Union of Councils for Soviet Jews: Bigotry Monitor: Volume Two, Number 3

News

Bigotry Monitor: Volume Two, Number 3

(January 18, 2001)

Volume Two, Number 3
Friday, January 18, 2002

BIGOTRY MONITOR

A Weekly Human Rights Newsletter on Antisemitism, Xenophobia, and Religious Persecution in the Former Communist World and Western Europe

EDITOR: CHARLES FENYVESI

(News and Editorial Policy within the sole discretion of the editor)

Published by UCSJ: Union of Councils for Jews in the Former Soviet Union
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U.S. CONDEMNS RUSSIAN TACTICS IN CHECHNYA. The United States has sharply criticized recent Russian military moves in Chechnya and questioned the wisdom of stopping "encouraging contacts" with the rebels. "The latest information on Russian operations in Chechnya indicates a continuation of human rights violations and the use of overwhelming force against civilian targets," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said on January 10. He again acknowledged the existence of "terrorist factions in Chechnya with ties to al-Qaeda and the international terrorism networks. And as part of the war on terrorism, we are cooperating with the Russians on cutting off those kinds of ties." He added that President George Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell have told their Russian counterparts "that only a political solution can end the domestic conflict." But, he continued: "Unfortunately, the Russians have not pursued the initial and encouraging contacts with Chechen separatists. So the lack of a political solution and the number of credible reports of massive human rights violations, we believe, contribute to an environment that is favorable towards terrorism." The final sentence of Boucher's statement echoed the Bush administration's carefully balanced assessment: "So we will continue to urge both sides to seek a political solution to the war, and we continue to urge accountability for human rights violations."

While the American press paid little attention to the State Department's reiteration of known U.S. positions, Russians responded angrily with charges that Washington is once again interfering in Russia's internal affairs and applying "a double standard," meaning one set of standards for al-Qaeda terrorists and another for the Chechen rebels. On January 14, Peter Baker of "The Washington Post" reported from Moscow that analysts there perceive tensions "beginning to reemerge" but no danger to the alliance forged by Presidents Bush and Vladimir Putin after September 11. "In the last several weeks, there has been almost no movement forward in Russian-American relations," Sergei Rogov, director of the Institute for USA and Canada Studies, told "The Post." "Today it's a slogan without substance." Without progress, Rogov warned, old issues such as human rights and Chechnya can return to the forefront. "We need some progress and, in fact, the new Russian-American relations should be fixed in the next several months before President Bush comes here. If we don't have new agreements and arrangements, then the window of opportunity may begin to close." While Rogov's criticisms sounded constructive, "Izvestiya" was caustic: "Things have returned to what they used to be before the September 11 terrorist attacks -- the same rhetoric, the same criticism, the same arrogant tone of a mentor. As if there had not been a four-month-long moratorium on criticism of Russia, although not officially declared yet strictly observed."

On January 13, the Russian military dismissed a request by human rights groups that it halt "mopping-up operations" in Chechnya and stop security sweeps and blockades of towns and villages. In a meeting with Memorial and other Russian human rights groups who charged massive abuses by the federal troops, General Vladimir Moltenskoy, commander of Russian forces in the North Caucasus, declared that rebel activity made such measures indispensable, according to Itar-Tass. On a visit to Warsaw, President Putin told the Polish press that a political dialogue in Chechnya was under way with "the citizenry and everybody who wants the dialogue," simultaneously with military operations. On January 17, "Nezavasimaya Gazeta" suggested that "this was the Kremlin's way of showing the world that it does not refuse to talk peace."

MOSCOW REJECTS U.S. CRITICISMS ON PRESS FREEDOM IN RUSSIA. On January 14, the Russian Foreign Ministry filed a note with the U.S. Embassy to protest the presence of two U.S. diplomats at a rally in Vladivostok in support of Grigory Pasko. A military journalist convicted of treason on December 25 in a Vladivostok court and sentenced to four years in prison, Pasko exposed on Japanese television nuclear waste dumping by Russia's Pacific Fleet. The U.S. Embassy said the two officials attended the demonstration on January 10, but only to watch. Human rights organizations and newspaper editorials have warned that Pasko's conviction threatens the cause of free speech and freedom of the press. On January 15, Pasko said he would not ask for a pardon despite President Putin's offer to consider such a request. His attorney, Anatoly Pyshkin, told reporters: "To ask for a pardon would mean to admit guilt and agree with the verdict." Rallies calling for Pasko's release have been held in ten Russian cities so far. The Pasko case strains relations between Russia and the West. President Jacques Chirac raised the subject during Putin's brief visit to Paris and was told that the Russian head of state had no authority over the court's decision.

