Reacting to the results of the snap
parliamentary elections in Bulgaria held on Sunday
12 May, ALDE Party President Sir Graham Watson MEP
today said: “with the lowest turnout in the
history of parliamentary elections in Bulgaria, yesterday
was a dark day for democracy and a repudiation of
the EPP-aligned government led by Boyko Borisov. The
conduct of the election also gives cause for concern.”
“It is worrying that the election
was marred by several reports of irregularities, vote-buying
and controlled voting. The discovery by police of
350,000 ballot papers printed by a company belonging
to a GERB councillor raises important questions. The
next government must undertake serious efforts to
defeat fraud and regain the voters’ trust in
democracy.”
“European Liberal Democrats
congratulate ALDE member party Movement for Rights
and Freedoms (MRF) on their performance in the election
and their efforts during the campaign. Negotiations
for a government coalition must take their result
into account.”
LI President, Hans van Baalen MEP,
has written to leader of the Progressive Party of
Iceland (LI Full Member), Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson,
to congratulate him on his party's success in the
recent parliamentary elections. Iceland's President,
Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, invited Mr Gunnlaugsson,
who has been made Prime Minister-elect, to form a
government following parliamentary elections in which
the Progressive Party made the biggest gains in electoral
support; more than doubling their number of seats
from 9-19. The Progressive Party has experience of
coalition politics and as the Prime Minister-elect,
Sigmundur Gunnlaugsson, entered into Coalition talks,
he said: “I feel good about this. There are
of course many and big issues to discuss so this will
take some time, but it's right to be optimistic, in
the beginning at least”. The Liberal's return
to government comes as the Socialist Party they replaced
were unable to solve Iceland's national concerns,
resulting in voters punishing the Socialists for imposing
tough austerity measures and failing to tackle high
levels of household debt.
Press Release, the ALDE Group,
European Parliament, May 7, 2013
The European Parliament's Civil Liberties
Committee discussed today for the first time the report
on the situation of fundamental rights: standards
and practices in Hungary. The need for this report
arose from a series of controversial amendments introduced
by the country's ruling party to the media law, the
legal order and the national Constitution which go
against the values of the European Union...
The Future of EU-Russian Relations
- The Liberal Viewpoint" seminar was held in
Helsinki, Finland on the 29th of April and gathered
over 200 people in the audience. The hosts of the
seminar were the Swedish People’s Party in Finland
(SFP) and the Swedish International Liberal Center
(SILC) and it was arranged in cooperation with Russian
ALDE member party Yabloko and Svenska Bildningsförbundet.
The seminar was divided into three
parts, starting with introductory remarks from Carl
Haglund, Minister of Defence and SFP Party Chair,
Martin Ängeby, Secretary General of SILC and
Astrid Thors MP, ALDE Party Vice President, followed
by key note addresses from Yabloko founder, Dr. Grigory
Yavlinsky and MEP Kristiina Ojuland. The seminar continued
with panel discussions on human rights as well as
trade and economic relations in the afternoon.
Carl Haglund commenced by pointing
out that a well-functioning relationship between Russia
and the EU is beneficial for both parties, which was
echoed in later discussions. Also the fact that the
EU is Russia’s biggest and Russia EU’s
third biggest trading partner was repeated during
the day. Peace through trade is a fundament for the
EU and something to continue working on. It took 18
years of bargaining before Russia joined the WTO in
August 2012 and there still remain obstacles in the
trading policy.
EU-Russia cooperation must be based
on mutual respect. The importance of the EU putting
pressure on Russia to respect freedom of speech and
human rights was underlined during the seminar. The
”foreign agent”-law, the Sergei Magnitsky
case and other anti-democratic laws are alarming.
Russia is not interested in being led by the hand
towards democracy – the country must do the
work itself when it comes to democracy and human rights.
Some of the people working for these values are in
jail, but many were at the seminar – including
the founder of the Yabloko party.
In his key note speech Dr. Girgory
Yavlinsky stated: “The important question is
not how long Putin is going to stay in power –
the important question is what is going to be instead
of him? All other questions are secondary. Then we
will be able to speak about elections et cetera.”
MEP Kristiina Ojuland reminded that
the Russian Parliamentary elections in 2011 were the
real starting point of the lack of trust. They were
clearly not free and fair and that has also changed
the European Parliament’s view on Russia. Corruption
and VISA freedom for Russian citizens were also addressed
during the seminar which, thanks to simultaneous translation
into Russian and English, attracted a vast number
of participants. The seminar has been recorded and
can be viewed on www.sfp.fi/russia.
