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BIGOTRY MONITOR: VOLUME 8, NUMBER 38
Union of Councils for Jews in the Former Soviet Union
September 19, 2008
DC
DEADLY INTERETHNIC BRAWL OUTSIDE MOSCOW. Police are on alert after a
massive inter-ethnic brawl led to two deaths in the village of Lunevo,
Russia (Moscow Region), according to a September 16 report by the
Regions.ru news web site. On September 15, two Uzbek construction
workers got into a verbal altercation with a female employee in
a late-night store, prompting some Russian customers to stand up
for her. The conflict escalated into a brawl involving more than 40
people. At least ten were injured and two on the Russian side were
killed. Police detained about 20 people and have so far charged one
Uzbek man with murder.
In the wake of the 2006 Kondopoga race riot, which began as a bar
fight and escalated into a mass expulsion of non-Russians from
the town, local police beefed up their presence in and around the
village. A television news report on Russia's 5th channel showed
witnesses charging that the Uzbeks killed two unarmed and outnumbered
Russians. Rumors are circulating that a Tajik man was later killed in
retaliation, but the television crew was unable to find any Uzbeks
or Tajiks to interview. Apparently, they have left town, fearful of
further violence. A September 17 article posted on the web site of the
national daily "Komsomolskaya Pravda" added that some local residents
are calling for an expulsion of all migrants. The article's subtitle
reads: "Local Residents Intend Fierce Revenge Against the Asians and
Will Resort to Lynch Law in Lunevo."
MOSCOW HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT DETAINED, SUSPECTED OF RACIST
MURDERS. Police in Moscow detained an 11th grader in connection
with two racist murders, according to a September 15 report by the
Rosbalt news agency. Mikhail Merchuk allegedly belonged to a gang
of neo-Nazis. On August 21, the suspect and his comrades allegedly
stabbed to death a man identified only by his last name, Adzulaev. The
second murder he is charged with is the August 27 killing of a 20
year old migrant named Bakhtemirov in the Moscow Region town of
Zelenograd. Investigators are looking into the student's possible
connection with other racist murders.
JAPANESE DIPLOMAT ATTACKED IN MOSCOW. Three men attacked a Japanese
diplomat in Moscow, according to a September 15 report by the RIA
Novosti news agency. The attack on the Japanese embassy's first
secretary took place the previous evening in Gorky Park. The report
does not mention if the attackers robbed their victim, which suggests
a hate crime.
IN INGUSHETIA, STORES SELLING ALCOHOL SET ON FIRE. Three stores and
one cafe that sell alcohol were burned down in Russia's turbulent
region of Ingushetia, according to a September 9 report by the Sova
Information-Analytical Center. A sign of increasing Islamic radicalism
in the region, the arsons took place during Ramadan. No one was hurt
as a result of the fires. The report offered no information about
arrests in connection with the arsons.
VORONEZH PROSECUTORS FILE HATE CRIME CHARGE. Prosecutors in Voronezh,
Russia charged a 20-year-old suspect with aggravated assault motivated
by ethnic hatred, according to a September 12 report by the news web
site Gazeta.ru. The suspect, along with two other men who have not yet
been charged, allegedly beat and stabbed an ethnic Armenian man on the
night of September 2 while shouting the far-right slogan "Russia for
Russians!" The victim, who was hospitalized, and the young woman he
was walking with reported that seven young men attacked him. Police
detained suspects three days later.
Earlier this month, Voronezh prosecutors filed hate crimes murder
charges against another group of neo-Nazis.
TWO BOROVICHI RESIDENTS FOUND GUILTY OF HATE CRIME. A court in
Borovichi, Russia (Novgorod Region), found two local residents
guilty of a hate crime, according to a September 16 report by the
Sova Information-Analytical Center. Sova cited the local prosecutor's
web site, which just released details about the June 10 sentencing,
as the source for its report. The defendants got six years and two
years in prison respectively for attacking a man from the Caucasus.
ULYANOVSK COURT SENTENCES ANTISEMITIC VANDALS. A court in Ulyanovsk,
Russia sentenced four local residents to prison and fines after
finding them guilty of painting antisemitic death threats on the
building of the Jewish Community Center, according to a September
17 report by the Sem40.ru news web site which specializes in news
pertaining to the Russian Jewish community. The four were convicted of
illegal hate speech after an expert study found that the graffiti was
"an open call to kill Jews." The defendants were sentenced to three
years in prison, one year in prison, and 84 and 80 hours of community
service, respectively.