In phrases recalling the old days, the Russian Foreign Ministry has also accused the United States of attempting to pressure Russian courts to reverse a decision to liquidate TV6, usually identified in the press as the last major independent national television channel in Russia. The Foreign Ministry found U.S. statements on the subject "a manifestation of double standards concerning the freedom of the press in Russia" and characterized American efforts as constituting "a call to put pressure on the courts, which is inadmissible."

HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH ANNUAL REPORT FINDS MORE PROBLEMS THAN PROGRESS. In its just-released 670-page "World Report 2001," Human Rights Watch (HRW) noted "impatience" with "the uneven progress on human rights" in Europe and Central Asia in the ten years since the failed 1991 coup in Moscow. That impatience turned to "regret at lost opportunities" in the interlude between the Cold War and the war on terrorism. While ethnic conflicts engulfed parts of the disintegrating USSR and Yugoslavia, central and east European countries instituted reforms in the hope of joining the European Community, which itself became "increasingly intolerant of immigration and ethnic diversity." HRW finds that since September 11, the prospects for tackling the region's human rights problems dimmed because of "the competing and overriding anti-terrorism imperative." Governments "from Skopje to Moscow scrambled to cast their own often brutal internal conflicts as part of the new international antiterrorist cause." In Western Europe, leaders "ramped up their anti-immigrant rhetoric" and, using the slogan of fighting terrorism, "further restricted the rights of migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers." At the same time, "criticisms of human rights abuse softened," particularly for states important to the U.S.-led action in Afghanistan. The United States and Uzbekistan announced a "qualitatively new relationship," notwithstanding the latter's "brutal crackdown on independent Muslims." German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder urged a reevaluation of Russia's war in Chechnya. In November, President Bush praised Russian President Putin's talk of negotiating peace in Chechnya without giving due recognition to Russia's violations of international norms.

What HRW called "the most alarming development" in 2001 occurred in Central Asia, where the transition from the Soviet Union brought "ever more repressive governance." After September 11, these governments became key allies of the U.S.-led campaign in Afghanistan. HRW singled out "the apparently unconditional U.S. relationship with Uzbekistan, where Islam Karimov's dictatorship permitted no true opposition political activity, no civil society, and no independent media, and locked up and tortured thousands who dared demonstrate independent thinking." HRW cited U.S. officials arguing that the new relationship puts them in a better position to address gross violations, but, according to the report, there has been no relief from the Uzbek government's assault on human rights defenders, dissidents, and religious believers, and convictions on trumped-up charges continue.

"Terrorists believe that anything goes in the name of their cause," said Kenneth Roth, HRW's executive director. "The fight against terror must not buy into that logic. Human rights principles must not be compromised in the name of any cause." Roth argued that the anti-terrorism campaign will not succeed if it is conducted "merely as a struggle against a particularly ruthless set of criminals. To defeat the fundamental amorality of terrorism requires a firm grounding in international human rights."

MONARCHISTS, COMMUNISTS, TEETOTALERS, AND ANTISEMITES UNITE. A crowd of mostly elderly demonstrators gathered in Nizhny Novgorod in early December to protest the widespread sale and advertisement of alcohol in the city, according to the December 7-13, 2001 issue of the local "Novoe Delo" newspaper. Holding signs like "If you drink wine and beer, you are a lackey of Tel Aviv!" as well as yelling other antisemitic slogans, the demonstrators seemed to discourage alcohol consumption by linking it to Jews. The rally was organized by the antisemitic monarchist group Otchizna, but attracted some Communists as well. The newspaper criticized policemen stationed nearby for "not reacting in any way" to "illegal hate speeches" by rally participants. When interviewed by the newspaper, one young passerby said: "When you see signs like 'If you drink wine and beer, you are a lackey of Tel Aviv' it makes you want to go out and buy a bottle of vodka just out of spite."

