January 31,
2011 |
| Verhofstadt
critical of weak statements by EU leaders on Egypt
Press Release, ALDE, January
31, 2010
As the situation on the streets of
Egyptian cities continues to develop rapidly, western
diplomatic services and European leaders are struggling
to find a position. Guy Verhofstadt, leader of the
Liberal group in the European Parliament insists that
Parliament request the EU High Representative to address
the latest developments in her intervention this week
in Parliament.
"The EU needs to keep up with events. The situation
on the ground in Egypt is dramatic and evolving rapidly.
The European Union must urgently formulate a coherent
message that lays out concrete steps to encourage
a transition to pluralist democracy and respect for
fundamental freedoms in the country. It is no good
sitting on the fence and waiting to see whether the
regime will prevail over the will of the people. However
this is exactly what European leaders are doing right
now"...
|
| January 28, 2010 |
| Liberal
leaders speak out against Moscow Airport Bombings
LI News Bulletin No 217, January
28, 2011
Following the Moscow airport bombings,
world liberal leaders have spoken out against the
attacks. On behalf of the LI President, LI Secretary
General Emil Kirjas expressed hope that “the
perpetrators will be found and brought to justice”,
further expressing the desire that “…Russian
state policies become more democratic and tolerant
so that everyone, including those from the marginalized
communities can feel included and supported by the
state.” German Vice Chancellor Guido Westerwelle
characterised the attacks as “barbaric”
and “condemned [the] callous attack in the strongest
terms.” Michael Ignatieff, Leader of the Liberal
Party of Canada (LPC) expressed his deepest sympathies
on behalf of the LPC and stated that: “This
senseless act of violence reminds us that these attacks
can occur anywhere, and we must remain vigilant against
those who threaten terrorism to our own citizens at
home and abroad.” On behalf of the ALDE group
in the European Parliament, Kristiina Ojuland, co-rapporteur
of the European Parliament on Russia expressed her
condolences to all the victims and the relatives of
the casualties.
MORE
“Egypt
should learn from Tunisia’s mistakes”
– says LI President
"LI recommits to combatting ignorance and hate
against gay people", says Minoves
Ouattara calls for export ban to increase pressure
on Gbagbo
Alliance Party is bringing about real change, says
leader David Ford
Strong liberal presence at UK Nordic Baltic Summit
Liberals Call for EU Mediator to Address Violent Revolts
in Albania
Reminder for the LI Prize for Freedom 2011 nominations
President Aquino new chairman of the Liberal Party
- Online only
Human rights central at EU-Uzbek meeting - Online
only |
| Deputy
head of Yabloko branch severely injured in attack
LI News Bulletin
No 216, January 21, 2011
Deputy head of the Bashkirian branch
of LI full member Yabloko, Damir Garifullin, has been
hospitalised following an attack on 17 January which
left him severely injured. According to Sergei Naumkin,
Head of Bashkirian Yabloko, “on January 6, 2011,
Damir was registered as a candidate to the deputies
of the State Assembly of the Republic of Bashkortostan.
In view of this we think that the investigators should
not rule out the version that someone was trying to
remove an undesirable candidate to the legislative
body of the republic in such a way.” Damir was
involved in all areas that his
Yabloko branch is working in, and reportedly various
people from the local government as well as from law
enforcement bodies had expressed their dissatisfaction
with Damir. Naumkin also called the government and
the head of the Republic to conduct an unbiased investigation
of this attack and punish the guilty. Yabloko leader
Sergei Mitrokhin is also filing applications to the
Public Prosecutor General and head of the Investigation
Committee.
MORE
¦New
Tunisian government “not a government of unity”,
says LI President
¦Tunisia's uprising and politics in the Arab
World
¦Serbia firmly on the EU course, says LI VP
Kacin
¦Westerwelle calls for acceptance of referendum
results in Southern Sudan
¦Media Law out of line with EU Regulations,
say Verhofstadt and Kroes
¦Ncube elected leader of MDC in Zimbabwe
¦LI announces 2011 Manila Congress: 16-19 June
|
| YABLOKO
submitted to electoral commissions signatures for
registration in election campaign in 13 regions
Press Release, January
28, 2011.