RUSSIA'S MAIN FAR-RIGHT GROUP SPLITS. A split has occurred in the
ranks of Russia's main far-right group, the Movement Against Illegal
Immigration (DPNI), according to the national daily "Kommersant"
dated September 15. A meeting of 30 regional branches of the DPNI--a
group linked with anti-migrant violence in Kondopoga and other
cities--rejected the proposal of its leader Aleksandr Belov to ally
with "respectable" political parties. The delegates then declared that
Belov is no longer the DPNI's leader because he allied the group with
members of the small party "Narod" which has taken part in liberal
opposition rallies.
Since July, Belov has been trying to turn the DPNI into a mainstream
party, allying it with the Narod party and the extreme nationalist
Great Russia party of Dmitry Rogozin, Russia's ambassador to
NATO. Belov blamed the split on Russia's secret services which he
claimed "hired about 30 skinheads for a little bit of money" to
engineer his ouster.
Both sides of the dispute blame the government, which they accuse of
engineering the split.
YOUTHS ATTACK UKRAINIAN RABBI AND HIS 3-YEAR-OLD SON. Antisemites
attacked the chief rabbi of Vinnitsa, Ukraine, a friend of his from
Canada, and the rabbi's three year old son, according to a report by
local Jewish activist Boris Chizman. On September 11, the three went
out shopping to prepare for the child's birthday party when a group
of youths started shouting "Heil Hitler!" and "We'll kill all the
Jews!" The assailants punched the child in the face, and assaulted the
adults as well until some people in a passing car chased the attackers
away. Rabbi Shaul Govoritz called the police, who detained a group
of suspects shortly afterwards. He characterized the youths as more
than typical "hooligans" saying that "They weren't drunk or crazy. The
young people looked completely normal. They simply hate Jews."
UKRAINIAN POLITICIAN ACCUSED OF ANTISEMITIC AGITATION. Two local Jewish
leaders in Kherson, Ukraine accused a member of the city council of
spreading antisemitic propaganda, according to a September 17 report by
the AEN news agency. Aleksandr Vayner, director of the Kherson Jewish
Charitable-Community Center, and Vitaly Bronshtein, chairman of the
Kherson branch of the Council of Regions of the Jewish Conference
of Ukraine, accused Sergey Kirichenko, a member of the Kherson city
council, of antisemitic incitement. According to their accusation,
Kirichenko has made several appearances on the local radio show "Vik"
accusing Jews of robbing the Ukrainian people, plotting to enslave
Ukrainians, and exterminate Slavs. The deputy allegedly posted
"Catechism of a Jew in the USSR"--a slightly updated version of the
"Protocols of the Elders of Zion"--on his web site. On September 6,
Kirichenko allegedly praised the Nazi occupation of Kherson during
World War II on the "Vik" radio program. Hate speech is illegal in
Ukraine but it is not clear if local authorities will bring charges
against Kirichenko.
POPE STIRS CONTROVERSY IN FRANCE. Pope Benedict XVI's four-day visit,
his first trip to France since his election in 2005, has stirred
political controversy across France, Deutsche Welle reported. "It
would be a folly to deprive ourselves of religion," President
Nicolas Sarkozy said in his greetings and called for a principle of
"positive laicity, open laicity, an invitation to dialogue, tolerance
and respect." Laicity is what the French call their principle of the
separation of church and state, made into a law in 1905 and considered
part of the country's identity. Socialist Party boss Francois Holland
struck back: "There is no positive or negative laicity, no open or
closed laicity, no tolerant or intolerant laicity. There is only
laicity."
In his unusually warm welcome, Sarkozy applauded the pontiff's
thoughts on religion and freedom. Sarkozy declared that religion does
not represent a danger for any democracy and that Christian values
constituted a "living patrimony" for the entire society. Benedict,
81, warned that Western cultural efforts to marginalize religion and
believers would bring disaster for humanity and ultimately "play into
the hands of fanaticism."
In an address to academics including Muslims at the College des
Bernardins, a 13th century landmark confiscated during the French
Revolution and reacquired by the Church recently, the pontiff
denounced "fundamentalist fanaticism." "It would be a disaster if
today's European culture could only conceive freedom as absence
of obligation, which would invariably play into the hands of
fanaticism and arbitrariness," he said. In reporting on Benedict's
"multi-dimensional" approach to different elements in French
society, the Catholic News Service (CNS) also praised his summary
"in 20 graceful lines the Church's respect for Judaism and its firm
rejection of antisemitism." According to CNS, the pontiff "attempted
to build on the new openness shown the Church by President Sarkozy."
Speaking on Sunday at the famous pilgrimage site Lourdes, the pontiff
said that to "emphasize the Christian roots of France... a new way
must be found to interpret and experience every day the fundamental
values on which a nation's identity is built." He then praised Sarkozy,
saying: "Your president has described a way."
