Volume 2, Number 20
Friday, May 24, 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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ONE DISAPPOINTMENT IN MOSCOW… The one promise to President Vladimir Putin that his guest George Bush has failed to keep is the removal of the Jackson-Vanik restrictions from trade between the two countries. Though that historic human rights legislation passed in 1974 linked free trade to free emigration and that problem has been resolved, the obstacles this year have had to do with trade, such as Russia's less than complete lifting of a ban on U.S. poultry imports. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Joseph Biden (D-Del.) has blocked the permanent waiver of Jackson-Vanik with the argument that Russian import licensing requirements have had the effect of maintaining the import ban even though Russian officials say the ban has been lifted. Last year Russia imported $640 million worth of poultry products but this March it stopped the imports, citing health concerns. Bush has urged Congress to lift Jackson-Vanik, but the legislation is stuck in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives. On May 22, on the eve of Bush's departure for Europe, the Senate signaled its readiness to remove Jackson-Vanik by adopting a non-binding resolution calling for the United States to establish permanent normal trade relations with Russia "in an appropriate and timely fashion." The gesture was courteous, but it was only a gesture, and it is unclear when and how Congress will take further action.

… DOUBTS AND PROTESTS IN BERLIN. President Bush's first stop in his four-country European tour was not completely harmonious. In addition to doubts expressed by German politicians about the wisdom of extending the war on terror to "the Axis of Evil," 15,000-to-20,000 protesters demonstrated against Bush’s 20-hour visit in Berlin. According to a list by "Le Monde," the protesters in an anti-American coalition they called "the Axis of Peace" included "neo-communists," "pacifists of all sensibilities," anti-globalists, MPs from Germany's Green Party, and groups of "Islamists" and neo-Nazis. One slogan painted on walls twisted President John Kennedy's famously inclusive phrase, "Ich bin ein Berliner" and addressed Bush: "You are not a Berliner."

U.S. CATHOLIC BISHOPS ASK BUSH TO INTERCEDE WITH PUTIN. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has asked President Bush to discuss Russia's treatment of Catholics during his meetings with President Putin, according to "The Washington Post" of May 20. The report quoted Gerard F. Powers, director of the group's Office of International Justice and Peace, to the effect that the Russian government "has severely restricted the religious freedom of the Catholic Church in Russia and interfered with providing pastoral and spiritual care to Russian Catholics. These actions certainly violate international agreements guaranteeing religious freedom to which Russia is a signatory." A White House official told "The Washington Post" that he did not know whether Bush would raise the issue with Putin but that he will probably meet with one of Russia's Catholic bishops, along with representatives from the Orthodox church and the Jewish community.

MAGADAN COURT DISMISSES JUSTICE DEPARTMENT CHARGES AGAINST PRIEST. Eight days before President Bush's arrival in Russia, a city court in Russia's Far East region moved against the local Justice Ministry office in a case centered around a Roman Catholic priest who happens to be American. On May 15 the Magadan City Court dismissed the charges brought by the regional Justice Ministry against a Roman Catholic parish, reports the Slavic Center of Law and Justice, a Moscow-based organization providing legal defense in religious freedom cases. The court also required the Justice Ministry to recall two of their orders that threatened to revoke the parish's registration.

Earlier, the Magadan Justice Ministry office served notice that it would revoke the government registration of the church because its priest, Fr. Michael Shields, a U.S. citizen, does not hold a valid residence permit, which, the department claimed, is a violation of Russian law. The parish filed an appeal. An attorney for the Slavic Center of Law and Justice, Vladimir Ryakhovsky, appeared in court and denied any violation by the parish or its priest. He argued that the law "On Freedom of Conscience and On Religious Associations" does not specify that leaders of religious organizations need to be citizens or permanent residents of the Russian Federation. The Slavic Center noted that "many other priests" and two bishops in Russia have found themselves in a similar situation and that some of them have also received warnings from their local Justice Ministry offices. Pointing out that 85 percent of Russia's Catholic priests are foreigners, the Slavic Center expressed the hope that "the positive outcome of the Magadan Catholic parish lays down the basis for settlement of similar conflicts."

