Union of Councils for Soviet Jews: Bigotry Monitor: Volume 3, Number 11

News

Bigotry Monitor: Volume 3, Number 11

(March 14, 2003)

Volume 3, Number 11
Friday, March 14, 2003

BIGOTRY MONITOR
A Weekly Human Rights Newsletter on Antisemitism, Xenophobia, andReligious 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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COMMUNISTS PUSH FOR THE SUPREMACY OF THE RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH. Of the two draft laws submitted to the Duma on a "social partnership" between the state and religious organizations, the bill introduced by a Communist member of the Duma demands recognition for the Russian Orthodox Church as the only truly traditional religion in the country, makes no mention of other Christian denominations or Judaism, and allows a special status to Islam and Buddhism only in some regions, according to "Nezavisimaya Gazeta" on March 4. The other draft law, submitted by independent deputy Aleksandr Chuev, is "less candid although the terms contained within it for acquiring the status of a 'traditional organization of federal significance' are more suited to the Russian Orthodox Church and a certain sector of Russia's Muslim community," the Moscow daily reported.

According to the more radical Communist version submitted by Sergey Glazyev, a religious organization attempting to prove its right to property confiscated by the Soviet government must be able to demonstrate continuity with its pre-revolutionary predecessors not only in its "theological principles" but also in its "management structures." The Communist draft makes it clear that "if the traditional nature of a religious organization and the continuity of its existence have been proven, that organization can confidently take legal action and demand the restitution of its property," the newspaper wrote. “So to all intents and purposes, Catholics might as well not bother at all, while not all Muslim associations will be able to lay claim to material wealth."

"Nezavisimaya Gazeta" notes that "the left" as represented by the Communists is more zealous than "the right" as represented by an independent Duma member in pushing for an intensification of the role of the Orthodox Church in society and hints that the reason is the approaching elections and the clout of the Russian Orthodox Church.

HRW CALLS ON U.S. AND EU TO PRESS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS, RELIGIOUS FREEDOM. The United States and the European Union (EU) have a special responsibility to pull the United Nations Commission on Human Rights back from "sliding into irrelevance," HRW said in a statement on March 12, in advance of the annual meeting of the U.N. Commission on Human Rights, scheduled to begin on March 17. Several of the world's worst rights violators are now among its 53 members, HRW said, charging that "governments who have felt the sting of human rights scrutiny have sought to immunize themselves against criticism by working energetically to limit monitoring by the Commission." Noting that Libya is assuming the chairmanship of the Commission, HRW criticized countries of the EU and the United States for their "indifference to that trend" and accused them of being "at times complicit in it."

HRW also protested that once again, the new State Department list of countries that deny religious freedom failed to mention "some of the world's most egregious violators" that are partners in the war on terrorism, such as Saudi Arabia, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan "where the right to worship freely is systematically violated." The State Department designated the same six countries it listed in 2001-- Burma, China, Iran, Iraq, North Korea, and Sudan -- as "Countries of Particular Concern" under the International Religious Freedom Act. "The Bush administration says it wants to promote human rights in the Muslim world," said Tom Malinowski, Washington advocacy director for HRW. "But it can hardly say it's trying if it's afraid to state the simple truth about some of its partners."

On top of HRW's list of violators of religious freedom is Saudi Arabia. Next is Uzbekistan, which is again not designated as a Country of Particular Concern, even though for nearly five years its government has persecuted thousands of individuals whose practice of Islam falls beyond state controls. In a paper published in August 2002, HRW reported the arbitrary arrest, unfair trials, and torture of hundreds of independent Muslims in Uzbekistan since October 2001, the last time the administration issuedits religious freedom designations. In 2002, HRW documented five deaths in custody, apparently as a result of torture, of men convicted for their religious practices or affiliations. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom had recommended that Uzbekistan be placed on a "watch list" of countries that might be designated as major violators if they do not change their practices. But the State Department list released last week failed to put Uzbekistan on notice, or to urge reform there, HRW noted.

Also not designated was Turkmenistan, called by HRW one of the world's most repressive countries, which in 1997 outlawed all religions except Sunni Islam and Russian Orthodoxy. Among the groups HRW calls "most affected by the Turkmen government's draconian restrictions on religion" are Jehovah's Witnesses, Pentacostalists, Baptists, Adventists, and Hare Krishnas. Islamic groups also suffer state harassment. The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom had recommended that the administration designate Turkmenistan a Country of Particular Concern.

