"We wouldn't be opposed if representatives of the authorities were guests at the event, instead of organizers" said chairman of Moscow Helsinki group Lyudmila Alexeeva. "We wanted NGOs on the organizing committee, sending out the invitations and setting the agenda for the discussions."
Photo: Ivan Makeev
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NGO Congress Off to a Loud Start
Several Russian human rights organizations, with the Moscow Helsinki Group at their head, officially refused to take part in the Regional Congress of Nongovernmental Organizations, taking place in Penza December 4-7. The reason for their refusal was that the co-organizer of the event with the Council of Europe was not another public organization, but the Russian Federation Council. That, according to the human rights activists, showed the Council of Europe’s agreement with Russian government policies.
The Center of the Development of Democracy and Human Rights, the Youth Human Rights Movement, and the Interlegal Foundation joined the Moscow Helsinki Group in not taking part in the international congress. “Holding a congress in the format planned will not encourage human rights in Russia. The procedure for its organization is nontransparent and excludes independent NGOs from participating,” stated Moscow Helsinki Group head Lyudmila Alexeeva. “The event planned in Penza cannot be called the third regional congress of nongovernmental organizations, since its organizer is a governmental organization – the Federation Council.”
The regional congress of NGOs met in Poland in 2005 and Ukraine in 2007. The third congress was planned for Russia in the autumn. It was announced that the Federation Council would serve as its co-organizer at the same time the event’s date was changed. More than 50 organizations have expressed solidarity with the Moscow Helsinki Group’s objections, but have decided to participate in the congress nonetheless.
The Council of Europe openly sought the cooperation of the authorities. It originally wanted the Russian President’s Council on Cooperation and Development of Institutions of Civic Society, headed by Ella Pamfilova, to serve as co-organizer of the event but, after the election of a new Russian president, that council’s status became “unclear,” and the Federation Council decided to take its place. “In a country like Russia, you have to talk to the authorities,” commented businessmen and Penza Region senator Boris Shpigel.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Dec. 03, 2008
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