* * * QUOTE OF THE WEEK, RUSSIA'S RETURN TO DEMOCRACY MUST BE OUR
FOCUS * * * "Restoring Georgian independence and the confidence of
Russia's other democratic neighbors is critical," wrote ex-gulag
prisoner Natan Sharansky in an opinion piece in "The Washington
Post" dated September 14. "But if the root of the problem is to be
addressed strategically, the focus must return not to this or that
specific foreign policy action by Russia but rather to the matter of
democracy within Russia itself. This linkage must be broad and deep,
and it must be reinforced by an international community willing to
shine a light on Russia's retreat from democracy."
EU WALKS A TIGHTROPE IN GEORGIA Caught Between Anger and Fear, EU Is
Finding Its Way While NATO and U.S. Talk Tough
On September 14, Russia completed the withdrawal of its troops
from western Georgia, including the key Black Sea port of Poti, in
accordance with the ceasefire agreement reached on September 8. That
agreement also stipulated that the EU must have at least 200 observers
in place in Georgia by October 1 if Russia is to withdraw its troops
from the "buffer zones" it set up unilaterally, following the original
ceasefire agreement.
1. EU MOVES QUICKLY WITH OBSERVER MISSION. Angered by Russia's
tactics but worried about their dependence on Russian energy, the
Europeans moved quickly. On September 15, EU foreign ministers gave
the go-ahead for a 200-strong observer mission to Georgia, and 11
EU countries--the Baltic states, Belgium, Britain, France, Germany,
Italy, Poland, Spain, and Sweden--pledged support for the mission. But
the question remains whether the observers will be deployed in the
breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, as well. EU foreign
policy chief Javier Solana said that the bloc's priority is to deploy
200 observers in Georgia before October 1. "After that, we will see how
the situation evolves," Solana said. British Foreign Minister David
Miliband sounded more resolute, saying that "We are very committed
to making sure that we play our full part in that important mission,
meeting the deadline and getting the right number of people in at
the right time to the right places." In addition, the Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has a mandate to post
observers in South Ossetia, and talks are under way to boost their
number by another 80, said Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb
who holds the OSCE's rotating presidency.
Moscow has announced that it will maintain close to 8,000 troops in
South Ossetia and Abkhazia in the foreseeable future, even though
the EU and the United States charge a flagrant violation of Russia's
commitment to withdraw to pre-war positions. Russia has rejected
any suggestion that the EU send its own observers into the breakaway
regions, leaving EU foreign ministers walking a tight-rope as they
define the mission's mandate. Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini
explained: "We need the agreement of all sides involved, because we
do not want to act as an occupying force." While some member states
are pushing for a specific reference to the breakaway regions, others
argue that the wording should be left ambiguous to avoid antagonizing
Moscow, diplomats told reporters.
On September 17, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed friendship
treaties with Abkhazia and South Ossetia and pledged them Russia's
military backing. The treaties formalize military, diplomatic, and
economic cooperation between Moscow and the separatist regions,
which Russia has recognized as independent states though so far,
only Nicaragua has followed.
However, on September 18, talks on sending more monitors to Georgia
broke down because of disputes with Russia about where they should be
deployed, the OSCE announced. "We don't see the point of continuing
negotiations in Vienna at this stage," Antti Turunen of Finland,
current chairman of the OSCE's Permanent Council, was quoted by Reuters
as saying. "They have been put on hold. The area of responsibility
for monitors is the main sticking point." Georgia's OSCE envoy cited
Moscow's "absolutely non-constructive" demand that South Ossetian
authorities should decide the future OSCE mandate because the region
is now independent.
2. EU TO SEND MORE AID TO GEORGIA. More important in the long run,
the EU Commission is ready to provide "up to 500 million euros"
($714 million) in additional aid to Georgia, Deutsche Welle quoted
Benita Ferrero-Waldner as saying on September 15. That money comes on
top of the roughly 100 million euros already authorized for Georgia
this year and the bilateral aid provided separately by individual EU
member states. The money is intended for 2008-2010, to be used in four
areas: refugees and internally displaced people, economic recovery,
financial stabilization, and infrastructure. The package will be
conditional on Georgia enforcing democracy and political reform,
Ferrero-Waldner said. "The European Commission is at the heart of
efforts to rebuild stability and shattered confidence in Georgia,"
the commissioner added. Though the package is intended to cover
Georgia's breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia as well,
a decision on that issue will be taken "in phases," she said. She
stressed that the commission will ensure that Georgia will not use
the money to buy weapons. Some recent reports have claimed that the
Georgian authorities are using EU funding to buy arms.
