[lbo-talk] PUTIN SAYS NGOS WON'T BE CRUSHED

[Michael Givel]

PUTIN SAYS NGOS WON'T BE CRUSHED(Russia)
5/7/2006- President Vladimir Putin, who has been lambasted around the world 
for a new law regulating NGOs, walked into a massive room full of NGO 
activists Tuesday and pledged he would personally ensure the law was not too 
onerous. "This law was meant to create order in this sphere, not to stiffen" 
regulations of nongovernmental organizations, Putin told the crowd of 
several hundred activists gathered at the World Trade Center Moscow complex. 
"If we find that there is, in fact, a stiffening of the regulations, I 
myself am ready to act to initiate changes, including those you recommend." 
Putin's comments at the Civil G8 conference followed carefully worded 
remarks from human rights activists Yury Dzhibladze and Claire Rimmer, who 
is from Britain.  Without singling out Russia, the two activists, directly 
addressing Putin in front of conference participants, asked the president to 
address government-NGO relations, xenophobia and public oversight of law 
enforcement, among other issues, at the upcoming G8 summit. In a thinly 
veiled attack on the Kremlin, Dzhibladze also cited several threats to NGOs: 
stricter registration and accounting requirements, which are contained in 
the new NGO law; GONGOs, or government-organized NGOs, thought to be a 
reference to the Kremlin-created Public Chamber; and the linking of 
criticism of the government with extremism or terrorism, which has been 
proposed in a State Duma bill. Neither Dzhibladze nor Rimmer mentioned the 
word Russia -- except when Rimmer briefly brought up Chechnya -- but it was 
clear to many in attendance that the country they were most concerned about 
was the one they were in. This was not lost on Putin, who reserved his most 
impassioned comments for the two activists. Responding to Dzhibladze and 
Rimmer, Putin promised that human rights would be discussed at the G8 summit 
in St. Petersburg, which runs July 15-17. But he admitted to being ashamed 
that, on the summit agenda, the subject falls under the "Miscellaneous" 
heading. He hinted that many countries were reluctant to discuss human 
rights. "Everyone's ready to talk about human rights in other countries, but 
no one wants to talk about human rights in their own country," Putin said. 
Putin said the NGO law, which went into effect in April, had been reviewed 
by experts from the Council of Europe and that their suggestions had been 
taken into account. Speaking during a lunch break, Dzhibladze said he was 
pleased that his comments had elicited a strong reaction from Putin, but he 
added that the president was incorrect in saying that Council of Europe 
officials had signed off on the NGO law. "We had read the experts' 
conclusions, and there was a clear argument that the law does not correspond 
to European standards and norms," he said. But Dzhibladze said he was glad 
the president had promised to make changes to the law, if need be. "We'll 
get him on that," he said.

In his opening remarks, Putin also addressed environmentalists' opposition 
to nuclear energy, saying other G8 countries would oppose getting rid of 
nuclear power plants because no good alternatives had been proposed. As he 
spoke, six demonstrators in dark T-shirts, each bearing a single Russian 
letter, stood up on their chairs and screamed, "Nyet AES," or "Say no to 
nuclear power stations." Putin and Ella Pamfilova, who heads the 
presidential council for civil society and presided over the conference, 
thanked the protesters. The protesters came from the environmental group 
Ekozashchita, or Ecodefense. When it came to some of the other activists' 
comments, Putin struck a more conciliatory note than he had with Dzhibladze 
and Rimmer. After Geert Ritsema of Greenpeace asked the president to seek 
measures limiting the sale of genetically modified crops, Putin signaled 
support, saying he felt surrounded "by kindred spirits." "In negotiations 
about Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization, we are being 
forced to give up the right to inform people about" genetically modified 
foods, Putin said. Putin did not name the countries opposed to mandatory 
labeling, but he noted, "We insist on norms suggested by NGOs."  The 
president avoided responding directly to a comment by Joost van der Meer, 
director of the Moscow branch of AIDS Foundation East-West, who asked Putin 
to put preventive treatment and support services for AIDS patients on the G8 
agenda. Van Der Meer added that G8 countries should back programs for drug 
users, prostitutes, gays, prison inmates and other marginalized groups. 
Seizing on van der Meer's mention of drug users, Putin said AIDS should be 
discussed in the wider context of heroine smuggling and financing for 
terrorist activity. Putin ended his remarks by addressing business leaders 
who had asked G8 leaders to help fight corruption, which impedes commerce. 
"I ask business to join in [the fight] by not contributing to corruption. 
Don't bribe anyone. Don't give them money unnecessarily" Putin said, 
eliciting laughter from the audience.

NGOs' recommendations for G8 summit
. A moratorium on new nuclear power stations. Some G8 governments --  
including Russia -- see nuclear power as a promising alternative to oil and 
gas. But the NGOs said it was not a safe source of power.
. A special tax on oil production, the proceeds of which would go toward 
fighting climate change. President Vladimir Putin, who attended the forum, 
was skeptical. Russia is the world's second-biggest oil exporter.
. An extra $10 billion per year from G8 nations for programs to ensure 
everyone has access to education.
. Stepped-up efforts to treat and prevent HIV/AIDS. The NGOs also said the 
G8 should be held accountable for previous commitments it had made on 
tackling the disease.
. International financial and trade organizations like the World Trade 
Organization and the World Bank should be reformed because they are 
entrenching poverty and inequality.
. Adopt international standards on human rights. NGOs said human rights were 
being sacrificed in the international war on terror. They singled out Iraq 
and Chechnya as examples.

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