The YABLOKO party submitted to electoral
commissions the required signatures for registration
in election campaign in 13 regions. According to Russian
law, YABLOKO as a non-parliamentary party must collect
signatures from its electorate in support of its candidates
to get registered in election campaigns.
YABLOKO is going to participate in
regional parliamentary elections in the Kaliningrad,
Kursk and Tambov regions, to the city assemblies of
the capitals of the Vladimir and Saratov regions,
the Stavropol Area and the Republic of Komi. In total
the party nominated candidates to run in parliamentary
and municipal elections in 15 regions... |
| Over
30,000 votes in favour of dismissal of St.Petersburg
Governor collected
Press Release, January
28, 2011.
Over 30,000 votes in favour of dismissal
of St.Petersburg Governor Valentina Matviyenko were
collected witnin the framework of the campaign launched
by St.Petersburg YABLOKO at
www.piter-bez-matvienko.ru,
“We, citizens of St.Petersburg,
demand a dismissal of Governor Valentina Matviyenko:
for several years in power we were demonstrated that
the policies of the city administration clash with
the interest of the residents of the city and represent
a constant violation of our rights,” runs the
statement signed by the residents of the city...
|
| January 27, 2010 |
| YABLOKO
conducted an action “Who Will Be Answerable
for the Acts of Terror?”
Press Release, January 26,
2011.
“Who Will Be Answerable for
the Acts of Terror?” was the slogan of today’s
picket of YABLOKO’s activists.
They put three large panels with information
on the acts of terror for the past ten years (date,
place, number of victims) by the Griboyedov monument
at Chistiye Prudi.
Special information boards were devoted
to explosion in the underground crossing under the
Pushkin square in the centre of Moscow, hostages of
the Nord-Ost musical, bombings of the Interior Ministry
and the Federal Security Service buildings, bombings
of passenger trains, Beslan school, bombings in the
Moscow metro. All the boards had a symbolic memorial
plague and a question “Who is answerable?”
A special board was devoted to the
act of terror in Moscow’s Domodedovo airport...
|
| January 26, 2010 |
| Russian
secret services should report to the society
Statement by the YABLOKO party,
January 26, 2011.
The Russian United Democratic Party
YABLOKO demands from the Federal Security Service
(FSB) to render to the society and the parliament
a detailed report on investigation of all the large-scale
acts of terror beginning from explosions of blocks
of flats in Moscow in September 1999. Now it has become
absolutely clear that non-transparency of secret services
harms the security of Russian citizens...
We demand an answer on the question
about the reasons behind the failure of the secret
services to avert mass murders of civilians. We demand
satisfactory evidence that the organizers and those
who ordered the acts of terror will not be able to
bring us new tragedies. We demand cooperation with
the society in the development of recommendations
for improvement of the work of secret services and
the law enforcement. Only in
such a way we can really punish those who is guilty
in these deaths and, which is even more important,
to do out best so that to avert such tragedies...
|
| Ojuland
expressed her condolences to the victims and the relatives
of the casualties of the Domodedovo explosion
Press Release, European Parliament,
ALDE. January 26, 2011.
Kristiina Ojuland, co-rapporteur of
the European Parliament on Russia expressed her condolences
to all the victims and the relatives of the casualties
of Monday's terrorist attack on Domodedovo Airport
in Moscow.
Ojuland noted that after last year's terrorist attacks
in Moscow metro the Russian authorities promised to
improve the capabilities of the law enforcement agencies
in the fight against terrorist threats...
|
| Condolences
from Liberal International on the act of terror in
the Domodedovo airport
January 25, 2011.
On behalf of everyone in the LI Secretariat
I would like to convey our deepest condolences for
the horrible tragedy that happened yesterday at the
Domodedovo airport. Living in a huge metropolis like
Moscow that has also been affected by terrorist attacks,
and with in a daily subconscious fear that it might
happen again, we totally understand how you feel.
Let’s hope that the perpetrators
will be found and brought to justice. But also, let’s
hope that the Russian state policies become more democratic
and tolerant so that everyone, including those from
the marginalized communities can feel included and
supported by the state.
Yours,
Emil Kirjas,
Secretary General
|
| Condolences
from the Dutch D66 party on the act of terror in the
Domodedovo airport
January 25, 2011.