3. RUSSIA HAS NO VETO ON NATO MEMBERSHIP APPLICATIONS, NATO CHIEF
SAYS. On September 16, NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer
issued an unambiguous statement to the effect that the Western alliance
will continue its expansion program despite Russian opposition
and warned Moscow that it has no veto on Georgia's bid to become a
member. In a speech at Tbilisi State University, NATO chief Scheffer
said that "the road to NATO is still wide open" and Russia could not
break the alliance's ties with the former Soviet republic through
military action. "The process of NATO enlargement will continue, with
due caution but also with a clear purpose--to help create a stable,
undivided Europe," he said. He was accompanied by the NATO ambassadors
of all 26 allies member states that news agencies interpreted as an
unusual display of unity.
Scheffer condemned Russia's recognition of the two separatist regions
in Georgia, saying its sovereignty and territorial integrity must be
respected. He also called on Moscow to tone down its rhetoric in the
wake of the war. He pointed out that NATO is "not in the business of
punishing Russia" and does not want to be. "Punishing Russia is not
the way forward. The way forward, really, is to help Georgia," he said.
NATO would not accept Russian demands that it choose between Russia
and Georgia, Scheffer added.
On September 17, Russia's Foreign Ministry condemned a visit to
Georgia by senior NATO officials as "anti-Russian" and confirming
NATO's "Cold War-era reflexes."
On September 18, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice declared that
Russian leaders will not accomplish "their primary war aim of removing
Georgia's government." She said that Russia's military action failed
to achieve its objectives and has put Russia on a path to "self-imposed
isolation and international irrelevance." The following day, President
Medvedev charged that Russia is being forced behind an Iron Curtain
and blamed NATO for "provoking" the Georgia conflict. "This is not
our path," he said. "For us there is no sense going back to the past."
4. NEW CLAIMS ABOUT THE WAR'S START AND MEANING. Russia only sent
troops and tanks to drive Georgian forces out of South Ossetia after
President George Bush failed to pressure Georgian President Mikheil
Saakashvili to stop his attack, Russian Premier Vladimir Putin told
Western journalists and Russia experts on September 11 in Sochi. He
claimed that during two meetings at the Beijing Olympics Bush failed
to give him sufficient assurances on halting the war in Georgia.
Putin assured the annual gathering organized by the Valday
international debate club that Russia has no "imperial ambitions"
and that another Cold War is not on the way. He also claimed that
his government "determined that nongovernmental organizations had
been formed in some republics of the North Caucasus that, under the
pretext that South Ossetia was not protected, had begun raising the
question of separating from Russia."
Speaking with the same group in Moscow on September 12, President
Medvedev characterized NATO's promise to eventually extend membership
to Georgia "unjust," "humiliating," and "intolerable" for Moscow.
However, the basic message that Putin and Medvedev delivered to Valday
was that Russia wants to return to business-as-usual relations with
the West, "The Moscow Times" quoted Alexander Rahr, a leading Russia
expert at Germany's Council on Foreign Relations, as saying.
Medvedev called on Western elites to stop thinking of Russia as an
ideological heir of the Soviet Union and expressed the hope that
the current escalation of tensions in Russia's relations with the
West would be brief. But, according to Jonathan Steele of Britain's
"Guardian," "not everyone present [at the Valday meetings] was
convinced that this was the direction developments would take."
On September 16, Georgian authorities released recordings of cellphone
calls that allegedly prove that Russian troops began moving into
South Ossetia on August 6, a day before Georgia attacked. Both "The
New York Times" and "The Washington Post" seemed inclined to accept
the authenticity of the intercepts that Russia's Foreign Ministry
promptly fobbed off as "not serious."
5. GEORGIA WAR SWELLED THE NUMBER OF RUSSIANS DISLIKING U.S., POLL
SAYS. Russians do not expect the current deterioration of relations
with the West to evolve into another Cold War, the Kremlin-controlled
polling agency All-Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VTsIOM)
found, according to "Vremya Novostei" dated September 12. Valery
Fedorov of VTsIOM also disclosed opinion polls that suggest that the
old Soviet thesis "War is peace" is deeply implanted in the Russian
consciousness.
According to VTsIOM, two months ago--before the war in the
Caucasus--49% of respondents admitted that they liked America "just
fine." But their number has dropped to 22% these days. The ranks of
those who dislike the United States in the meantime swelled from 29%
to 65%. Asked what they thought about Russian-U.S. relations, 37%
found them strained, 11% hostile, and 29% cold.
6. LAVROV WORRIED ABOUT SPREAD OF 'ANTI-RUSSIAN VIRUS.' Russian Foreign
Minister Sergey Lavrov is concerned about the trend of worsening
relations not only between the leaders of the Russian Federation and
Georgia but also between the peoples of the two countries, Interfax
reported on September 15. In a meeting with journalists following
his visits to Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Lavrov called the trend
"dangerous" and argued that "the anti-Russian virus" has found "its
way into the collective mentality."
