - 07.05.2006

Moscow Times

Putin Says NGOs Won't Be Crushed

By Anastasiya Lebedev

President Vladimir Putin, who has been lambasted around the world for a new law regulating NGOs, walked into a massive room full of NGO activists Tuesday and pledged he would personally ensure the law was not too onerous.

"This law was meant to create order in this sphere, not to stiffen" regulations of nongovernmental organizations, Putin told the crowd of several hundred activists gathered at the World Trade Center Moscow complex. "If we find that there is, in fact, a stiffening of the regulations, I myself am ready to act to initiate changes, including those you recommend."

Putin's comments at the Civil G8 conference followed carefully worded remarks from human rights activists Yury Dzhibladze and Claire Rimmer, who is from Britain.

Without singling out Russia, the two activists, directly addressing Putin in front of conference participants, asked the president to address government-NGO relations, xenophobia and public oversight of law enforcement, among other issues, at the upcoming G8 summit.

In a thinly veiled attack on the Kremlin, Dzhibladze also cited several threats to NGOs: stricter registration and accounting requirements, which are contained in the new NGO law; GONGOs, or government-organized NGOs, thought to be a reference to the Kremlin-created Public Chamber; and the linking of criticism of the government with extremism or terrorism, which has been proposed in a State Duma bill.

Neither Dzhibladze nor Rimmer mentioned the word Russia -- except when Rimmer briefly brought up Chechnya -- but it was clear to many in attendance that the country they were most concerned about was the one they were in.

This was not lost on Putin, who reserved his most impassioned comments for the two activists.

Responding to Dzhibladze and Rimmer, Putin promised that human rights would be discussed at the G8 summit in St. Petersburg, which runs July 15-17. But he admitted to being ashamed that, on the summit agenda, the subject falls under the "Miscellaneous" heading. He hinted that many countries were reluctant to discuss human rights.

"Everyone's ready to talk about human rights in other countries, but no one wants to talk about human rights in their own country," Putin said.

Putin said the NGO law, which went into effect in April, had been reviewed by experts from the Council of Europe and that their suggestions had been taken into account.

Speaking during a lunch break, Dzhibladze said he was pleased that his comments had elicited a strong reaction from Putin, but he added that the president was incorrect in saying that Council of Europe officials had signed off on the NGO law.

"We had read the experts' conclusions, and there was a clear argument that the law does not correspond to European standards and norms," he said.

But Dzhibladze said he was glad the president had promised to make changes to the law, if need be. "We'll get him on that," he said.

In his opening remarks, Putin also addressed environmentalists' opposition to nuclear energy, saying other G8 countries would oppose getting rid of nuclear power plants because no good alternatives had been proposed.

As he spoke, six demonstrators in dark T-shirts, each bearing a single Russian letter, stood up on their chairs and screamed, "Nyet AES," or "Say no to nuclear power stations." Putin and Ella Pamfilova, who heads the presidential council for civil society and presided over the conference, thanked the protesters. The protesters came from the environmental group Ekozashchita, or Ecodefense.

When it came to some of the other activists' comments, Putin struck a more conciliatory note than he had with Dzhibladze and Rimmer. After Geert Ritsema of Greenpeace asked the president to seek measures limiting the sale of genetically modified crops, Putin signaled support, saying he felt surrounded "by kindred spirits."

"In negotiations about Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization, we are being forced to give up the right to inform people about" genetically modified foods, Putin said.

Putin did not name the countries opposed to mandatory labeling, but he noted, "We insist on norms suggested by NGOs."

The president avoided responding directly to a comment by Joost van der Meer, director of the Moscow branch of AIDS Foundation East-West, who asked Putin to put preventive treatment and support services for AIDS patients on the G8 agenda. Van Der Meer added that G8 countries should back programs for drug users, prostitutes, gays, prison inmates and other marginalized groups.

Seizing on van der Meer's mention of drug users, Putin said AIDS should be discussed in the wider context of heroine smuggling and financing for terrorist activity.

