Press-service

The Yabloko faction in the State Duma is going to insist on an independent parliamentary enquiry tino the accident with the “Kursk” submarine and the circumstances behind the rescue operation. Deputy Head of the Yabloko faction, Sergei Ivanenko, said at a press-conference on September 8, 2000, that the question can be summed up as follows: “either the Duma creates the parliamentary commission and conducts its own independent enquiry, or it

refuses to form such a commission and correspondingly conduct an independent enquiry”.

On September 13 the Duma is likely to consider two alternative proposals. The first, submitted by the Yabloko and OVR factions, envisages the creation of a parliamentary commission to investigate the circumstances surrounding the accident with the “Kursk” submarine. The second, submitted by the Defence Committee of the Duma, headed by its Chairman Andrei Nikolayev, (the “People’s Deputy” group) envisages that several members of the parliament should be included in the governmental commission which should be reorganised into a state commission.

At the same time Ivanenko made it clear that Yabloko would not support the proposal of the Defence Committee. The situation over the loss of the “Kursk” submarine dictates a need to speed up the preparation of amendments to the Constitution of the RF Ivanenko recollected that the Duma of the second convocation adopted one of the amendments referring to the creation of an institute of parliamentary enquiry at its first reading. He also noted, that that time this amendment was supported by 300 people, which means that this represented exactly the number of votes required to make a change to the Constitution.

At the same time, according to Ivanenko, the current Duma has been marked by a “sharp increase in the share of pro-presidential and pro-governmental factions that are not very enthusiastic with respect to supporting such a change in the Constitution.” However, Ivanenko believes that it is unlikely to objectively find out the reasons for the “Kursk” tragedy. Moreover, stressed Ivanenko, developments around the tragedy today resemble more “protective shielding and alack of interest of the Kremlin in an open parliamentary enquiry into the accident with the “Kursk” submarine.

Sergei Ivanenko also expressed his view that the inclusion of several deputies in a governmental commission would not yield any results at all.

Continuing on his description of the present composition of the State Duma, Ivanenko noted that in his view “the professional work of the Duma faces serious obstacles.” He added: “The heads of the committees are not always the most talented.” He says that this can be seen from the kind of legislative initiatives proposed and the level of their implementation.

Based on Interfax reports.

Yabloko thinks that granting Larissa Yudina the Order of Courage should not mean that the criminal investigation of her murder is stopped

“The Order of Courage is a deserving reward for Larissa Yudina. It requires courage to be an honest journalist in the present Russia. It is good that the head of the state has realised this fact. However this reward should in no case put an end to the criminal investigation of the murder that happened over two years ago.” This is how Deputy Head of the Yabloko faction, Sergei Ivanenko, commented on the decision of the President of Russia to grant the Order of Courage to the former Editor-in-Chief of the “Sovetskaya Kalmykia” newspaper, Head of the Yabloko branch in Kalmykia Larissa Yudina, who was murdered on June 7, 1998.

The official investigation of the murder, which was clearly a contract killing, was completed with the conviction of two of its executors. “We think that it is too early to close the case. The organisers and people who ordered this murder have escaped the responsibility. The investigation agencies did not do anything to make the perpetrators responsible,” said Valeri Ostanin, Deputy of the State Duma who heads Yabloko’s independent investigation of this crime.

According to Ostanin, at the beginning of 2000, inquires from deputies into serious abuses and violations in the financial and economic activity of the National Bank and the Fund of Presidential Programmes of the Kalmykia Republic were forwarded to the Office of the Public Prosecutor General and the Audit Chamber. Larissa Yudina had been investigating financial abuse by the leadership of the Republic and the loss of budget money in Kalmykia shortly before her death. New information on these facts was used as a pretext to lure her from her house on the fatal day of June 7, 1998.

Due to the deputy inquiries the criminal cases on financial abuse, which had been curbed illegally, were resumed. Ostanin hopes that this time the investigation will be objective and comprehensive. He also said that Yabloko representatives would do everything possible to make the Office of the Public Prosecutor General investigate this case.

In addition, Yabloko continues to collect information on the circumstances behind this crime. “We know that there are many blank spots in this case and many sinister circumstances – one of the most important witnesses was killed in a car crash in very strange circumstances. He was going to testify and explain who had ordered the crime and why,” added Ostanin.