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British Council Undiplomatic
Russian authorities intend to expel the British Council branch in Ekaterinburg from the facilities of the British consulate there. The British Council is an international philanthropic organization that mainly provides educational services. Russian Foreign Ministry representative in Ekaterinburg Alexander Medvedev sent a note to British Consul General Jenny Lock yesterday explaining that, since the Council is located within a diplomatic mission, it has practical immunity from Russian law.
The British Council was founded in 1934. It has offices in 100 countries. It teaches English, administers specialized testing, provides informational and library services, organizes internships and promotes British education and professional training. It has been active in Russia since 1992. Every 200,000 people in Russia take advantage of its libraries and information services.
The British Council initially claimed diplomatic status in Russia. In 2004, however, the Russian Foreign Ministry explained that it does not see the offices of the Council as divisions of the diplomatic mission. Then the Interior Ministry took over, demanding financial records and examining payments for English lessons. As a result, the management of the St. Petersburg British Council office were charged under article 171 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Illegal Entrepreneurialism”). The Council was then placed on the tax rolls and charges were dropped.
The British Council declined to comment on the situation. A Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman stated that “Work on an intergovernmental agreement [between Russia and Great Britain on the status of the British Council] is underway. It is hard to say when the work will be finished.”
Human rights advocates see the situation in Ekaterinburg as a continuation of a campaign against Western philanthropic and educational organizations in Russia. “The British Council did not move into the premises just yesterday,” conceded Public Chamber Chairman of the Commission on the Development of Civic Society Maria Slobodskaya. “But the claims arose now, against a background of difficulties in relations between the two countries. As a result, the suspicion arises that the story has more to do with politics than with international law.”
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of June 14, 2007
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