Liberal International 190th
Executive. Published
on April 26, 2013
...But I should note
that the reaction of Vladimir Putin’s regime
to the mass protests was not only intensification
of reprisals. Putin responded to the challenge with
a specific state ideology based on aggressive clericalism
and complete denial of the liberal values. This is
a significant difference from the policies of ex President
Medvedev who often appealed to the liberal values.
Orthodoxy has been exploited by the regime in a very
specific way. The emphasis is laid on its contraposition
to the Western values and way of life. This "sacred
resource" provides the authorities an ideological
basis for criticism of the human rights concept, as
well as political systems based on respect for civil
liberties...
...New evidence of the growth of aggressive
clericalism has been emerging every day. The Russian
parliament adopted a law envisaging five years of
imprisonment for the injury of religious beliefs and
feelings. However, the law protects only “traditional
confessions” and Russian
Orthodoxy in the first place. It is obvious that opponents
of clericalisation of the state will become the first
victims of this vague norm based on subjective estimates...
At the Administrative Session of the
190th Executive Committee Meeting, delegates from
accorss the words expressed concern about recent developments
in Russia and Ukraine and unanimously passed two
political resolutions: Condemning the burning
of books at Yabloko headquarters and The importance
of fighting corruption in Ukraine. The Executive Committee
endorsed the cooption of high-level politicians from
un-represented regions on the LI Bureau: Kasit Piromya,
of the Democratic Party of Thailand (Asia); Ahmed
Hariri of the Future Movement/ al-Mustaqbal, Lebanon
(MENA); Edgar Hererra, Guatemala (Latin America).
One endorsement to full member status and three endorsements
to observer member status were also voted. The Republican
Party of Georgia is set to become a full member, while
four parties -- Alliance Nationale pour les Comores,
Comoros; United Democrats, Cyprus; Rassemblement National
des Independents, Morocco; Partido de la Libertad
Individual, Spain — were validated by the Executive
as LI observer members. The status of these parties
will need to be verified by the next Congress meeting...
The President of the ALDE Gender Equality
Network Flo Clucas and liberal European Commissioner
for Home Affairs Cecilia Malmström have expressed
their profound concern and disappointment after a
report revealed that human trafficking in the EU has
increased in recent years and 80% of the victims are
women and young girls. They also strongly criticised
21 EU member states for the delays in implementing
into national law the EU directive on human trafficking,
adopted in March 2011. The European
Commission report presented on Monday, the first compilation
of data from more than 25 European nations of its
kind, showed human trafficking increased by 18% between
2008 and 2010 and that during the same time the number
of convictions for the crime fell by 13%.
As EU member states identified human
trafficking as one of the priority areas in the fight
against organised crime, the ALDE Gender Equality
Network is very disappointed and worried that, despite
the alarming trends, only a few countries have implemented
the anti-trafficking legislation. Flo Clucas, President
of the ALDE Gender Equality Network, said: “Even
though EU governments have had two years to implement
tougher standardised anti-trafficking legislation,
only six out of 27 states have done this. Large EU-states,
such as Germany, France and Great Britain have not
implemented tougher measures in their national legislatures,
this is not acceptable...”
Press Release, the ALDE Group,
European Parliament, April 16, 2013
Commenting on the investigation by
the Bulgarian Prosecutor General's Office into the
allegations of illegal wiretapping of scores of political
opposition leaders in Bulgaria, Guy Verhofstadt, President
of the ALDE Group has made the following statement:
"Sanctioning of illegal wiretapping of opposition
politicians in Bulgaria by state authorities undermines
democracy and the fairness of the electoral process.
The European Union monitoring mechanism covers adherence
to the rule of law matters and therefore the ongoing
scandal should be seriously analysed by the European
Commission. With less than one month before elections
in Bulgaria, citizens need to be reassured that their
fundamental rights are protected"...
LI 190th Executive Council
Meeting, Beirut, Arpil 13, 2013
Book Burning
The Executive Committee of Liberal
International, meeting in Beirut recalls the burning
of books by Nazis in 1936, rightly condemned by the
Free World, and expresses its horror and indignation
at the action by ultra-Orthodox thugs who invaded
the Headquarter of the Yabloko Party in Moscow on
March 15 removing publications and burning them publicly
in a Moscow Square.
