Press-service

The Bureau of the Central Council of the Yabloko association has supported the idea of the leader of the party Grigory Yavlinsky to propose the march of 1914 “Farewell of a Slavic woman” as the new anthem of Russia. This decision was adopted at a meeting of the Bureau of the Central Council on October 17, 2000.

It was noted at the meeting that the march “Farewell of a Slavic woman” united the Russian society in face of the most serous threats and dangers – during the First and Second World Wars. During these critical moments Russian society was really united.

Yabloko opposes the restoration of the former Soviet anthem (music by A. Alexandrov) as the state anthem of the RF. The idea of such a restoration was supported at top state level. Yabloko thinks that this decision, which is on the same level as the initiative to restore the monument to the Chairman of the VChK (Ed. the KGB) Felix Dzerzhinsky, will lead directly to a split in society rather than uniting the people.

Grigory Yavlinsky: state mass media should not serve as a propaganda instrument

According to Yabloko leader, Grigory Yavlinsky “the state mass media should not serve either as a channel or an instrument of propaganda”.

“The state mass media do not belong to any bureaucrat of any level up to the President,” stressed Grigory Yavlinsky during a press-conference in Moscow on October 18, 2000.

“There is no such man called the “state”, who pays out of his pocket, but there are dozens of millions of people who support these state mass media,” noted Yavlinsky. Therefore, he stressed, “the state mass media should show all the most important and significant events in the country , rather than provide comments proceeding from the taste of two or three political technology specialists owned by this or that state official”.

At the same time, noted Yavlinsky, “ the state mass media select the staff who conduct propaganda with all its coarseness and straightforwardness.

Single incidents have now been transformed into an ideological line. “

“We should assert our right to support with our money with normal state mass media,” said Yavlinsky.

He also stressed that the state mass media should pay great attention to the discussion of the issue od human rights. “Defenders of human rights are to a large extent state officials, as they protect the interests of Russia as a state which serves its citizens,” added Yavlinsky.

Yavlinsky added: “Human rights is not a special topic: it is an absolutely general topic, especially in a country which guarantees rights to only 1% of the population, while 99% of the population have no guaranteed rights, including the right to live.”

“Today the state cannot understand and does not want to understand this problem: it considers itself alienated from the total population and thinks that the population should, for some reason, loyally serve this state,”

said Yavlinsky.

Based on Interfax reports.

Sergei Ivanenko: Yabloko and the Union of Right-Wing Forces to pool their forces in discussions of amendments to the budget-2001 in the State Duma

The State Duma factions Yabloko and the Union of the Right-Wing Forces (SPS) are going to “combine their efforts when discussing and lobbying issues with the government and the State Duma” during the adoption of the federal budget-2001. This information was provided by the First Deputy Head of the Yabloko faction Sergei Ivanenko.

He noted that the deputies would consider at a meeting of the Coordination Council of the SPS and Yabloko on October 17 the amendments to the budget at the second reading that were agreed upon by the two factions and that they would develop a joint position here.

According to Ivanenko (in an interview on the “Ekho Moskvi” radio station on October 17), the representatives of the SPS and Yabloko “have already introduced consultations [between the factions] and are adopting a common position on many issues”; “today there have been no” principal differences on changes to the budget.

Ivanenko also said that the Council of the faction should discuss the “need for definite military reforms, the switch to a contract-based army and abolition of conscription as soon as possible”.

He also said that “we proposed the formation of a serious large-scale educational development programme and consolidation of the judicial system”.

Ivanenko added that if the government responds to the proposals of Yabloko and SPS “on including additional revenues in the budget and financing priorities”, this would “favourably influence the adoption of the budget” in the Duma at the second reading.

“If the government refuses, the situation will be desperate” added Ivanenko.

“We think it is necessary to seriously change the proportions in the distribution of federal taxes and that most of the revenues should be given to the territories, to restore the 50:50 concept, and that on this basis

real priorities, in particular,in education and military reform, should be financed,” noted Ivanenko, as he explained the position of the Yabloko faction at the second reading of the budget.

Ivanenko also commented on the declaration of Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Kudrin that the government was ready to increase budget expenditure on defence to 12.5 bln roubles in 2001. According to Ivanenko, “the main goal is to target this financing, rather than aim for a mechanical increase in the military budget”, “above all it should not be pilfered. The military

budget should be clear, transparent and under control”.

“The main goal is to adopt a principal political decision on allotting additional revenues primarily to military reform, switching to a contract-based formation of the military forces and abolishing military conscription as soon as possible”, stressed Ivanenko.

Based on Interfax reports.