Democracy ‘problematic’ for Russia’s new fans

Democracy Digest from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED): Have Western politicians and intellectuals been seduced by Putin’s Russia just as an earlier generation became “useful idiots” for the Soviet Union? Lilia Shevstova thinks so. The Schroederization of European policy elites is especially pronounced, she argues, citing the European Council on Foreign Relations’ publication, What Does Russia Think?, which regurgitates dubious rationales for the ruling elite’s

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Democracy ‘problematic’ for Russia’s new fans

Downplaying democracy hasn’t generated foreign policy dividend

Democracy Digest from the National Endowment for Democracy (NED):   A year on from his inauguration, the foreign policy commentariat is assessing President Barack Obama’s record, not least his administration’s approach to promoting democracy and human rights. Robert Kagan detects a strategic shift from the grand strategy adopted after World War II based on military and economic “preponderance of power” to one reconciled to managing America’s

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Downplaying democracy hasn’t generated foreign policy dividend

European Parliament President condemns Alexeyeva’s detention in Moscow

FreeMediaOnline.org and GovoritAmerika.us republished this European Parliament press release to underscore the point that the Obama Administration has not protested the Russian police action and has been mostly silent on many other human rights abuses in Russia. 

Buzek: The EP appeals for the release of 2009 Sakharov Prize Winner Lyudmila Alexeyeva and other Russian human rights activists
Brussels – 01/01/2010
Following the detention of the human activists in Moscow on 31 December 2009, including Lyudmila Alexeyeva, the 82 year old 2009 Sakharov Prize winner for freedom of thought, the President of the European Parliament, Jerzy Buzek said:
“I am profoundly and personally touched when I think that this very respectful 82 year old woman spent the night of New Year’s Eve under Russian arrest.  I call on the Russian authorities to release her immediately.
I am deeply disappointed and shocked by the fact that Lyudmila Alexeyeva and other human rights activists were detained in Moscow last night. The police action was absolutely disproportionate. The detained protesters should be released immediately.  In a democratic country, people should have right to organise protests, even against governments and authorities. Freedom of speech and expression is one of our basic human rights.”
“I was so proud, two weeks ago, to award on behalf of the European Parliament the Sakharov Prize 2009 to Memorial – to Lyudmila Alexeyeva, Oleg Orlov, Sergei Kovalev, on behalf of Memorial and all other human rights defenders in Russia.  But I asked in my speech ‘whether Andrei Sakharov, one of the founders of Memorial, would feel pride, or more a sense of sadness that today’s Russia still needs such organisations?’
EP President Buzek added:
“When Lyudmila Alexeyeva on 16 December was in the European Parliament during the press conference following the awarding of the Sakharov Prize, the media asked her if she was not afraid return to Russia after having received the Prize from the European Parliament. The action of the police in Moscow gave a very disappointing answer – human rights defenders in Russia still can not demonstrate freely.
With the Sakharov Prize 2009, the Members of the European Parliament honoured those still among us who fight for human rights, but also honoured those who lost their lives in this very struggle.
Lyudmila Alexeyeva was protesting yesterday, because she wanted to defend the Russian constitution and the right to demonstrate. I still hope one day Russia will be a partner on whom the European Union can rely, respecting basic human rights. Today I repeat my appeal to the Russian authorities: Release those people immediately”

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For more information, contact:
Inga Rosinska, Spokeswoman of President Buzek
+32 0498981354

Memorial, International Human Rights Groups Return to Chechnya

Human Rights Watch (HRW) – Five months ago the human rights community in Russia and beyond lost a friend and colleague, Natalya Estemirova, Memorial’s lead researcher in the Chechen Republic of the Russian Federation. After her murder on July 15, 2009, Memorial suspended its work in the republic

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Memorial, International Human Rights Groups Return to Chechnya

Slow Movement

Human Rights Watch (HRW) – Contents Summary Key Recommendations Women Migrant Domestic Workers Kuwait Saudi Arabia Lebanon

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Slow Movement

2009 a Bad Year for Migrants

Human Rights Watch (HRW) – (New York) – Many governments’ policies toward migrants worldwide expose them to human rights abuses including labor exploitation, inadequate access to health care, and prolonged detention in poor, overcrowded conditions, Human Rights Watch said today in advance of International Migrants Day, on December 18, 2009.