The Executive Committee notes the
failure of the Russian and Moscow Authorities to investigate,
prosecute or even condemn this action with its sinister
implications for basic freedoms and demands that they
do so without delay, guaranteeing the right of all
Russians to publish freely.
The Executive Committee calls on the
Russian authorities to adhere to their commitment
as a member country of the Council of Europe and investigate
into the accident and punish those guilty.
The Executive Committee further urges
ALDE members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the
Council of Europe to sponsor a resolution condemning
this action and the failure of the Russian Authorities
to take appropriate action.
LI Bureau member and Treasurer Robert
Woodthorpe Browne was among the high level speakers
on migration and assimilation at Yabloko (LI Full
Member) Conference on 6th April in Moscow, Russia.
The event was opened by Party Leader
Sergey Mitrokhin and Dr Astrid Thors, European Liberal
Democrats - ALDE Party Vice President and former Migration
Minister in the Finnish Government coming from the
Swedish People's Party (LI Full Member). Professor
Grigoriy Alekseyevich Yavlinskiy addressed the gathering
on the subject issues. He was particularly concerned
at the potential knock-on effect of the proposed US
withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2014. Input was provided
by speakers from Swedish, Estonian, Moldovan, German
and British liberals. LI Treasurer, Robert Woodthorpe
Browne, described the UK situation and added an LI
dimension...
Press Release, the ALDE Group,
European Parliament, March 22, 2013
The ALDE Group welcomes today's launch
by the European Commission of two consultations on
media freedom and pluralism and audiovisual media
regulator independence.
The first consultation asks specifically to comment
on the EU's competences to act in protection of media
freedom and on the roles of national regulatory authorities,
as well as if current laws need to be changed.
EP rapporteur on an "EU Charter: Standard settings
for Media Freedom across the EU", Renate Weber
(PNL, Romania) said: "We hope this consultation
will pave the way to the establishment of a regular
mechanism of monitoring and reporting over the full
respect of media freedom and pluralism, as a democratic
exercise that all EU Member States should do"...
The ALDE Group of the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe is deeply concerned
with the news we are receiving from Russia. The attacks
perpetrated against the Yabloko party in Moscow are
yet another manifestation of growing intolerance in
the Russian society.
The ALDE condemns the perpetrators
of these attacks which are not simply an act of vandalism,
but also an offence against the freedom of expression.
We sincerely hope that the legal proceedings that
you have launched will receive appropriate attention
both from the judiciary and the political authorities
of Russia. Such acts cannot be tolerated.
I would like to assure you that the
Monitoring Committee will be duly informed about these
deplorable developments...
LI full member Yabloko, became a direct
victim of the rising intolerance in Russia, when its
headquarters in Moscow were attacked by “Orthodox
fascists”. This video
demonstrates how they stole and publicly burnt books
and booklets published by the party. Yabloko suspects
that the reason behind this provocation is the fact
that the party has rejected the movement's proposal
for building new Christian Orthodox temples on sites
where city gardens and children's playgrounds are
situated. Sergei Mitrokhin, Yabloko's leader, was
outraged, saying: 'We are expecting a reaction from
Vladimir Putin, the People's Front and the Russian
Orthodox Church to the provocations of the thugs acting
on their behalf. In the absence of any response we
will consider this attack as the beginning of “Maoist-style
terror” against the political opposition and we will
build our party strategy in line with these new realities.”
ALDE-PACE President Anne Brasseur condemned the attack
and expressed “sincere hopes that the legal proceedings
that Yabloko has launched will receive appropriate
attention both from the judiciary and the political
authorities of Russia.”
Press Release, the ALDE Group,
European Parliament, March 7, 2013
Ahead of International Women's Day,
Liberals and Democrats in the European Parliament
(ALDE) call for united international action to combat
violence against women. In Europe, 45 % of women will
experience some type of violence at least once in
her lifetime. Every day one in five women in Europe
is a victim of violence. Antonyia Parvanova (NMSP,
Bulgaria), ALDE spokesperson on Women's Rights and
Gender Equality, participated in the UN summit meeting
on 'The elimination and prevention of all forms of
violence against women', being held from 4 to 15 March
in New York. The Bulgarian liberal presented the activities
of the European Parliament to eridicate violence against
women while highlighting the challenges faced in the
EU.