UN COMMITTEE FAVORS RUSSIAN LAW AGAINST RACISM, MINISTER SAYS. In a two-day session in Geneva that ended on March 11, the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) was positive in its assessment of Russian laws against racism and extremism, Nationalities Minister Vladimir Zorin, head of the Russian delegation, told Itar-Tass. "Committee members displayed understanding of the complexity of tasks Russia is facing," Zorin said. He characterized his discussions with other delegates as "constructive, interested, and frank." In the language of diplomacy, the word "constructive" suggests that the talks will continue, "interested" means nothing, and "frank" implies disagreements.

In between the lines of the semi-official Itar-Tass dispatch, criticisms of the Russian record are indicated. "The delegates held debates on a number of issues which the Committee regarded as problems for Russia," Zorin said. "These are the position of Meskhetian Turks, the solution of social and economic problems of Gypsies, and possible discrimination through registration practices. The Committee called for further dialog between the Russian authorities and non-governmental organizations." This newsletter could not locate any other news report on the sessions.

In the days leading up to the Geneva meeting, the Russian government showed some nervousness. On March 6 in Moscow, Zorin joined Russia's Human Rights Commissioner Oleg Mironov in calling on both Russian and international human rights activists for impartial evaluations of the nationalities issue in Russia. According to Interfax, Zorin cited the anti-extremism law as evidence that the Russian state has recently been paying more attention to ethnic minorities. He said that his report made assessments differing from those in an alternative report prepared at the UN's request by Russian human rights groups. Mironov branded the latter report as "fragmentary." "You should see the whole picture," he said. Itar-Tass quoted Mironov as saying, ever so diplomatically: "There is no reason either for complacency or for blacklisting our country." According to Interfax, Mironov charged that some international monitors use unverified information. He said: "For example, how can you give advice to the Russian authorities if you're in Strasbourg and have never been to Russia?"

According to Interfax, Russian officials accused human rights groups of presenting biased reports.

Mironov welcomed quotas for the number of aliens resident in Russia, adding that formalizing labor immigration would be a good idea. He stated: "It's absolutely wrong to try to represent Russians as nationalists who are ready to drive members of smaller peoples out of the regions where Russians are the predominant population." He said the majority of marriages in Russia are mixed and that historically, smaller ethnic groups "have not been exterminated, but have been assimilated."

RUSSIA CLAIMS 50 SOLDIERS CONVICTED FOR CRIMES IN CHECHNYA. On March 6, Russia's Chief Military Prosecutor Alexander Savenkov said that military courts have convicted 50 Russian soldiers for crimes against civilians during three years of war against separatists in Chechnya, according to Interfax. However human rights activists dismissed the announcement as an attempt to give an impression of transparency before a referendum on Chechnya's future. They said that considering how widespread the abuses have been, very few soldiers were brought to justice. Interfax quoted Savenkov as saying that in the last two months alone, military courts have convicted four soldiers for crimes committed in Chechnya. More than 150 other cases are being examined, military sources told Reuters.

The Russian war in Chechnya has been sharply criticized by human rights groups that accused the military of indiscriminate arrests and a failure to prosecute perpetrators. Activists said Savenkov's figures showed how ineffective the army has been in tracking down abusers. "The release of the figures is probably connected to the referendum as well," said Alexander Cherkasov of Memorial, a respected Russian rights group. "It is obvious there is a system of supporting and hiding criminality." Memorial says it has evidence of widespread abductions and murders by soldiers in the province, but Savenkov said many abuses were discovered and punished.

DUMA DEPUTY BLAMES JEWISH CONSPIRACY FOR WAR AGAINST IRAQ. State Duma deputy Ivan Aparin, who represents the Slavgorod district in Altay Kray, blamed the coming war against Iraq on "World Zionism" in an op-ed piece in the local newspaper "Altayskaya Pravda" on March 5. Aparin was one of 27 Duma deputies, most of them Communists, who recently returned from a trip to Iraq. He called Iraqi leaders "passionate patriots" and "wonderful specialists in the sphere of knowledge of international economics and the history of development, which strengthens their justness in the struggle against Israeli, American, and British hegemonism." He contended that "the events of September 11" represented "a huge provocation created by the USA itself in order to bring the whole world to its knees."

Aparin has a past history of making antisemitic statements. In an interview in January, 2002, he told "Golos Truda," the local Communist newspaper: "Frightened by the Paris Commune, revolutionary movements, the [Communist] Manifesto, and the slogan 'Proletarians of all countries, unite!' the Jewish bankers-usurers founded a network of secret societies for the total control of opposition political parties. One hundred and fifty years ago, they founded a secret world government codenamed 'The Committee of the 300.' Jewish international bankers nurtured with their finances the fascist party of Hitler and helped bring him to power. The concept of 'Drang nach Osten' [German for 'a drive to the East' against the USSR] suited them."