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2009 a Bad Year for Migrants

Broadcast journalist killed

International Freedom of Expression eXchange: A Russian journalist allegedly committed suicide by falling out of a 14th-floor window to her death on 16 November in Kaliningrad. But outraged opposition critics and colleagues believe she was murdered, report the Centre for Journalism in Extreme Situations (CEJES) and the International Press Institute (IPI).

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Broadcast journalist killed

Uzbekistan: Freed Activist’s Condition Highlights Harsh Treatment

Human Rights Watch (HRW) – (November 30, 2009) – Uzbek political opposition leader Sanjar Umarov’s release from prison earlier this month is a positive development, but Umarov’s poor health and the fact that he was not acquitted of the politically motivated charges that led to his conviction highlight the government’s continued repressive nature, Human Rights Watch said today.

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Uzbekistan: Freed Activist’s Condition Highlights Harsh Treatment

Kyrgyzstan: Release Rights Activists

Human Rights Watch (HRW) – (New York) – The Kyrgyz authorities should immediately release the human rights activists Bakhrom Hamroev and Izzatilla Rakhmatillaev and allow them to continue their fact-finding work without further interference, Human Rights Watch said today.

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Kyrgyzstan: Release Rights Activists

EU: Urge Russia to Protect Activists

Human Rights Watch (HRW) – (Moscow) – European leaders should use the upcoming EU-Russia summit to convey alarm over deteriorating human rights in Russia and to press for concrete improvements, Human Rights Watch said today.

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EU: Urge Russia to Protect Activists

IFJ endorses joint Russian and Georgian demand to end media restrictions

International Freedom of Expression eXchange: Media groups are calling for an end to war propaganda and concrete actions to promote dialogue and confidence between Russian and Georgian journalists.

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IFJ endorses joint Russian and Georgian demand to end media restrictions

Russia attacks Sikorski on comments about U.S. troops in Poland

Opinia.US SAN FRANCISCO — A member of the Russian parliament has criticized Polish foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski for his comments during his visit this week to Washington, but the Polish foreign ministry has disputed the accuracy of Russian news reports quoting Sikorski’s statement. READ MORE

U.S. media ignore Russia’s simulated attack on Poland

Opinia.US SAN FRANCISCO — Mirroring the Obama Administration’s diminished interest in Eastern Europe and unwillingness to challenge Russia’s aggressive foreign policy in the region, mainstream U.S. media ignored Polish and British news reports about a simulated attack on Poland, which Russian troops conducted during military exercises in Belarus in September. Polish news magazine Wprost reported that Russian aircraft practiced the use of nuclear weapons in the attacks. Wprost also reported it has obtained documents which show that the military exercises portrayed Poland as “a potential aggressor.”

Mainstream U.S. media, including The New York Times and The Washington Post, ignored this story. READ MORE

Defenders in Danger — Rights Watch #19

Human Rights Watch (HRW) – Journalist Elena Milashina continues to document abuses at the hands of the Russian government — even though several of her colleagues have been killed for their work.

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Defenders in Danger — Rights Watch #19

Russia: Drop Criminal Libel Charges Against Activist

(Moscow) – Russian authorities should immediately drop criminal libel charges against Oleg Orlov, the prominent activist who heads Memorial Human Rights Center, Human Rights Watch said today. The charges stem from Orlov’s statement that Ramzan Kadyrov, the president of Chechnya, was responsible for the murder of Natalia Estemirova, Memorial’s leading researcher in Chechnya.

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Russia: Drop Criminal Libel Charges Against Activist