Mrs Parvanova commented "We have to continue
to take concrete steps to defend women's and girls'
fundamental right to live free from violence. But
we won't achieve concrete results if acting alone
. The EU has an excellent opportunity to deliver on
its commitments by pressing for coordinated international
action at the UN Conference"...
Press Release, the ALDE Group,
European Parliament, February 28, 2013
Today the Commission presented its
"Smart borders" package. ALDE welcomes this
legislative initiative as it will simplify the life
of "bona fide" foreigners frequently travelling
to the EU, whose number is expected to increase in
the future.
ALDE spokesperson of the dossier Nils Torvalds (Swedish
Peoples Party, Finland): "It is in the interest
of the EU to make it as easy as possible for tourists,
business travellers and students to come to Europe.
At the same time an easier access to the EU should
go hand in hand with preventing irregular migration.
The "smart borders" initiative should also
help Member states better control their external borders,
an important issue for some of them which have to
manage a very long portion of the EU external borders"...
The Moscow Times, February
19, 2013. Vedomosti, January 28, 2013.
U.S. President Barack Obama took his
second oath of office on Jan. 20. The following Sunday,
also in Washington, Metropolitan Tikhon was enthroned
as the primate of the Orthodox Church in America.
A second major phenomenon largely overlooked by the
media is that 1 million Orthodox Americans affirm
the importance of upholding their faith in that multicultural
"melting pot" — even though most speak
English and were not raised according to traditional
Russian customs. Although many American Orthodox believers
are not Russians or Europeans, and some are not even
direct descendents of Russian and European immigrants,
they often had an even stronger personal connection
to the Russian emigres and anti-Bolsheviks of the
18th and 19th centuries and responded more passionately
when the Russian Orthodox Church was driven partly
underground...
Reacting to the resignation this morning
of Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov and his
government, ALDE Party President Sir Graham Watson
said: “European Liberal Democrats welcome today’s
announcement. We have become increasingly concerned
about freedom and the rule of law under Prime Minister
Boyko Borissov since he took office in 2009.”
“Together with the likes of
Berlusconi and Basescu – Europe’s B team
– Borissov has played fast and loose with the
rule of law. I hope this B team will not be revived
in elections this year”...
The vote of the Constitutional Affairs
Committee of the European Parliament supported efforts
by ALDE MEPs aimed at correcting the worst anomaly
in the original proposal of the two rapporteurs (Trzaskowski-Gualtieri)
on the apportionment of seats at the next elections
in 2014. The Liberals and Democrats argued that to
have a two seat gap between Hungary and Sweden on
the basis of a difference of population of 475,000
was unjust.
Andrew Duff's proposal that at the next constitutional
Convention, likely in 2015, the EU should agree on
a fair, durable and transparent arithmetical formula
for the distribution of seats was also accepted...
Alexei Melnikov’s blog
in the Live Journal,
February 11, 2013
Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev
has said today that he supports the death penalty
for people who have committed serious crimes, "I
fear to bring down the anger of the opponents of the
death penalty on myself, but speaking as an ordinary
citizen, rather than a minister, I would see nothing
wrong [in the death penalty] for such kind of criminals".
It is no good when the high post prevents
the expression of civic feelings. After such a statement
by Mr. Kolokoltsev, he should have been immediately
dismissed. Let him speak out as a citizen not burdened
with the weight of public duties. In any case, the
dismissal of Mr. Kolokoltsev would have been an adequate
measure for the authorities who believe that the purpose
of the government is installing of humanity.
Our ruling system suffers from a serious hereditary
contempt for human life. Here the concept of a "violent
crime", and any crime in general, is like rubber.
And just like civil activities in case of a police
state are easily transferred into crimes, this notion
[of a violent crime] can be transferred into a grave
offense. For example, "foreign agents" [which
all the NGOs were pushed to turn into according the
new Russian law] may be considered traitors and liberal
views equated with an ideology targeted at destruction
of the state. And the punishment here will be execution...
European Liberals strongly condemn
the recent clampdown on liberal activists in Azerbaijan.
Among others Tofig Yagublu, deputy chairman of ALDE
member party Musavat was arrested and charged with
“violation of public order”.
Liberals welcome the statement by
European top officials and encourage the European
Commission to strongly defend fundamental human rights
in their bilateral discussions with the Azeri authorities...