We saw the terrible news on television
and feel deeply sorry for the victims, their relatives
and friends. We wish you all the best...
|
| January 24, 2010 |
| On
the act of terror in the Domodedovo airport
Statement by YABLOKO's Chairman,
January 24, 2011.
The Russian Democratic Party YABLOKO
mourns the victims of today’s explosion in the
Domodedovo airport [near Moscow]. We are wishing recovery
to all the injured and express our deep condolences
to those who lost their relatives and next of kin.
We are calling the Russian authorities
to spare no effort for rendering timely aid to the
victims and provision of security measures. Also we
are deeply concerned by the repeated acts of terror,
as well as growth of their scale which has been taking
more and more human lives.
Today’s tragedy makes us doubt
the information from the security services on elimination
of the organizers of the explosions in the Moscow
metro in March 2010 and other recent acts of terror...
|
| Sochi
Mayor menaces YABLOKO’s activist
Press Release, January
24, 2011. Video
The Sochi Administration puts pressure
on YABLOKO’s activist and environmentalist Suren
Gazaryan who downloaded a video from the meeting of
Sochi Mayor Anatoli Pakhomov with the residents of
the Akhshtyr village (the village has been facing
environmental problems due to the construction of
the Adler – Krasnaya Polyana highway for the
Olympic Games). The administration demands from Gazaryan
to delete the video and threatens that in case of
disobeying he will have problems...
|
| Round
table “Russia and Europe: a View from Kaliningrad”
took place in Kaliningrad
Press Release, January
22, 2011
On January 21, a round table “Russia
and Europe: a View from Kaliningrad” took place
in Kaliningrad on the initiative of the Kaliningrad
branch of YABLOKO.
“Relations between Russia and
the European Union, first of all the problem of abolishing
the visa regime, is not an abstract, but a vitally
important problem for the residents of the Kaliningrad
region,” said Vladimir Vukolov, deputy chair
of the regional parliament of the Kaliningrad region
and representative of the Elder Generation public
organisation...
|
| January 21, 2010 |
| YABLOKO
and administration of Volgograd signed a cooperation
agreement
Press Release, January
21, 2011
Following Sergei Mitrokhin’s
visit to Volgograd in October 2010, the Volgograd
regional branch of YABLOKO and administration of Volgograd
signed a cooperation agreement. The
goal of the joint work is “development of civil
initiatives for efficient socio-economic and socio-political
development of Volgograd, raising of the role of non-parliamentary
political parties in the functioning of local self-government
bodies”.
The parties of the agreement will
joint their efforts in drawing public attention and
involving of the population of the city to the solution
of the environmental problems, as well as ecological
education, development of programmes for improvement
of public territories, protection of environment,
development of the city infrastructure and mass involvement
of the citizens in planting trees in the city parks,
gardens and streets...
|
| We
should not stop at Lenin’s burial only
Statement by the Chair of
the YABLOKO party, January
21, 2011
The YABLOKO party has repeatedly raised
the topic of the need to overcome the totalitarian
legacy of our country. One of the key prerequisites
for such policies is [taking out of the Mausoleum]
and burial of the body of [the leader of the October
1917 riot] Vladimir Lenin, transfer to cemeteries
of the remnants of Joseph Stalin and other Soviet
political figures buried at the Kremlin wall. In this
issue we completely support the position of the Russian
Orthodox Church.
The bodies of the executioners of
Russia’s peoples should not lay at the main
square of out country.
On the other hand we think that reburial
of the bodies of Soviet leaders only should not become
the prime goal here. At present Russia acutely needs
comprehensive complex measures for de-Sovietisation
and de-Stalinisation of its public and social life...
|
| The
time has come to act on Belarus
Press Release, ALDE, January
21, 2010
Commenting on the European Parliament's
strong condemnation of the brutal oppression of opposition
and civil society in Belarus in the aftermath of the
presidential elections in December, ALDE MEP Kristiina
Ojuland (Estonian Reform Party, Estonia) said: "Today
the European Parliament is sending a strong message
of support to the people of Belarus, demanding the
immediate and unconditional release of all political
detainees and an immediate stop to all forms of harassment
and threats against members of the protesting public...
|
| January 20, 2010 |
| YABLOKO
participated in a march and a rally in memory of Stanislav
Markelov and Anastasiya Baburova
Press Release, January 19,
2011
YABLOKO’s leader Sergei Mitrokhin,
member of YABLOKO’s Bureau Valery Borschov and
activists of the Moscow branch of the party participated
in a march and a rally in memory of Stanislav Markelov
and Anastasiya Baburova.