FAR LEFT ANTISEMITE LOOKS FOR ALLIES AMONG ARMY OFFICERS AND BELIEVERS. The political movement called Working Russia, led by the antisemitic Communist Viktor Anpilov, is forging an alliance with military officers and will soon begin recruiting among believers, according to Anpilov's statements at a press conference covered by the Moscow daily "Kommersant" of January 10. He boasted about "the unity of Working Russia and the army," and presented as evidence Colonel Valentin Polyansky, Russian Cossack Ataman Mikhail Filin, and Union of Soviet Officers leader Vladimir Tkachenko. Polyansky, deputy commander of the 106th Tula Airborne Division and a veteran of both Chechen wars, said he might soon leave the army and join "a patriotic organization" such as Working Russia. When a reporter asked Polyansky if there are other army officers who feel the same way, Anpilov answered, saying that many officers including generals are interested but he cannot give out names for fear of damaging their reputations. Launched in 1992, Working Russia's electoral support has declined sharply in recent years. It peaked in the 1996 Duma elections, when it came close to crossing the 5 percent barrier, which would have given it several seats.

TATARSTAN EXPELS TWO U.S. MORMON MISSIONARIES Two missionaries from the United States spotted in Kazan by officers of Tatarstan's Ministry of Interior had their visas curtailed and had to leave Russia on January 10, according to Keston News Service. A Tatar Ministry of Interior official told Keston that the two missionaries had been denied registration in Tatarstan -- an autonomous republic within the Russian Federation -- because their Mormon congregation did not have registration. The Mormons' Russian lawyer, Lev Simkin, told Keston that the Tatarstan authorities' decision violates the constitutional principle of freedom of movement by foreign citizens. The registration application of the Kazan Mormons' congregation has made no progress in two and a half years even though the registering body is obliged to decide on registration within a month, or within six months if an expert commission is appointed. Contacted by Keston on January 16, Gulnara Abdurakhmanova, the head of the department for the registration of religious organizations at Tatarstan's Ministry of Justice, claimed that her office has no current application from the Mormons, adding that "the subject was closed long ago."

ARMENIAN COURT CONVICTS DRAFT OBJECTOR. On January 15, Genrik Ovnikyan, 21, a member of a Jehovah's Witnesses congregation, was found guilty by an Armenian court for refusing to serve in the army, according to the Armenian news agency Yerevan Armininfo quoting local Jehovah's Witnesses. The church, which claims 7,000 members in the country, reports that more than a hundred of its members have been convicted of the same offense, despite the state's commitment to the Council of Europe to adopt a law on alternative military service. The registration application of Jehovah's Witnesses is pending.

IMMIGRATION ISSUE TO LOOM LARGE IN GERMAN ELECTIONS. The outspoken Bavarian Premier Edmund Stoiber emphasizes his tough stance against immigration in challenging Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder in the upcoming German national elections, according to news agency dispatches. "With 4.3 million unemployed, we can't have more foreign workers coming to Germany," Stoiber told the press on January 16 in Kreuth, at a meeting of his Christian Social Union party, often identified in the press as "ultraconservative." His statement, one of the first since his nomination last Friday, coincided with an opinion poll indicating that the conservatives had overtaken the center-left Social Democrats and would score 41 percent or five points ahead of them if elections were held now. The German press expects the thorny issue of immigration to dominate the election campaign. The Berlin daily "Der Tagesspiegel" suggested that "the arch-conservative from the southern state of Bavaria" would have to tone down his rhetoric to win votes in the liberal north. Reuters quoted analysts warning that Stoiber's hard-line views could "polarize" voters. Schroeder expressed confidence that he would beat his opponent who, he said, "abandons the middle ground.'' So far the election posters of Schroeder's party have focused on Stoiber's reputation as a right-winger, and some leaders have compared Stoiber to Italy's Silvio Berlusconi and Austria's Joerg Haider.

* * * QUOTE OF THE WEEK * * * Assessing Vladimir Putin's two years as head of state, Lilia Shevtsova, senior analyst with the Moscow Carnegie Center, wrote in "Obshchaya Gazeta" on January 10: "Putin's modernization is simultaneously an opportunity and a threat for Russia. The chance is that having overcome the lethargy of 2000, the president made two breakthroughs: He restored the economic reforms and turned the country towards the West. The threat is that he is again trying to reform Russia without involving the civil society in the process. Thus, the current reforms work for the bureaucracy and the tycoons and preserve stagnation and parasitical structures."