Putin ended his remarks by addressing business leaders who had asked G8 leaders to help fight corruption, which impedes commerce. "I ask business to join in [the fight] by not contributing to corruption. Don't bribe anyone. Don't give them money unnecessarily" Putin said, eliciting laughter from the audience.

NGOs' recommendations for G8 summit

• A moratorium on new nuclear power stations. Some G8 governments -- including Russia -- see nuclear power as a promising alternative to oil and gas. But the NGOs said it was not a safe source of power.

• A special tax on oil production, the proceeds of which would go toward fighting climate change. President Vladimir Putin, who attended the forum, was skeptical. Russia is the world's second-biggest oil exporter.

• An extra $10 billion per year from G8 nations for programs to ensure everyone has access to education.

• Stepped-up efforts to treat and prevent HIV/AIDS. The NGOs also said the G8 should be held accountable for previous commitments it had made on tackling the disease.

• International financial and trade organizations like the World Trade Organization and the World Bank should be reformed because they are entrenching poverty and inequality.

• Adopt international standards on human rights. NGOs said human rights were being sacrificed in the international war on terror. They singled out Iraq and Chechnya as examples. -- Reuters


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MosNews - 07.05.2006

Amnesty International Urges Putin to Review NGO Legislation

Non-governmental organization Amnesty International in official letter to Russian President published on its website urges Vladimir Putin to review the implementation of Russia’s legislation governing civil society organizations, a commitment he made Tuesday at meetings with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) held in the context of the forthcoming summit of the Group of Eight most industrialized countries (G8) in St Petersburg.

Amnesty International believe that current legislation undermine the legitimate work of civil society in the Russia and fails to fully meet international standards.

The President, while rejecting the call to amend the federal law, agreed to review its implementing regulations. He gave assurances that NGOs, foreign as well as Russian, would not be hindered from carrying out their legitimate activities.

“This review should be undertaken as soon as possible, before the worst aspects of the legislation can be realized”, Secretary General of Amnesty International Irene Khan stressed.

“The true test of the President’s words will be the creation of a genuinely enabling environment for NGOs in Russia itself, not just on the global stage at the G8,” she added

The new law on civil society organizations was signed by President Putin on 10 January 2006 and entered into force three months later. Although described by the President as aiming to bring order rather than restrictions into the activities of NGOs, Amnesty International believes that the law instead undermines their work by giving the authorities increased powers of scrutiny of the funding and activities of Russian and foreign NGOs. “The experience to date has been that the law is unduly burdensome, diverting resources from substantive programs, while using a regulatory framework that can be arbitrarily applied, has key provisions which lack a precise legal definition, and sanctions that are disproportionate”, the letter reads.

At Russia’s request the Council of Europe reviewed the first draft of the legislation and made a number of recommendations, some of which were incorporated into the final version through amendments adopted by Russian Parliament. However, the Council of Europe remains concerned about the “excessive powers of supervision” the law provides for, and about the possibly discriminatory effect of amendments which impose even stricter control of foreign NGOs.

In the meetings President Putin restated his absolute opposition to foreign funding for those involved in “political activity” in the Russian Federation. However, the law gives no clear legal definition of political activity. Amnesty International remains concerned that such a vague framing of this issue leaves the door open for NGOs critical of the government’s human rights policies to fall foul of the law’s restrictions and implementation.

Russia has a leading role on the global stage at present as chair of the G8 and of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, as well as a permanent member of the UN Security Council and an elected member of the new UN Human Rights Council. As such Amnesty International is calling on President Putin to demonstrate leadership by following through on the time he made yesterday to listen to the messages of civil society — domestic and international.

“We appreciate the personal effort that President Putin made in meeting and engaging actively in discussions during formal and informal meetings with NGOs, both Russian and international,” said Irene Khan. “However, this effort needs to be matched now by concrete action to enable NGOs in the Russian Federation to operate without undue burden or restriction. Otherwise his overture will have been simply a public relations exercise.”


