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At a meeting of the State Duma on February 9, 2000, representatives
of the Union of Right–Wing Forces and Yabloko factions –
Boris Nemtsov and Sergei Ivanenko - proposed discussing
as part of the “government hour” in the Duma a separate
issue related to the arrest and exchange of the journalist
from the “Svoboda” radio station Andrei Babitsky.
On Friday at a closed session the State Duma said that
it would discuss the situation in Chechnya as part of the
government hour.
The Defence Minister Igor Sergeyev, the Interior Minister
Vladimir Rushailo and the plenipotentiary of the RF Government
in Chechnya Nikolai Koshman will participate in the discussion.
Yabloko insisted on including the fate of Andrei Babitski
on the agenda, as otherwise government representatives will
use their right not to discuss an issue that is not included
in the agenda.
The State Duma refused to support this proposal and voted
against it. Only 90 deputies supported the proposal. “The
new Duma began its work by demonstrating complete negligence
for the fate of a Russian citizen.
The Duma majority demonstrated that it is not concerned
with the dignity of citizens. This is a warning for citizens
of Russia”, said Sergei Ivanenko, Deputy Chairman of the
Yabloko faction.
The results of the voting on the Babitsky issue can be
broken down as follows (in percentages):
| factions |
Yabloko |
OVR |
SPS |
CPRF |
Unity |
LDPR |
Russia’s Regions |
People’s Deputy |
Agrarians |
| “For” |
71.4
|
57.4
|
93.8
|
1.1
|
2.5
|
0
|
30.8
|
5.2
|
2.4
|
| “Against” |
0
|
12.8
|
0
|
76.4
|
81.5
|
31.2
|
28.2
|
51.7
|
83.3
|
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