Michael Kauch, an FDP MP, is the new
president of GLOBE Europe, the European Chapter of
the Global Legislators Organisation for a Balanced
Environment. He was elected at the recent General
Assembly to succeed the Danish Green Steen Gade, who
didn't run for another term. Vice Presidents are Petra
BAYER (Austria), Linas BALSYS (Lithuania), Barry GARDINER
(UK), Jens HOLM (Sweden) and Arnaud LEROY (France).
GLOBE is a cross-party and trans-national
network of MPs, who are committed to the environment
and to sustainability. At present, MPs from 88 countries
around the world represent their countries in the
network. Major activities are global parliamentary
dialogues on climate policy, forest protection and
sustainable development...
North Caucasus Environmental
Watch. Open Letter to the International Olympic Committee
(IOC), February 11, 2013
...A unique environment is being damaged
irreparably over a large area. According to our information,
functionality of approximately 2000 hectares of the
Greater Sochi had been radically changed; radical
land expropriation, destruction of natural landscapes
and appearance of anthropogenic landscapes have taken
place. First of all, this concerns the Mzimta river
valley (deforestation) in the area of construction
of a combined railroad and highway Adler – Alpinka
Service and Imeretinskaya valley, where substantial
agricultural lands and wetlands were replaced by compensation
housing construction and by transportation infrastructure
and storage facilities. Some of the territories of
the Western Caucasus (UNESCO World Heritage site)
were removed from World Heritage protection, natural
heritage sites are being destroyed, and crushed-stone
quarries are mined in the reserve areas of the national
park. That is, diverse ecosystems were damaged practically
irreparably. New threats of landslides, erosion, avalanches,
and mudslide have appeared on the slopes of mountain
ridge Aibga as a result of continuing deforestation
and construction of ski trails, chair lifts and other
objects. Disappearance of specific natural habitats,
even when there are analogous remote natural habitats,
of numerous plant and animal species in Sochi is reaching
critical levels and is leading to local extinction
of the species, which, in its turn, is leading to
impoverishment of biodiversity. This is a consequence
of the inability of the affected species to migrate
across regions unfit for their survival...
ALDE Party President Sir Graham Watson
MEP has expressed the collective concern of European
Liberal Democrats to news of a fresh wave of reprisals
against members of the Russian United Democratic party
(Yabloko).
Sergei Mitrokhin, the leader of ALDE
member party Yabloko, has condemned the Federal Security
Bureau in the Sverdlovsk region which has interpreted
a recent Russian law ‘on the counteraction to
the extremist activity’ to obtain a court order
permitting Maxim Petlin, Chair of Yabloko’s
Sverdlovsk Region branch to be placed under surveillance
and for all his all telephone conversations to be
monitored. A complaint filed to the Supreme Court
was also dismissed.
ALDE Party President Sir Graham Watson
MEP said: “European Liberal Democrats are increasingly
concerned at the instances of persecution facing members
of open and fully legal political parties. During
its years of existence the Yabloko party has not provided
an occasion for it to be equated to extremist organisations.
It seems the government regards the words ‘opposition’
and ‘extremism’ as synonyms.”
“European Liberal Democrats
and Yabloko call on the European Union to put pressure
on Russia and for the Russian government to immediately
stop such reprisals and to bring those responsible
to justice”...
Reacting to the first reading of an
LGBT Rights discrimination bill at the Russian Parliament,
the leader of Yabloko (LI full member), Sergei Mitrokhin,
expressed a concern that the bill in its present version
allows for the authorities to limit the civil rights
of the LGBT community. The law prohibits gay propaganda
among children and it has already been adopted by
eight regional parliaments. 'Legislators proceed from
an allegation that propaganda can change a person's
sexual orientation. However, its adoption will inevitably
lead to the deepening of the split in the society
and a growing risk of violent collisions between different
groups. The application of the law has already demonstrated
that there has been a rise of open clashes between
the LGBT and the Orthodox activists' said Mitrokhin.
Liberal International hosted a public dialogue with
Sergei Mitrokhin back in November where he revealed
the undemocratic realities of yet another discriminatory
legislation in Russia...
Sir Graham Watson MEP, President of
the ALDE Party expressed the shock of all European
Liberals on Saturday at the attempted shooting of
Bulgarian liberal leader Ahmed Dogan at the MRF Party
Congress in Sofia which Sir Graham was attending.
He expressed his relief that the pistol had not gone
off as intended.