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RIA Novosti - 07.04.2006

Putin restates opposition to overseas financing for NGOs

Russian President Vladimir Putin reiterated Tuesday that nongovernmental organizations in Russia should not be financed from abroad.

"I personally - I will speak completely openly and honestly - have only one concern," the Russian leader said at a Moscow meeting with representatives of NGOs. "I will always speak and fight against foreign governments financing political activity in our country, just as our government should not finance political activity in other countries."

"This is a sphere of activity for our public and our public organizations. They should function on the money of our people, our public or financial organizations," he said.

A new law on NGOs, which came into effect in April, set more stringent and complicated financial reporting requirements for NGOs and has been criticized in the West and by liberal groups in Russia as being too restrictive.

Lawmakers and political scientists in Russia have claimed that NGOs helped "color revolutions" in neighboring ex-Soviet countries, particularly Ukraine and Georgia, which swept away the ruling elite in favor of West-leaning authorities in 2004 and 2003.

But Russia has consistently defended the new legislation, saying that it had been prepared with recommendations of European legal experts and had been thoroughly studied by the Council of Europe's officials.

In February, Putin said he regretted that an espionage scandal involving British agents, accused of working in Russia under diplomatic guises and financing NGOs, had cast a shadow on such organizations. But he said he would continue to support NGOs, though they would not be allowed to interfere in domestic affairs.


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Agence France Presse - 07.04.2006

Putin on charm offensive at NGOs meeting 

MOSCOW (AFP) Russian President Vladimir Putin turned on the charm Tuesday at a meeting of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) from more than 50 countries in Moscow where he promised to revise a controversial Russian law on NGO financing if needed.

Putin, who is to host the G8 summit in Saint Petersburg next week, said he "shared the ideas" expressed by rights activists at the meeting but rejected criticism of his policies in Chechnya and defended the use of nuclear energy.

"There are no military operations going on in Chechnya. There are some instances of terrorist activity," he told the Civil G8 forum, which was attended by high-profile critics of his government such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.

Reacting to widespread criticism of the conduct of Russian servicemen in Chechnya and accusations of a climate of impunity in the war-torn province, Putin said: "There are always abuses of human rights where there are conflicts."

Asked about a law approved earlier this year that increases checks on the financing of non-governmental organisations, Putin adopted a conciliatory tone saying the law "may not be perfect."

"Russian NGOs and others can monitor the implementation and we will take into account their remarks and proposals," he said. "I am ready to take the initiative and make amendments."

But Putin also said that the Russian government would continue to oppose the financing of political activities in Russia by foreign governments through non-governmental groups.

Several leading Russian human rights activists attending the two-day meeting, which started on Monday, said they were sceptical about what could be achieved through the forum.

"It's unlikely that the Civil G8 will change anything," Sergei Kovalyov, a former Soviet dissident and a campaigner with the Memorial rights group, told AFP on Monday.

As Putin was making comments on the need for atomic energy, anti-nuclear campaigners disrupted his speech in a rare public act of protest directed against the Russian leader.

Six protesters from the EcoDefense non-governmental group stood up as Putin was speaking, wearing T-shirts that spelled out "No To Nuclear Power Stations" in a Russian abbreviation.

In sharp contrast to the authorities' often heavy-handed reaction to unsanctioned protests, Putin reacted coolly and said: "Thank you, thank you."

"Let them be, they came here to express themselves," he instructed security guards.

At the end of the speech, which took place during a meeting of non-governmental organisations ahead of next' week's G8 summit, the protesters even applauded after Putin said that efforts should be made to find an alternative to nuclear energy.

"It's very good that the president had such a positive reaction... It was a good sober reaction of a person who believes that environmentalists have a right to speak their mind," said Vladimir Slivyak, a leader of EcoDefense, commenting after the protest on Tuesday.

But "here there was the president and there were TV cameras and journalists and this gives a certain protection," Slivyak said.

In future street protests "there'll be no president, just evil police officers."


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