RUSSIA'S TOP PROSECUTOR ORDERS TIGHTER MEASURES AGAINST FASCISTS. On May 16 Russia's Prosecutor-General Vladimir Ustinov signed a directive ordering his office to enhance the prosecutors' supervision over the enforcement of laws against "fascism and other forms of extremism," according to news agency reports. He demanded an "immediate reaction to any signs or manifestations of fascism and other forms of political and religious extremism." He also ordered prosecutors "to expose and prevent the bankrolling of any type of radical organizations." Ustinov’s predecessors have made similar promises over the past decade.

MEDIA MINISTRY TO SUE EXTREMIST NEWSPAPER. On May 18, Deputy Media Minister Valerii Sirozhenko told Itar-Tass that his department intends to sue "Limonka," the newspaper of the National Bolshevik Party headed by writer Eduard Limonov, and to close it down. According to Sirozhenko, on May 17 the Media Ministry issued its second warning to the newspaper for violations of the mass media law. That second warning was for "materials calling for changes in the constitutional system by force and propagating war" that were published in three issues last year, he said. The paper received its first warning earlier last week for materials "instigating social intolerance and strife" that were also published last year. Limonov has been held in custody since last October on charges of organizing an illegal armed formation.

RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER RECOGNIZES SKINHEAD PROBLEM. Also on May 18, Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov met with representatives of the foreign diplomatic corps to discuss their concerns over racist violence and the skinhead problem in Russia, according to news agency accounts. Apparently, the meeting was in response to a threatening e-mail message sent in April to embassies declaring a "war against foreigners." Ivanov pledged that all complaints will be thoroughly investigated and that all inquiries from diplomats will be forwarded to law enforcement authorities, the AP reported, citing Foreign Ministry spokesman Aleksandr Yakovenko. He added that the Interior and Education ministries will also step up their efforts in this sphere, Itar-Tass reported on May 18. "The problem of skinheads is a common problem of both Russia and other states, and we should fight it together," Yakovenko said. For years, foreign diplomats have charged that Russian authorities pay no attention to their complaints about skinhead violence.

SMOLENSK MONUMENT TO NAZI VICTIMS DEFACED. On May 9, celebrated throughout Russia as the Day of Victory over Nazism, antisemites defaced the monument dedicated to 3,000 victims, more than half of them Jewish, murdered by the Nazis in 1942 in the village of Vyazovenka, Smolensk region, according to a report received by UCSJ from a local Jewish leader. Local authorities are not known to have reacted in any way. The vandals daubed swastikas and the slogans "Glory to Russia!" and "Kikes, leave Russia in peace!" on the monument.

ANTISEMITIC RUBLE CIRCULATING IN MOSCOW. On May 18 the website utro.ru reported that a genuine 10 ruble banknote with the slogan "Russia without yids" carefully typewritten on both sides is circulating in Moscow and published a photograph of it. When a correspondent of the website brought the banknote to the attention of law enforcement and federal financial authorities, she was told that the bills are still legal tender and there is no way to stop their circulation or even find out who is responsible for their production. Officials say they have not met with any other cases of this type, according to the website.

DAGESTAN JEWISH CEMETERY DESECRATED. The centuries old Jewish cemetery of Makhachkala in Russia’s majority Muslim Republic of Dagestan was vandalized on May 23, according to a report by Interfax. Unidentified individuals smashed tombstones, defaced memorial plaques, and poured paint on monuments. Bordering on Chechnya, Dagestan has lately been the scene of numerous acts of antisemitic violence, including murders and kidnappings.

BANK TOLD NOT TO MEET IN TASHKENT UNTIL HUMAN RIGHTS RECORD IMPROVED. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) should insist on "concrete progress in human rights" before holding its 2003 annual meeting in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, a coalition of more than 50 nongovernmental organizations from 24 EBRD shareholder countries said in an open letter to the president of the EBRD on May 17. The list of areas where improvement is needed includes the free operation of opposition parties, human rights groups and other civic organizations; legal reform, including the introduction of judicial review of detentions; an end to the persecution of independent Muslims; and access to UN human rights monitors. The EBRD's founding statement endorses "fundamental principles of multiparty democracy, the rule of law, respect for human rights, and market economics." "Uzbekistan does not deserve the prestige attached to hosting such a meeting," said Elizabeth Andersen of Human Rights Watch, a signatory of the letter to the EBRD. "The Uzbek government has a terrible human rights record."