Union of Councils for Jews in the Former Soviet Union
September 19, 2008
DC
DEADLY INTERETHNIC BRAWL OUTSIDE MOSCOW. Police are on alert after a
massive inter-ethnic brawl led to two deaths in the village of Lunevo,
Russia (Moscow Region), according to a September 16 report by the
Regions.ru news web site. On September 15, two Uzbek construction
workers got into a verbal altercation with a female employee in
a late-night store, prompting some Russian customers to stand up
for her. The conflict escalated into a brawl involving more than 40
people. At least ten were injured and two on the Russian side were
killed. Police detained about 20 people and have so far charged one
Uzbek man with murder.
In the wake of the 2006 Kondopoga race riot, which began as a bar
fight and escalated into a mass expulsion of non-Russians from
the town, local police beefed up their presence in and around the
village. A television news report on Russia's 5th channel showed
witnesses charging that the Uzbeks killed two unarmed and outnumbered
Russians. Rumors are circulating that a Tajik man was later killed in
retaliation, but the television crew was unable to find any Uzbeks
or Tajiks to interview. Apparently, they have left town, fearful of
further violence. A September 17 article posted on the web site of the
national daily "Komsomolskaya Pravda" added that some local residents
are calling for an expulsion of all migrants. The article's subtitle
reads: "Local Residents Intend Fierce Revenge Against the Asians and
Will Resort to Lynch Law in Lunevo."
MOSCOW HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT DETAINED, SUSPECTED OF RACIST
MURDERS. Police in Moscow detained an 11th grader in connection
with two racist murders, according to a September 15 report by the
Rosbalt news agency. Mikhail Merchuk allegedly belonged to a gang
of neo-Nazis. On August 21, the suspect and his comrades allegedly
stabbed to death a man identified only by his last name, Adzulaev. The
second murder he is charged with is the August 27 killing of a 20
year old migrant named Bakhtemirov in the Moscow Region town of
Zelenograd. Investigators are looking into the student's possible
connection with other racist murders.
JAPANESE DIPLOMAT ATTACKED IN MOSCOW. Three men attacked a Japanese
diplomat in Moscow, according to a September 15 report by the RIA
Novosti news agency. The attack on the Japanese embassy's first
secretary took place the previous evening in Gorky Park. The report
does not mention if the attackers robbed their victim, which suggests
a hate crime.
IN INGUSHETIA, STORES SELLING ALCOHOL SET ON FIRE. Three stores and
one cafe that sell alcohol were burned down in Russia's turbulent
region of Ingushetia, according to a September 9 report by the Sova
Information-Analytical Center. A sign of increasing Islamic radicalism
in the region, the arsons took place during Ramadan. No one was hurt
as a result of the fires. The report offered no information about
arrests in connection with the arsons.
VORONEZH PROSECUTORS FILE HATE CRIME CHARGE. Prosecutors in Voronezh,
Russia charged a 20-year-old suspect with aggravated assault motivated
by ethnic hatred, according to a September 12 report by the news web
site Gazeta.ru. The suspect, along with two other men who have not yet
been charged, allegedly beat and stabbed an ethnic Armenian man on the
night of September 2 while shouting the far-right slogan "Russia for
Russians!" The victim, who was hospitalized, and the young woman he
was walking with reported that seven young men attacked him. Police
detained suspects three days later.
Earlier this month, Voronezh prosecutors filed hate crimes murder
charges against another group of neo-Nazis.
TWO BOROVICHI RESIDENTS FOUND GUILTY OF HATE CRIME. A court in
Borovichi, Russia (Novgorod Region), found two local residents
guilty of a hate crime, according to a September 16 report by the
Sova Information-Analytical Center. Sova cited the local prosecutor's
web site, which just released details about the June 10 sentencing,
as the source for its report. The defendants got six years and two
years in prison respectively for attacking a man from the Caucasus.
ULYANOVSK COURT SENTENCES ANTISEMITIC VANDALS. A court in Ulyanovsk,
Russia sentenced four local residents to prison and fines after
finding them guilty of painting antisemitic death threats on the
building of the Jewish Community Center, according to a September
17 report by the Sem40.ru news web site which specializes in news
pertaining to the Russian Jewish community. The four were convicted of
illegal hate speech after an expert study found that the graffiti was
"an open call to kill Jews." The defendants were sentenced to three
years in prison, one year in prison, and 84 and 80 hours of community
service, respectively.