Several hundreds people marched along
the Tverskoy Boulevard to the Novopushkinsky Garden
in the centre of Moscow. The participants held portraits
of the murdered antifascists and journalists. A short
rally took place in the Novopushkinsky Garden. People
spoke about the neonazists’ crimes performed
at the negligence of the authorities. One of the last
speeches by Stanislav Markeov recorded shortly before
his death was demonstrated on one of the large monitors... |
January 19,
2011 |
| Leaders
and activists of the YABLOKO party laid flowers to
the place of murder of Stanislav Markelov and Anastasiya
Baburova
Press Release, January
19, 2011
Leader of the YABLOKO party Sergei
Mitrokhin and members of YABLOKO’s Political
Committee Grigory Yavlinsky and Mikhail Amosov, as
well as leaders and activists of the Moscow YABLOKO
laid flowers to the place of murder of lawyer Stanislav
Markelov and journalist Anastasiya Baburova in the
centre of Moscow at Prechistenka street.
Later today (at 8 p.m.) Sergei Mitrokhin will participate
in the memorial rally organised by the Committee of
January 19. The rally will take place in the Novopushkinsky
garden.
Markelov and Baburova were murdered in Moscow in plain
daylight on January 19, 2009, shot in the head by
a gunman. According to the investigators, the crime
was performed by neonazies...
|
| An
attack against deputy head of the Bashkirian branch
of YABLOKO
Press Release, January
19, 2011
Deputy head of the Bashkirian branch
of YABLOKO and human rights activist Damir Garifullin
was severely beaten on January 17, 2010. Damir is
in hospital now with a stab wound in the chest and
multiple injuries...
Naumkin also said that the investigators had several
versions, as Damir was active in all the areas where
Bashkirian branch of YABLOKO was working, and different
people from the local government and self-government
bodies and the law enforcement serving them expressed
their dissatisfaction with Damir...
|
| Environmental
disaster at construction of the Olympic facilities
in Sochi: Russian Railways poisoned the Dzykhra river
in the Sochi National Park
Press Release, January
17, 2011
The YABLOKO party continues its monitoring
of the environmental situation at the Black Sea coast,
at construction of the Olympic facilities in Sochi.
Since the public inspection of Sochi construction
sites conducted by Sergei Mitrokhin jointly with activists
from the North Caucasus Environmental Watch held in
October 2010, the ecological situation has deteriorated.
According to Suren Ghazaryan, activist
of the YABLOKO party and the Environmental Watch on
North Caucasus, catastrophic pollution of the Drykhra
river and its water storage reservoir began on January
8, 2011. The pollution led to mass death of fish in
the river...
|
| Verhofstadt
welcomes prompt Commission action on media law
Press Release, ALDE, January
18, 2010
"When EU core values, like freedom
of media, are at stake there is no time to lose before
taking action. We have asked the Commission to act
promptly to ensure freedom of media in Hungary, under
threat by the newly adopted Media law and the Commission
has given us today a first assurance," said ALDE
Leader Guy Verhofstadt, welcoming Barroso's declared
intention, during today's question time with the President
of the Commission, to send a letter to the Hungarian
government this week indicating the crucial points
of the Media Law that Hungary should change...
|
| January 18, 2010 |
| YABLOKO
to pay tribute to the memory of Stanislav Markelov
and Anastasiya Baburova
Press Release, January
18, 2011
Tomorrow on January 19 (at 14-30)
the leader and activists of the YABLOKO party will
lay flowers to the place at Prechistenka street where
lawyer Stanislav Markelov and journalist Anastasiya
Baburova were killed.
Later on the same day (20-00) Sergei
Mitrokhin will participate in the memorial rally organised
by the Committee of January 19. The rally will take
place in the Novopushkinsky garden...
|
| Sergei
Mitrokhin: we will not allow nationalists to destroy
Russia
Press Release, January
15, 2011
..."Unfortunately a month ago,
this tragic occasion was used by nationalistic forces
for provocations. I am categorically against the situation
when the memory of Yegor is privatized by nationalists,
who are destroying our country," Mitrokhin added.
