| Other Photos |
 |
|
 |
Other Russia to March on Day of Summit
The opposition coalition Other Russia filed an application yesterday to hold a Dissenters' March in Samara on May 18, timed to take place simultaneously with the Russia-European summit at the Volzhsky Utes sanatorium in Samara Region. They hope that the proximity of European leaders will discourage the use of violence against them, although they have warned that the summit will have the opposite effect in relation to them. The regional police (GUVD) have warned that they will “deal with any provocations.”
The Other Russia initiative group, made up of members of the United Civic Front, Avant Garde Red Youth and the People's Democratic Union, filed an application with the Samara mayor's office that organizer Anastasia Kurt-Adzhieva described for Kommersant as “informational.” She said that the marchers will assemble at Fountain Square whether permission is granted or not. “We are certain that 1000 people will take part,” she said.
Similar marches in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Nizhny Novgorod were marked by cashes with special forces and mass arrests. Some activists see that situation as likely to be repeated in Samara. “When it comes to international prestige, the authorities lose all objectivity,” executive director of the United Civic Front Denis Bulinov noted. Human rights activist Lev Ponomarev opined that “In the best case, all participants will be taken into preventative custody before the march.”
The police have already reacted. Yesterday after the press conference on the upcoming march, they photographed and recorded the passport information of activists and journalists.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of May 04, 2007
|
|
|