RUSSIA'S MAIN FAR-RIGHT GROUP SPLITS. A split has occurred in the
ranks of Russia's main far-right group, the Movement Against Illegal
Immigration (DPNI), according to the national daily "Kommersant"
dated September 15. A meeting of 30 regional branches of the DPNI--a
group linked with anti-migrant violence in Kondopoga and other
cities--rejected the proposal of its leader Aleksandr Belov to ally
with "respectable" political parties. The delegates then declared that
Belov is no longer the DPNI's leader because he allied the group with
members of the small party "Narod" which has taken part in liberal
opposition rallies.
Since July, Belov has been trying to turn the DPNI into a mainstream
party, allying it with the Narod party and the extreme nationalist
Great Russia party of Dmitry Rogozin, Russia's ambassador to
NATO. Belov blamed the split on Russia's secret services which he
claimed "hired about 30 skinheads for a little bit of money" to
engineer his ouster.
Both sides of the dispute blame the government, which they accuse of
engineering the split.
YOUTHS ATTACK UKRAINIAN RABBI AND HIS 3-YEAR-OLD SON. Antisemites
attacked the chief rabbi of Vinnitsa, Ukraine, a friend of his from
Canada, and the rabbi's three year old son, according to a report by
local Jewish activist Boris Chizman. On September 11, the three went
out shopping to prepare for the child's birthday party when a group
of youths started shouting "Heil Hitler!" and "We'll kill all the
Jews!" The assailants punched the child in the face, and assaulted the
adults as well until some people in a passing car chased the attackers
away. Rabbi Shaul Govoritz called the police, who detained a group
of suspects shortly afterwards. He characterized the youths as more
than typical "hooligans" saying that "They weren't drunk or crazy. The
young people looked completely normal. They simply hate Jews."
UKRAINIAN POLITICIAN ACCUSED OF ANTISEMITIC AGITATION. Two local Jewish
leaders in Kherson, Ukraine accused a member of the city council of
spreading antisemitic propaganda, according to a September 17 report by
the AEN news agency. Aleksandr Vayner, director of the Kherson Jewish
Charitable-Community Center, and Vitaly Bronshtein, chairman of the
Kherson branch of the Council of Regions of the Jewish Conference
of Ukraine, accused Sergey Kirichenko, a member of the Kherson city
council, of antisemitic incitement. According to their accusation,
Kirichenko has made several appearances on the local radio show "Vik"
accusing Jews of robbing the Ukrainian people, plotting to enslave
Ukrainians, and exterminate Slavs. The deputy allegedly posted
"Catechism of a Jew in the USSR"--a slightly updated version of the
"Protocols of the Elders of Zion"--on his web site. On September 6,
Kirichenko allegedly praised the Nazi occupation of Kherson during
World War II on the "Vik" radio program. Hate speech is illegal in
Ukraine but it is not clear if local authorities will bring charges
against Kirichenko.
POPE STIRS CONTROVERSY IN FRANCE. Pope Benedict XVI's four-day visit,
his first trip to France since his election in 2005, has stirred
political controversy across France, Deutsche Welle reported. "It
would be a folly to deprive ourselves of religion," President
Nicolas Sarkozy said in his greetings and called for a principle of
"positive laicity, open laicity, an invitation to dialogue, tolerance
and respect." Laicity is what the French call their principle of the
separation of church and state, made into a law in 1905 and considered
part of the country's identity. Socialist Party boss Francois Holland
struck back: "There is no positive or negative laicity, no open or
closed laicity, no tolerant or intolerant laicity. There is only
laicity."
In his unusually warm welcome, Sarkozy applauded the pontiff's
thoughts on religion and freedom. Sarkozy declared that religion does
not represent a danger for any democracy and that Christian values
constituted a "living patrimony" for the entire society. Benedict,
81, warned that Western cultural efforts to marginalize religion and
believers would bring disaster for humanity and ultimately "play into
the hands of fanaticism."
In an address to academics including Muslims at the College des
Bernardins, a 13th century landmark confiscated during the French
Revolution and reacquired by the Church recently, the pontiff
denounced "fundamentalist fanaticism." "It would be a disaster if
today's European culture could only conceive freedom as absence
of obligation, which would invariably play into the hands of
fanaticism and arbitrariness," he said. In reporting on Benedict's
"multi-dimensional" approach to different elements in French
society, the Catholic News Service (CNS) also praised his summary
"in 20 graceful lines the Church's respect for Judaism and its firm
rejection of antisemitism." According to CNS, the pontiff "attempted
to build on the new openness shown the Church by President Sarkozy."
Speaking on Sunday at the famous pilgrimage site Lourdes, the pontiff
said that to "emphasize the Christian roots of France... a new way
must be found to interpret and experience every day the fundamental
values on which a nation's identity is built." He then praised Sarkozy,
saying: "Your president has described a way."
