Kremlin adviser quits over Politkovskaya case Tue Oct 17, 2006 10:38am ET
MOSCOW (Reuters) - A leading Russian human rights campaigner said on Tuesday he could no longer work as a Kremlin adviser because he disagreed with President Vladimir Putin's views on murdered journalist Anna Politkovskaya.
Putin said last week the murder of the reporter, a scathing critic of the Kremlin, was a "disgusting crime". But he added Politkovskaya had "minimal influence on Russian political life" and that her murder did more harm to Russia than her reporting.
Putin's critics reacted angrily to that remark, saying it was crass and insensitive. They said it showed Putin viewed reporters who expose official corruption and abuses not as an asset to Russia but as a threat.
Oleg Orlov, head of independent human rights group Memorial, said he had written to the chair of the Presidential Council on Promoting Civil Society and Human Rights to hand in his notice.
"I wrote that I do not see any sense in remaining in the council," he said.
"With regret I must note that my understanding of what is good for and what damages the Russian state ... is fundamentally different from that of the president."
The council confirmed in a statement that it had received Orlov's letter of resignation.
Politkovskaya was shot dead on October 7 in a contract-style killing that investigators said was probably linked to her reporting. Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev said the murder was a blow to democracy and press freedoms.
Putin created the presidential council in 2003. Critics said its aim was to insulate the Kremlin from allegations it was trampling on democratic freedoms. It has no formal powers and convenes infrequently. Putin has met the council only once.
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved ****************** Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2006 08:56:00 -0700 (PDT) From: Chris Doss <lookoverhere1 at yahoo.com> Subject: [lbo-talk] Raimondo on the whole Politkovskaya thing To: lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org Message-ID: <20061018155600.74587.qmail at web37214.mail.mud.yahoo.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
He's 90% right you know, even if he did write a week or so ago that the Abkhaz are Christians. It's hard for a dilettante to get everything right. ;)
(Are people in the West really arguing that Putin had her killed? That's really whacky.) *****************
You said it. It is whacky particularly with respect to this "source"--Raimando who is the only one saying this as far as I know. Nevertheless, Mr. Putin is not sending a very good signal (read: spin and PR) about his "interest" in this case, see article above.