"I pay tribute to all the victims
of nationalistic crimes. Nationalism is one of the
reasons behind such crimes. Unfortunately, the state
does nothing to stop the spiral of ethnic conflicts
that can not only lead to new tragedies, but also
to the destruction of Russia. If inter-ethnic peace
is ruined in Russia, the country will cease to exist
as a state ", said YABLOKO’s leader. "The
people who are shouting anti-Caucasian slogans have
apparently parted with the Caucasus, and along with
it, with the Volga region, where people of different
nationalities live. But we will not allow the nationalists
to destroy Russia. Nationalism will not work ",
said Sergei Mitrokhin.
|
| January 14, 2010 |
| Pollution
of Lake Baikal is a crime!
Statement by the Chair of
the YABLOKO party, January
13, 2011
A year ago, on January 13, 2010, Chair
of the Russian government Vladimir Putin issued a
decree on resuming of functioning of the Baikal Pulp
Plant. The past year demonstrated that the work of
the pulp plant was associated with constant violation
of the pollution norms.
Instead of abrogation of this decision
the Government obviously is going to meet the commercial
interests of manufacturers of pulp and is planning
under faked pretexts to even revise these norms!
Pollution of Lake Baikal is a crime
not only against the present generations, but also
future generations and not only those of Russia, but
the entire world.
We demand that functioning of the
Baikal Pulp Plant should be immediately stopped!
|
| Joint
Statement by ALDE, ALDE-PACE, ELDR and Liberal International
on sitution after elections in Belarus
January 13, 2011
Liberals in Europe and worldwide have
closed ranks to make a strong call upon the Belarusian
government to release all journalists, opposition
candidates and civil society representatives who face
continued detention.
For liberal parties and their representatives in the
European and national parliaments the brutal repression
of the peaceful demonstrations following the presidential
elections on 19 December 2010 is completely unacceptable...
|
| The
sentence to Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev
is unlawful and should be aborgated
Interfax,
December 30, 2010
Moscow, December 30, 2010. INTERFAX.
Grigory Yavlinsky, member of Political Committee of
the Russian United Democratic Party YABLOKO, supports
the statement of the party in connection with a sentence
to Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev and considers
the verdict by the court unlawful and subject to revision.
“I completely share YABLOKO’s
position as put down in the today’s statement
by the party. The sentence to Mikhail Khodorkovsky
and Platon Lebedev comes from a political decision,
adopted outside court, therefore this verdict is unlawful
and should be abrogated,” stressed Grigory Yavlinsky.
“The YUKOS case is an instrument
for intimidation of the Russian business,” he
said...
|
| January 13, 2010 |
| Whereabouts
of $4Bln Is Classified
By Khristina Narizhnaya
The Moscow Times, January
13, 2011
The protection of "strategic
interests, defense capability and state security"
is the reason now given by the Audit Chamber for classifying
the results of its 2008 investigation into the alleged
$4 billion worth of financial violations by state-owned
Transneft...
Mitrokhin requested records from the
Audit Chamber after Navalny published reports accusing
Transneft of stealing $4 billion. The disclosure on
the Internet created a sensation, with scores of bloggers
filing online complaints to the chamber and the Prosecutor
General's Office, demanding an investigation into
the alleged wrongdoings...
MORE
|
| The
Politics and Business of Going Green
By Roland Oliphant
The Moscow Times, January
12, 2011
This year will see increasingly politicized
environmental movements sprouting up around local
issues, and an alliance between green groups and businessmen
to open up Russia's potential in renewable energy
— provided there are no more fires...
Protesters failed to close the Baikal
paper mill and a government-appointed commission gave
the Khimki highway project the go ahead in December.
But the public outcry over both “put regional
environmental problems on the federal agenda,”
said Alexei Yablokov, who heads the Yabloko party's
green wing.
That puts single-issue pressure groups
in the peculiar position of being disillusioned with
their current tactics, but in a strong position to
open a new front: the overtly political.