SUSPENDED SENTENCE FOR KHABAROVSK EDITOR CONVICTED OF INCITING HATRED. Last month, Sergey Lukyanenko, editor of the recently banned Khabarovsk newspaper "Nation," was convicted of inciting ethnic hatred and given a two year suspended sentence, according to local newspaper reports. An expert study of the paper commissioned by the court found that it contained numerous expressions (including words such as "kike" and "kike-Christian") designed to incite hatred of Jews and to assert the idea of the superiority of one race over another. The study also found articles that called for the violent overthrow of the government.

In its coverage of the case, "Tikhookeanskaya Zvezda" criticized the authorities for not pressing charges against Denis Akhmetzyanov, a Khabarovsk law student who wrote articles for "Nation" under the pseudonym Roehm, in honor of Ernst Roehm, founder of the Nazi stormtroopers known as the SA.

According to "Molodoy Dalnevostochnik," a newspaper that has been calling for the shutdown of "Nation" and a crackdown on local neo-Nazis, Lukyanenko promised as a condition of his suspended sentence to "show through his behavior that he is reformed." However, he has been identified as the chief mover behind efforts to register the far-right National Great Power Party of Russia (NDPR) in Khabarovsk. According to "Molodoy Dalnevostochnik," documents that Lukyanenko submitted as part of the NDPR's local registration process suggest that he has not reformed.

AFRICAN STUDENTS FIGHT BACK. After a racially charged incident of violence involving African students, police in Nizhny Novgorod have increased their presence near the city's medical academy, according to a March 4 report by the "Nizhegorodskoe Telegrafonoe Agenstvo." On March 2, a group of African students beat three local youths near the medical academy after accusing them of participating in an earlier racist attack on African students.

The district police chief, Aleksandr Fomin, was quoted in the report as saying that extra security around the medical academy was necessary to prevent a revenge attack by skinheads.

MOSCOW HACKER CHARGED WITH INCITING ETHNIC HATRED. A Moscow computer hacker has been charged with inciting ethnic and religious hatred for repeatedly disrupting the Russian Muslim web site "Islam.ru," according to "Moskovskaya Pravda" of February 28. The hacker, whose name was not reported, was arrested in October 2002. Moscow police said that the hacker confessed his crimes in a letter to the administrator of the site.

PAPAL ENVOY SNUBBED IN RUSSIAN TOWN. A Vatican envoy, Papal Nuncio Antonio Mennini, visiting Tula was not allowed inside a chapel in the city, just south of Moscow. The church was built by local Catholics in the 19th century, the Moscow-based television station TVS reported on March 3. According to the station, the chapel now houses a forensic laboratory, and the Catholic parishioners of Tula have not been able to get the laboratory relocated. Mennini was also unable to visit the house of writer Leo Tolstoy, which "is usually open to all VIPs." His requests to meet with the oblast's Communist Governor Vasily Starodubtsev and Tula Mayor Sergey Kazakov were also rejected.

LONDON JUDGE SENTENCES MUSLIM CLERIC FOR URGING MURDER. On March 7, a London judge sentenced Muslim cleric Abdullah Faisal to seven years in prison for soliciting murder against "unknown victims" and two more years for inciting racial hatred, according to news agency reports. In his sermons, the Jamaica-born convert to Islam urged his followers to kill Hindus, Jews, and Americans. Judge Peter Beaumont told Faisal that he was issuing consecutive rather than concurrent sentences to emphasize Britain's "abhorrence of the views you expressed."

* * * QUOTE OF THE WEEK * * * Reporting from Moscow on President Vladimir Putin's government reorganization, Michael Wines of the "The New York Times" wrote on March 11: "The major beneficiaries …are the security service, which Mr. Putin headed before coming to the Kremlin in August 2000, and the interior ministry, a Kremlin department that only recently added immigration issues to its portfolio. In some ways, Mr. Putin is undoing what President Boris N. Yeltsin had done more than a decade ago in an attempt to shatter the pervasive power of the KGB… One effect of the reorganization is to further centralize control of the government in the hands of Mr. Putin and his top aides."