* * * QUOTE OF THE WEEK, RUSSIA'S RETURN TO DEMOCRACY MUST BE OUR
FOCUS * * * "Restoring Georgian independence and the confidence of
Russia's other democratic neighbors is critical," wrote ex-gulag
prisoner Natan Sharansky in an opinion piece in "The Washington
Post" dated September 14. "But if the root of the problem is to be
addressed strategically, the focus must return not to this or that
specific foreign policy action by Russia but rather to the matter of
democracy within Russia itself. This linkage must be broad and deep,
and it must be reinforced by an international community willing to
shine a light on Russia's retreat from democracy."
EU WALKS A TIGHTROPE IN GEORGIA Caught Between Anger and Fear, EU Is
Finding Its Way While NATO and U.S. Talk Tough
On September 14, Russia completed the withdrawal of its troops
from western Georgia, including the key Black Sea port of Poti, in
accordance with the ceasefire agreement reached on September 8. That
agreement also stipulated that the EU must have at least 200 observers
in place in Georgia by October 1 if Russia is to withdraw its troops
from the "buffer zones" it set up unilaterally, following the original
ceasefire agreement.
1. EU MOVES QUICKLY WITH OBSERVER MISSION. Angered by Russia's
tactics but worried about their dependence on Russian energy, the
Europeans moved quickly. On September 15, EU foreign ministers gave
the go-ahead for a 200-strong observer mission to Georgia, and 11
EU countries--the Baltic states, Belgium, Britain, France, Germany,
Italy, Poland, Spain, and Sweden--pledged support for the mission. But
the question remains whether the observers will be deployed in the
breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, as well. EU foreign
policy chief Javier Solana said that the bloc's priority is to deploy
200 observers in Georgia before October 1. "After that, we will see how
the situation evolves," Solana said. British Foreign Minister David
Miliband sounded more resolute, saying that "We are very committed
to making sure that we play our full part in that important mission,
meeting the deadline and getting the right number of people in at
the right time to the right places." In addition, the Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has a mandate to post
observers in South Ossetia, and talks are under way to boost their
number by another 80, said Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb
who holds the OSCE's rotating presidency.
Moscow has announced that it will maintain close to 8,000 troops in
South Ossetia and Abkhazia in the foreseeable future, even though
the EU and the United States charge a flagrant violation of Russia's
commitment to withdraw to pre-war positions. Russia has rejected
any suggestion that the EU send its own observers into the breakaway
regions, leaving EU foreign ministers walking a tight-rope as they
define the mission's mandate. Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini
explained: "We need the agreement of all sides involved, because we
do not want to act as an occupying force." While some member states
are pushing for a specific reference to the breakaway regions, others
argue that the wording should be left ambiguous to avoid antagonizing
Moscow, diplomats told reporters.
On September 17, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed friendship
treaties with Abkhazia and South Ossetia and pledged them Russia's
military backing. The treaties formalize military, diplomatic, and
economic cooperation between Moscow and the separatist regions,
which Russia has recognized as independent states though so far,
only Nicaragua has followed.
However, on September 18, talks on sending more monitors to Georgia
broke down because of disputes with Russia about where they should be
deployed, the OSCE announced. "We don't see the point of continuing
negotiations in Vienna at this stage," Antti Turunen of Finland,
current chairman of the OSCE's Permanent Council, was quoted by Reuters
as saying. "They have been put on hold. The area of responsibility
for monitors is the main sticking point." Georgia's OSCE envoy cited
Moscow's "absolutely non-constructive" demand that South Ossetian
authorities should decide the future OSCE mandate because the region
is now independent.
2. EU TO SEND MORE AID TO GEORGIA. More important in the long run,
the EU Commission is ready to provide "up to 500 million euros"
($714 million) in additional aid to Georgia, Deutsche Welle quoted
Benita Ferrero-Waldner as saying on September 15. That money comes on
top of the roughly 100 million euros already authorized for Georgia
this year and the bilateral aid provided separately by individual EU
member states. The money is intended for 2008-2010, to be used in four
areas: refugees and internally displaced people, economic recovery,
financial stabilization, and infrastructure. The package will be
conditional on Georgia enforcing democracy and political reform,
Ferrero-Waldner said. "The European Commission is at the heart of
efforts to rebuild stability and shattered confidence in Georgia,"
the commissioner added. Though the package is intended to cover
Georgia's breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia as well,
a decision on that issue will be taken "in phases," she said. She
stressed that the commission will ensure that Georgia will not use
the money to buy weapons. Some recent reports have claimed that the
Georgian authorities are using EU funding to buy arms.