“We're expecting a strengthening
and greater politicization of the green movement in
2011,” Yablokov said in e-mailed comments. “Groups
that previously avoided politics have come to understand
that, without political decisions, nothing gets done,
laws don't work”...
the
original publication in the Moscow Times
|
| Sergei
Mitrokhin: a mourning rally in memory of Yegor Sviridov
should not turn into a nationalistic action
Press Release, January 13,
2011
YABLOKO’s leader Sergei Mitrokhin
calls all the Russian citizens who are going to participate
in the mourning rally in memory of the Yegor Sviridov
[whose murder and the following release of the murderers
from the police station provoked mass-scale disorders
with nationalistic slogans in the centre of Moscow
on December 11] not to allow for turning of this mourning
event into a nationalistic action. “The fans
should not support nationalists who turn murders into
a political capital,” he said... |
| The
Audit Chamber of the Russian Federation classified
the information on clandestine dealings by Transneft
as secret data
Press Release, January 13,
2011
The Audit Chamber of the Russian Federation
refused to submit a report on its audit of Transneft
in connection with stealing of funds during construction
of the Eastern Oil Pipeline. In his answer to an inquiry
from YABLOKO’s leader Sergei Mitrokhin Mikhail
Bekhmelnitzin, auditor of the Audit Chamber, informed
that the audit report was classified secret on Transneft’s
request, as the documentation “represent a commercial
secret which is not subject to public discussion”.
YABLOKO’s leader continues to insist that there
are no grounds for classifying such documentation
secret... |
| January 11, 2011 |
| All
the detained must be immediately released!
Statement by the Chair of
the YABLOKO party, January
3, 2011
The Russian United Democratic Party
YABLOKO condemns the actions by the authorities instigating
the unjust rulings by the courts on holding Boris
Nemtsov and other oppositional politicians (who participated
in a permitted action on December 31) under arrest
for many days. These decisions
are unlawful and politically biased, and represent
a disgrace to the police that fabricated the evidence
as well as the courts of the first instance that went
on a leash of the police.
This constitutes another attempt of
‘tightening up the screws’ in the very
beginning of 2011 which demonstrates growth of panic
in the Russian government resulting in political inadequacy.
We demand that President Medvedev
must adopt measures required for immediate release
of all the detained and taking under control the Moscow
police which has been discrediting the state power
in the eyes of the Russian citizens and the world
community...
|
| YABLOKO
demands from Byelorussian President Lukashenko to
release all the detained on December 19-20
Press Release, December 31,
2010
The YABLOKO party demands from Byelorussian
President Alexander Lukashenko to release all the
detained in Minsk on December 19-20, 2010.
In its statement YABLOKO characterized
presidential elections in Belarus as a political farce
which had ended by demonstrative physical violence
over thousands of people who had publically voiced
their disagreement with the official results of the
voting.
YABLOKO expressed much concern about
the fate of those held arrested despite serious threat
to their health. “We are calling you to maintain
an absolutely different policy marked by releasing
detained Russian citizens on December 29,” runs
YABLOKO’s statement...
|
| European
liberals deeply concerned by developments in Belarus
and Russia
Press Release, ELDR, January 10, 2010
The liberal forces of Europe strongly
deplore the dismal developments on human rights in
parts of Europe during the past couple of weeks. Beginning
with Belarus; what could be perceived on the outset
as slight progress in allowing several candidates
to run against Aleksander Lukashenko in the Presidential
elections soon turned into the direct opposite...
Moving on to Russia; not only are
there fundamental reasons to question the sentence
of Mikhail Khodorkovsky to an additional six years
of imprisonment - but European Liberals are also critical
of the current state of human rights and freedom of
assembly in Russia. The day after the Khodorkovsky
sentence, opposition party leader Boris Nemtsov was
detained together with 130 others in Moscow and St.
Petersburg, and had to spend 15 days in prison for
"disobedience of police", a token sentence
that runs against the right of freedom of speech and
assembly, one of the cornerstones of the European
system which is also deeply embedded in the statutes
of the Council of Europe, to which Russia is member...
|
| 2011
European Year of Volunteering: "a small investment
can deliver significant benefits"
Press Release,
ALDE, January 10, 2010
Following an original proposal in
2009 by Marian Harkin, MEP (Independent, Ireland),
2011 was designated as the European Year of Volunteering
and was formally launched in Budapest this weekend
by European Commissioner Viviane Reding and the Hungarian
State President Pal Schmitt. |
| |
| |
|