CRIMINAL PROSECUTION AGAINST UZBEK JEHOVAH'S WITNESS? A Jehovah's Witness from the city of Bukhara in Uzbekistan could face up to five years in prison if prosecutors decide to bring a criminal charge against him for leading an "illegal" religious group, Keston News Service reported. Erken Khabibov, the head of an unregistered Jehovah's Witness center in the Bukhara region, said that this is the latest in a long series of state actions against his community. Last December, the police raided a private apartment in the town of Kagan, 10 miles south of Bukhara, where Jehovah's Witnesses had gathered. When the police arrived, the Jehovah's Witnesses were eating, and the police could find no evidence of a religious meeting. However, the police took down the names of all those present and they received a court summons. On January 18 a local court fined them. Khabibov said he understood that the court based its decision on the country's religion law, which forbids gatherings by unregistered religious groups. But, he added: "Let's note that this provision of the law contravenes international standards." Khabibov said that the Jehovah's Witnesses had appealed to the regional court. In response, the regional court sent a letter to the regional procuracy asking it to consider whether to bring a criminal case against Khabibov. "The regional procuracy in turn has referred my case for an initial consideration by the procuracy of the town of Kagan," Khabibov continued. On May 17, Ibragim Bakayev, an investigator at the Kagan procuracy, told Keston that he had not found "anything of a criminal nature in his actions." Bakayev said he sent his findings to the regional procuracy, which will make the final decision. Khabibov has not received official notification whether he will be charged.

GERMAN POLITICIANS DEBATE ANTISEMITISM. In Germany, antisemitism is still unacceptable in mainstream politics, and mainstream politics is a debating society that has its rules. Earlier this month, Syrian-born Jamal Karsli, a member of the North Rhine-Westphalia state parliament, was found in violation of one of those rules when he accused Israel's army of "Nazi methods" in fighting Palestinians. Karsli also told a far-right newspaper that a "Zionist lobby" in Germany defamed critics of Israel as antisemitic. Leaders of Karsli's party, the liberal Free Democrats (FDP), reacted by asking him to resign from the party. The FDP's chairman, Guido Westerwelle, made it clear to the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung" that he and his colleagues did not want their party to be seen as "providing a political home for anti-Israel politicians." They suggested that Karsli should recognize that the FDP was not "his party."

Until April, Karsli was a member of the Green Party but quit in protest over what he called Foreign Minister (and Green Party leader) Joschka Fischer's "pro-Israel bias." FDP deputy chairman Juergen Moellemann, who had encouraged Karsli to switch to the FDP, defended Karsli as "a critic of Israel." In the process, Moellemann got into an argument with Michael Friedman, the vice president of the Council of Jews in Germany. Moellemann, who chairs a German-Arab friendship society, is a long-time critic of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and earlier this year suggested U.N. sanctions to force Israel into negotiations. This time Moellemann told the newsmagazine "Stern" that Friedman's "spiteful remarks and blatant insinuations concerning antisemitism stir up displeasure with the target group he is allegedly supporting." Friedman responded by expressing his surprise that the FDP leadership “does not publicly contradict or even part company with a deputy party chairman who propagates such ideas." FDP chairman Westerwelle fired back: "Anyone who accuses the Free Democrats of antisemitism is playing a shabby, transparent, and politically motivated game."

Threatened with expulsion, Karsli quit the FDP on May 22. He apologized to the FDP for accusing Israel's army of "Nazi methods." In a letter to the party, he acknowledged that his words were "out of order" and he was withdrawing them because he did not want "to provide a cause any longer for [the FDP's] political opponents." A small party that in the past took part in governing coalitions with both the Social Democrats and the Christian Democrats, the FDP is now preparing for the elections this fall that everyone calls "tough." FDP leaders have said that Karsli's comments have adversely affected the party's prospects.

The German press expects Moelleman and Friedman to continue their debate on the boundaries of permissible criticism of Jewish leaders. "I think the two men need to talk," FDP parliamentary leader Wolfgang Gerhardt said on television, "and choose their words more carefully."

* * * QUOTE OF THE WEEK * * * "Through new laws and registration procedures, Mr. Putin's government has …limited the freedoms and powers of independent trade unions, political parties, and nongovernmental organizations like the Glasnost Defense Foundation, the Socio-Ecological Union, and the Russo-Chechen Friendship Society," Prof. Michael McFaul of Stanford University wrote in an article on the opinion page of "The New York Times" of May 20. "The state security service has stepped up harassment of investigative journalists, human rights activists, environmental leaders, and academics."