3. RUSSIA HAS NO VETO ON NATO MEMBERSHIP APPLICATIONS, NATO CHIEF
SAYS. On September 16, NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer
issued an unambiguous statement to the effect that the Western alliance
will continue its expansion program despite Russian opposition
and warned Moscow that it has no veto on Georgia's bid to become a
member. In a speech at Tbilisi State University, NATO chief Scheffer
said that "the road to NATO is still wide open" and Russia could not
break the alliance's ties with the former Soviet republic through
military action. "The process of NATO enlargement will continue, with
due caution but also with a clear purpose--to help create a stable,
undivided Europe," he said. He was accompanied by the NATO ambassadors
of all 26 allies member states that news agencies interpreted as an
unusual display of unity.
Scheffer condemned Russia's recognition of the two separatist regions
in Georgia, saying its sovereignty and territorial integrity must be
respected. He also called on Moscow to tone down its rhetoric in the
wake of the war. He pointed out that NATO is "not in the business of
punishing Russia" and does not want to be. "Punishing Russia is not
the way forward. The way forward, really, is to help Georgia," he said.
NATO would not accept Russian demands that it choose between Russia
and Georgia, Scheffer added.
On September 17, Russia's Foreign Ministry condemned a visit to
Georgia by senior NATO officials as "anti-Russian" and confirming
NATO's "Cold War-era reflexes."
On September 18, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice declared that
Russian leaders will not accomplish "their primary war aim of removing
Georgia's government." She said that Russia's military action failed
to achieve its objectives and has put Russia on a path to "self-imposed
isolation and international irrelevance." The following day, President
Medvedev charged that Russia is being forced behind an Iron Curtain
and blamed NATO for "provoking" the Georgia conflict. "This is not
our path," he said. "For us there is no sense going back to the past."
4. NEW CLAIMS ABOUT THE WAR'S START AND MEANING. Russia only sent
troops and tanks to drive Georgian forces out of South Ossetia after
President George Bush failed to pressure Georgian President Mikheil
Saakashvili to stop his attack, Russian Premier Vladimir Putin told
Western journalists and Russia experts on September 11 in Sochi. He
claimed that during two meetings at the Beijing Olympics Bush failed
to give him sufficient assurances on halting the war in Georgia.
Putin assured the annual gathering organized by the Valday
international debate club that Russia has no "imperial ambitions"
and that another Cold War is not on the way. He also claimed that
his government "determined that nongovernmental organizations had
been formed in some republics of the North Caucasus that, under the
pretext that South Ossetia was not protected, had begun raising the
question of separating from Russia."
Speaking with the same group in Moscow on September 12, President
Medvedev characterized NATO's promise to eventually extend membership
to Georgia "unjust," "humiliating," and "intolerable" for Moscow.
However, the basic message that Putin and Medvedev delivered to Valday
was that Russia wants to return to business-as-usual relations with
the West, "The Moscow Times" quoted Alexander Rahr, a leading Russia
expert at Germany's Council on Foreign Relations, as saying.
Medvedev called on Western elites to stop thinking of Russia as an
ideological heir of the Soviet Union and expressed the hope that
the current escalation of tensions in Russia's relations with the
West would be brief. But, according to Jonathan Steele of Britain's
"Guardian," "not everyone present [at the Valday meetings] was
convinced that this was the direction developments would take."
On September 16, Georgian authorities released recordings of cellphone
calls that allegedly prove that Russian troops began moving into
South Ossetia on August 6, a day before Georgia attacked. Both "The
New York Times" and "The Washington Post" seemed inclined to accept
the authenticity of the intercepts that Russia's Foreign Ministry
promptly fobbed off as "not serious."
5. GEORGIA WAR SWELLED THE NUMBER OF RUSSIANS DISLIKING U.S., POLL
SAYS. Russians do not expect the current deterioration of relations
with the West to evolve into another Cold War, the Kremlin-controlled
polling agency All-Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VTsIOM)
found, according to "Vremya Novostei" dated September 12. Valery
Fedorov of VTsIOM also disclosed opinion polls that suggest that the
old Soviet thesis "War is peace" is deeply implanted in the Russian
consciousness.
According to VTsIOM, two months ago--before the war in the
Caucasus--49% of respondents admitted that they liked America "just
fine." But their number has dropped to 22% these days. The ranks of
those who dislike the United States in the meantime swelled from 29%
to 65%. Asked what they thought about Russian-U.S. relations, 37%
found them strained, 11% hostile, and 29% cold.
6. LAVROV WORRIED ABOUT SPREAD OF 'ANTI-RUSSIAN VIRUS.' Russian Foreign
Minister Sergey Lavrov is concerned about the trend of worsening
relations not only between the leaders of the Russian Federation and
Georgia but also between the peoples of the two countries, Interfax
reported on September 15. In a meeting with journalists following
his visits to Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Lavrov called the trend
"dangerous" and argued that "the anti-Russian virus" has found "its
way into the collective mentality."