"Liberals have become increasingly
concerned about freedom and the rule of law under
Prime Minister Boyko Borisov. The European Union may
need to mobilise to put the country back on track."
"I hope the government will move
quickly to establish the forces behind this attempted
murder and to bring them to justice." Sir Graham
Watson said...
Tragic news has come from the Netherlands
– Alexander Dolmatov who fled from Russia to this
country fearing political reprisals committed
a suicide. I express my condolences to Alexander’s
family and express them support in their grief .
Those of us who have lost their loved
ones, know how hurtful it is, as how the world seems
to be alien and how one’s life begins to change as
one realizes that nothing will be as it once was.
Who is to blame? The Netherland authorities that refused
to grant Alexander a political asylum? Those from
whom he escaped in Russia, those who have now unleashed
reprisals in Russia? Or headless leaders of the protest?
If a person is killed in such circumstances, then,
in all fairness, no one can shun the responsibility.
A little man wanted to change his
country. He was forced to flee. The little man was
seeking asylum in another country. But that country
calmly turned its back on him. Anger was breathing
behind his back, and cold breathed into his face.
The little man could not resist. He has gone. But
he has remained a Man.
In Moscow the leaders of Yabloko (LI
Full Member), Grigori Yavlinski and Sergei Mitrokhin,
led
a march against the Anti-Magnitsky law. The Anti-Magnitsky
law prohibits American citizens from adopting Russian
orphans and is widely considered to be a response
to US reprisals against those responsible for the
killing
of Sergei Magnitsky, a Russian human rights lawyer.
During the march the crowd held banners and yelled
that ‘MPs should fight against corruption, not
against children'. At the rally Sergei Mitrokhin stated:
“Our government has demonstrated that its main
goal is to protect the murderers involved in the Sergei
Magnitsky case. The authorities have put a human shield
of orphans around this scum.” Mitrkohin continued:
“But we will again and again resist this political
regime, and again we will go to the streets and use
any other peaceful, constitutional means so that to
remove the regime from power.' Earlier Yabloko wrote
a letter to the now Russian actor Gérard
Depardieu, to raise attention of the law and the case
of Sergei Magnitsky.
On 12 May 2010, the leader of the
Liberal Democrats (UK) Nick Clegg stood together with
the leader of the Conservative party David Cameron
in the Rose Garden of 10 Downing Street and outlined
the joint programme for coalition, the first full
coalition government in the United Kingdom since 1945.
Two and a half years later and
the coalition have this week published a Mid Term
Review with Liberal Democrat party analysis showing
that “about 95%” of objectives and policies
outlined in the Coalition Agreement are on course...
...Amongst the Top 10 achievements
of the Liberal Democrats in government include: reducing
the national deficit by 25%, the scrapping of ID cards,
the creation of 1 million jobs and 1 million apprenticeships,
the delivery of a £600 tax cut for 24 million
working people by raising the income tax threshold
to £9,440, the cutting of crime by 10% and the
creation of a Green Investment Bank to unlock billions
of pounds of private investment in renewable energy
and create thousands more green jobs...
After having been granted a Russian
passport by President Vladimir Putin, French actor
Gerard Depardieu last week visited the Russian federal
Republic of Mordovia. Vladimir Gridin, the Chairman
of the Mordovia branch of Yabloko (LI Full Member)
has written a
public letter to Depardieu, in which he points
the attention of the actor to stringent issues in
Russia today. Amongst the issues mentioned by Gridin
are electoral fraud and the illegal expropriation
of houses without compensation in the Russian republic.
Gridin also states Depardieu is used to divert public
attention away from the Anti-Magnitsky law, which
prohibits Americans from adopting Russian orphans
in response to reprisals by the United States against
those responsible for the
murder of Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky. In
the
World Today Resolution, adopted at the 58th Congress
in Abidjan, Liberal International 'expressed its extreme
concern with the strengthening of Vladimir Putin's
authoritarian regime', and called on the Council of
Europe 'to respond adequately to Russia's breach of
its obligations as member of the Council'.
In connection with your plans to settle in Mordovia,
let me ask you a few questions as so to say your new
compatriot.
1. A few days ago you visited Mordovia and, as you
put it, you were stunned by the hospitality shown
to you there. Vladimir Volkov, President of the Republic
of Mordovia, offered you in a handsome gesture an
apartment or a plot of land under a house. The generosity
of the head of the region struck many people in the
republic, especially the residents of Tambovskaya
street in Saransk...