XENOPHOBIA DESTABILIZES, AND BUSH AND PUTIN MUST DEAL WITH IT
By Ludmilla Alexeeva and Yosef I. Abramowitz

President George Bush's meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Moscow this week will be dominated by discussions of arms control, trade disputes, and the struggle against terrorism. It is our hope that the American president will set aside some time to forcefully remind his Russian friend that the promotion of inter-ethnic harmony and the suppression of xenophobic hate groups are crucial to long-term stability in Russia.

Such steps are especially important in an unstable, multi-ethnic state like Russia, where for the past decade over a hundred ethnic groups have experienced together a catastrophic drop in living standards, along with a dizzying political transition from communism to something vaguely resembling democracy and capitalism. Under Putin, the country has enjoyed two years of political stability and modest economic growth, easing social tensions that had built up to a dangerous point after the August 1998 financial meltdown. Putin has also made strong statements condemning ethnic and religious intolerance.

Nevertheless, racist and antisemitic violence continues throughout the country and appears to be on the rise. In one of history's supreme ironies, Russians -- who suffered so much at the hands of the Nazis -- held their collective breath on the anniversary of Adolf Hitler's birthday, April 20, apprehensive about mass neo-Nazi skinhead violence against people from the Caucasus, dark-skinned foreign students, and Jews. Over 1,000 extra police were deployed on the streets of Moscow. In his state of the nation address two days earlier, President Putin warned that: "The growth of extremism presents a serious threat to stability and public safety in our country. We are talking above all here about those who organize attacks under fascist and nationalist slogans and flags, beating, and killing people."

Despite heightened security measures, skinheads managed to mark the anniversary with widespread violence, and in cities all across the country, rumors of impending skinhead attacks terrorized minority communities. Clearly, the skinhead problem has gotten out of control. So why doesn't the government do something about it?

A large part of the problem is that despite Putin's image as a strong ruler, the central government remains weak, and much of the bureaucracy is infested with racism and antisemitism, especially at the provincial level. Proof of this is the almost total lack of enforcement of a law that bans the public incitement of ethnic or religious hatred -- a crucial bulwark against destabilizing hate mongering by media and public figures.

Even worse, regional leaders sometimes engage in openly racist policies that run contrary to both the law and the stated policy of the central government. For example, at the end of March, Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov journeyed to the southern city of Volgograd to declare that his country intends to pursue an "immigrant-friendly" policy. Yet that very same month, in nearby Krasnodar Kray, Governor Aleksandr Tkachyov announced the impending mass deportation of migrants, some of who have lived in the region for over ten years, but have (contrary to Russian law) been denied legal status. The governor explicitly stated that police will look for residents with non-Russian last names to deport. The question is which policy will win out in the end -- the central government's welcome mat or the local governor's illegal, racist witch hunt? At this point, it is unclear.

Looming over all of these problems is the war in Chechnya, which shows no signs of ending. While the Russian military continues to commit atrocities against Chechen civilians, on the other side rebel groups seem to be increasingly drawn towards terrorist tactics, and may have been behind the horrible May 9 bombing in Kaspiysk. Russian society has been deformed by this war, becoming increasingly xenophobic.

These problems require strong countermeasures because they have a direct bearing on the country's stability and attractiveness to foreign investment. Every reaction has a counter-reaction, and it seems likely that many minority groups that have been targeted by hate groups or racist police could at some point give up on the hope of official protection and resort to defensive acts of violence. We have already seen such dangerous reactions to rumors of upcoming skinhead attacks to mark Hitler's birthday. Xenophobia and terrorism are two sides of the same coin. The two presidents need to face up to the dangerous rise in racism and antisemitism taking place in Russia today. The work of local human rights NGOs and Russia's human rights ombudsman needs to be strengthened. At bottom, Bush and Putin need to emphasize that Russia can no longer afford official indifference towards hate crimes and hate speech -- the potential consequences are just too dire.

Ludmilla Alexeeva is chair of the Moscow Helsinki Group, and president of the International Helsinki Federation; Yosef I. Abramowitz is president of UCSJ.
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