SWEDISH 'INACTIVITY' SEALED WALLENBERG'S FATE, NEW STUDY SAYS
Swedish Diplomats Bungled the Release of the Humanitarian Hero

A just-released study by a Swedish government commission reveals the heartless indifference of Sweden's diplomats to the illegal Soviet imprisonment of Raoul Wallenberg, who as a second secretary assigned to neutral Sweden's legation in Budapest saved tens of thousands of Jews from Nazi death camps in 1944. The study implies that the humanitarian hero of the Second World War who survived two assassination attempts by the Nazis became a victim of not only the familiar Soviet inhumanity but also of a mystifying mismanagement of his case by his own government. "The commission's report is a devastating judgment against our Foreign Ministry, the most devastating report so far," commented one Swedish diplomat to this newsletter. "It is clear that the Foreign Ministry deserves it. Our policymakers preferred not to risk good relations with Russia."

The nearly 200-page study is based on archival documents, some of them shown to outsiders for the first time. Research began in late 2001, and the team consisted of six historians - four Swedish professors, one Norwegian and a Finn -- and chaired by a former provincial governor. They found that in the first five years after Soviet troops arrested Wallenberg, Sweden's foreign ministers and ambassadors repeatedly misunderstood the facts of the case, giving credence to an obscure Budapest radio report claiming that in January 1945 the Gestapo ambushed Wallenberg's car on the way to the provincial city of Debrecen and killed him. The commission now suspects that the broadcast was part of a Soviet "disinformation campaign." Much of the blame falls on the Swedish ambassador in Moscow, Staffan Soderblom. Even though Soviet diplomats in Stockholm and Moscow acknowledged that Wallenberg was "under Soviet protection," Soderblom told Stalin and his top diplomats that he “knew" that Wallenberg was dead, victim of an accident or a robbery. The commission called the comments Soderblom volunteered to Soviet leaders "highly inappropriate."

According to the study, the Swedish Foreign Ministry's assessment changed only in the early 1950s after receiving testimony from ex-prisoners who met or heard about Wallenberg being imprisoned in Moscow’s Lublyanka. Still, Swedish diplomats did not press for his release, thus encouraging the Kremlin not to bother dealing with the subject. However, the study found, the Soviets kept hinting that they would be willing to negotiate Wallenberg's release. The Swedish diplomats did not respond. The commission characterized Swedish non-response to Soviet overtures as "extremely unfortunate."

The commission determined that the U.S. government's ties to Wallenberg's "unorthodox mission" in Budapest were closer than previously believed, as all his instructions came from Washington and none from Stockholm. "Raoul Wallenberg was essentially a Swedish diplomat on an American assignment," the report said. "This circumstance may have contributed to the Swedish foreign policy leadership's palpable lack of interest in [his] security." (Students of the Wallenberg case are familiar with American offers of assistance over the years, which the Swedes politely turned down as potentially counterproductive.)

At a press conference on March 3, commission member Prof. Birgit Karlsson said: "One important thing we are emphasizing is he was a Swedish diplomat, but his task was formulated by the U.S government. The connection is not completely new but has never been emphasized in the same way." Chairman Ingemar Eliasson suggested that the Soviets might have detained Wallenberg to learn more about his mission in Budapest, believing that "he was more than a humanitarian agent." The commission called on Russian leaders to disclose "the entire truth."

The study shies away from offering an explanation for the Swedish "passiveness." But it declares that "unfortunate actions on Sweden's part cannot … serve to exonerate the Soviet Union. The responsibility for establishing the entire truth about Wallenberg rested until 1991 with the Soviet leadership and rests today with the leadership of Russia.'' One subhead dealing with the Russians says: "The investigation must continue."

In a calm, meticulously cautious way, the study calls "the absence of activism … remarkable and extremely unfortunate." For some hermetically Swedish reason, the study is only in Swedish, and there are no current plans for an English translation. But the English-language summary is chilling enough, as is the absence of as much as a hint that might explain the conduct of successive foreign ministers and ambassadors from Sweden.

Wallenberg was an extraordinary rescuer of a group of foreigners with whom he had no previous familiarity and no evident affinity. He invented for them the brilliant legal fiction of the Swedish Crown's protection. During his six months in Budapest, he asserted the non-existent authority of the Kingdom of Sweden with Hungarian and German officials he befriended or bribed, as well as at railroad stations and in other assembly points where he appeared suddenly, each time walking away with hundreds of Jews who had been scheduled for deportation to Auschwitz. Refusing to entertain the notion of a humanitarian intervention, the Soviets arrested him, ignoring their signature on the treaty on diplomatic immunity. But in the end it was left to his fellow Swedes to play deaf and blind to what the Soviets were doing, and let him waste away in the gulag.

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