COUNCIL OF EUROPE PRODS ROMANIA TO OBSERVE ITS TREATY OBLIGATIONS
New Study Scores Romania for Discrimination Against Its Roma Minority

Like others in the region, many Romanians are in the habit of shrugging off the disadvantaged status of the Roma (also known as Gypsies and Romanies) as a centuries-old arrangement that may take centuries to change. But the treatment of minorities -- and increasingly the special case of the ubiquitous Roma -- is a key issue in screening applicants to the European Union (EU), whose representatives are frequent visitors to countries with sizable Roma populations. Reports bearing the imprimatur of the Council of Europe hold governments accountable for the accumulated sins of the past. Official reactions denying discrimination are no longer acceptable, and charges of insulting the nation's honor are quietly ignored. Given the numerous benefits offered by the European Economic Community and the needs of Romania's precarious economy, the stakes are very high. Though worried about the strong and vocal far-right component in the Romanian electorate, Bucharest is making efforts to live up to EU expectations.

Under the aegis of the Council of Europe, the Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities has studied Romania's multi-ethnic mosaic and has expressed "deep concern" with "numerous acts of discrimination" directed against the Roma minority in "a wide range of societal settings." The Advisory Committee is particularly concerned with the persistent practice of police brutality against the Roma. The committee's report was adopted in April 2001 but made public in Strasbourg only on January 10 this year, after consultation with state authorities in Bucharest. Some human rights activists find the entire process laborious and bending over backwards to be friendly to the government. Others argue that the diplomatic approach does bring incremental results.

EU officials are courteous and tactful but persistent. For instance, the Advisory Committee's report "recognizes the cooperative spirit shown by the Romanian authorities" after the report's submission and throughout the process which led to the report's final adoption. While the report expresses its concern with "the persistence of wide socio-economic differences and living conditions between a large number of Roma and the remaining population, which are aggravated by the unsatisfactory status of the Roma in the educational system," the sentence begins with a clause that has the footprint of a government editor: "Despite the determination of the authorities to speed up the social integration of the Roma."

Moreover, the Advisory Committee states that it found "that Romania has made commendable efforts to support minorities and their cultures including through the establishment of a Council of National Minorities and the introduction of a right to a special representation in the Parliament." In particular, the committee welcomed "the improvements recorded in recent years in the inter-community relations in particular between the Hungarian minority and other parts of the population of Romania. It notes with satisfaction that the policy pursued has contributed to the promotion of a climate of greater tolerance towards minorities and expresses the hope that the authorities will consolidate these achievements in the future."

Popular reactions do not justify the Advisory Committee's optimism, as inter-ethnic relations remain strained. A recent opinion poll conducted for the Cluj-based Ethnic Diversity Resource Center showed that only 22 percent of Romanians from Transylvania think that Romanian-Hungarian relations within the country have improved compared to 1989, though 44 percent of ethnic Hungarians agree with this statement. Asked if they view their relationship as cooperative, only 43 percent of Romanians and 51 percent of ethnic Hungarians agreed. On December 16, 2001 representatives of the Hungarian minority were the only the ones who did not sign a declaration to support Romania's accession to the EU, the local news agency Mediafax reported. Gyula Szep of the Hungarian Democratic Federation in Romania said that the declaration contains "worn-out and exaggerated" phrases, and that Romania cannot be considered a model for interethnic harmony. He added that several basic requests by the ethnic Hungarian minority -- such as the establishment of a Hungarian-language university and the return of confiscated church properties -- remain unanswered.

The Advisory Committee noted that the Romanian Constitutional Court in its decision in July 1999 "incorrectly stated" that Romania had not ratified the Framework Convention on National Minorities. "The Advisory Committee considers that awareness of this instrument (as well as of other international human rights standards) is one of the essential factors in establishing and maintaining a pluralist and genuinely democratic society," the report said, and called "of crucial importance" that awareness of Romania's signature on human rights documents engage both the judicial system and civil society. The Committee suggested that the government "take further measures to improve awareness of the Framework Convention, its explanatory report, and the rules concerning its monitoring at the international level," including the publication and dissemination of the Advisory Committee's report.
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