| President Vladimir Putin issued a grim warning to nongovernmental
organizations, accusing them of serving the interests of "dubious
group and commercial interests" rather than those of the people.
NGOs expressed fear that Putin, after seeing critical television stations
closed and opposition-minded parties forced out of the State Duma in his
first term, intends to use his second term to go after NGOs.
They said Putin's remarks, made in the 15 minutes of Putin's state of
the nation address devoted to democracy Wednesday, are a warning to NGOs
to refrain from opposing the Kremlin and a signal to law enforcement to
crack down on them.
While Putin did not name any NGOs, he made a clear reference to organizations
like Open Russia, financed by jailed Yukos founder Mikhail Khodorkovsky,
which the Kremlin complains criticizes its policy toward Yukos but turns
a blind eye to government claims the company doesn't pay its taxes.
"A different objective has been a priority for some of those organizations,
namely, getting financing from influential foreign and domestic foundations,
while others serve dubious group and commercial interests," Putin
said. "But acute problems existing in the country and faced by its
citizens go unnoticed.
"Thousands of civil associations and unions have existed and work
constructively in this country, but far from all of them are targeted
at defending the real interests of the people," he said.
The president said the voices of some human rights groups are often
"unheard" when it comes to the violations of fundamental human
rights and "infringements upon the real interests of the people."
"Actually, there is nothing strange about that. They cannot bite
the hand that feeds them," Putin said.
Putin's comments represent a "worrisome trend or line that the
Russian government is pursuing," said Anna Neistat, Moscow director
for Human Rights Watch.
They could be interpreted as "a call for action" by law enforcement
agencies or an order "maybe for tax inspectors to look closely at
what is going on in NGOs," she said.
Putin is warning NGOs not to play an opposition role to the government
and is trying "to undermine the work of NGOs in the eyes of ordinary
Russians," Neistat said.
Vladimir Ryzhkov, one of the few liberal deputies left in the Duma,
said Putin's criticism raises red flags. "That sounded like a veiled
threat," he told reporters.
Sergei Mitrokhin, a co-leader
of the liberal Yabloko party, said Putin gave "a clear command"
to crack down on NGOs. "This is an alarming signal. He gave an example
of how to build a militarized civil society," he said.
NGOs have accused Putin's administration in the past year of stifling
media freedom, in particular limiting access to state-run television to
opposition candidates during December's Duma elections and March's presidential
vote. They harshly criticized the Kremlin earlier this year when a bill
to ban most public demonstrations surfaced in the Duma.
Many NGOs have expressed concern that Putin's Russia is becoming increasingly
undemocratic and say Khodorkovsky's detention is unfair and an example
of selective prosecution.
"What disturbs Putin the most is that all NGOs are on Khodorkovsky's
side and against the Kremlin. In the eyes of the president, this means
that they are corrupt, unpatriotic and antigovernment," said Alexei
Makarkin, analyst with the Center for Political Technologies.
But Putin stressed in his speech that his criticism did not apply to
all civil groups.
"Naturally, those examples do not give us cause to make accusations
against all civil organizations, and I think that while the problems are
inevitable, they are temporary," he said.
Putin also urged political parties to "closely" cooperate
with NGOs. "Close contacts with the people, with society, can help
improve the quality of popular representation at all levels," he
said.
Putin also made cutting remarks about the West and its criticism of
his presidency and his policy over Chechnya. He said some countries are
trying to damage Russia's reputation by saying it is advancing toward
authoritarianism.
"Far from everyone in the world wants to see an independent, strong
and confident Russia. On the competitive global stage, all kinds of political,
economic and informational pressure have been used. The strengthening
of our statehood has intentionally been interpreted as authoritarianism,"
he said.
Putin said he will not review any of his policies because the "adherence
to democratic values has been dictated by the will of the people and strategic
interests of the Russian Federation."
See also:
the original at
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