Cinema for Human Rights, Vilnius 1-8 July

An international group of supporters of Khadijat and Malik Gataev as well as of their children have organized the film festival in Vilnius to raise public awareness in Lithuania for human rights and to remind politicians of Lithuania about the obligation to comply to the norms of the membership in the European Union.

Pirjo Honkasalo is going to screen “Three Rooms of Melancholia”, and other directors present will be Aki Kaurismäki (Finland), Arto Halonen (Finland), Andrey Nekrasov (Russia), Nikolay Olejnikov (Russia) and Linda Jablonska (Czechia).

The chair of the Subcommittee on the Human Rights at the European Parliament, MEP Heidi Hautala (Finland) will also attend the festival.

Background:

In June 2009 Khadijat and Malik Gataev were sentenced to 10 months jail.

The time has come to stand up not only for the freedom of Khadijat and Malik but for their good name. The case as a whole has totally lacked transparency. Also, the security police of Lithuania has harrassed and threatened those -- like some of the foster children -- who have expressed support for gataevs and who have been willing to testify for them in court.

Before their arrest in Kaunas in October 2008, the Gataevs ran two orphanages, one in Grozny, Chechnya, and one in Kaunas. The work of Khadijat and Malik Gataev has been documented in various ways:

* Anna Politkovskaya wrote about “Rodnaya Semya” orphanage which became home for more than sixty children.

* Khadijat Gatayeva and some of the orphans appear in the prize-winning documentary film “Three Rooms of Melancholia”, directed by Pirjo Honkasalo.

* Gatayeva is the central figure in the book “The Angel of Grozny” by the Norwegian journalist, Åsne Seierstad.

* Recently killed Natalya Estemirova, a Chechen human rights defender and a journalist, was one of those who didn't turn away from Khadijat and Malik at the time of an odd investigation and the consequent court trial that lacked transparency. One of the last Estemirova's articles published in the Novaya Gazeta was about the abduction of Gatayev's foster son, Malik Utsaev, in Grozny. He disappeared in Chechnya at the same time when his parents were arrested in Kaunas.

Khadijat and Malik Gataev had rescued orphans from the ruins of Grozny since the first war broke out in Chechnya. They took custody of the first children in 1996 when hostilities ceased. Khadijat was raised in an orphanage herself. It was her main motivation to take care of the children abandoned by the war.

The festival will support the work of Khadijat and Malik Gataev, and pay homage to Anna Politkovskaya and Natalya Estemirova.

* * * * *

Please find the program of the festival in here.

The Murder Investigations = Total Failure

Lavrenti Beriya (1899–1953). Originally Georgian. At the highest times of his glory Stalin's right hand, head of the KGB. After getting rid of his predecessor Yezhov (killing him in Lubyanka, the KGB prison in Moscow), Beriya was responsible for the deportations from the Baltic states, among other things.

Politkovskaya's assassination is still badly investigated and therefore, of course, the murderer unpunished.

But, like almost everybody who have been following this, I am very sure the murderer has been indentified by both the Kremlin and the KGB.

According to the rumours I have heard a number of times, the guy in the baseball cap, the one who really pulled the trigger, has been living in Belgium for quite some time already.

Oh sorry comrades, the agency is FSB nowadays.


Statement issued by Russian Union of Journalists

Monday, 23 February 2009

The trial of those involved in the murder of Novaya gazeta commentator Anna Politkovskaya has ended in total failure. The jury unanimously acquitted all the accused and they were freed right there in the courtroom.

Despite everything, the hearings were made open to the media and public and once again this gave us vivid evidence of the defects of our law enforcement system, which requires urgent reform. And still we can see one positive outcome. It did not prove possible, by convicting minor figures, to evade the most important question: Who ordered the killing of our comrade and colleague, and why did they do so.

The investigation will be renewed and so it is of fundamental importance that all those who obstructed the investigators in their work, shielding the guilty and concealing vital information, are named without delay. The Russian authorities must realise that it is essential that they display political will. The collapse of such a trial is a national disgrace and they will not be able to shift the blame to the investigators, who did not do their job, still less to the jurors.

"She Is Still With Us"

Sorry for silence. Miss Funnybunny accidentally broke my laptop, and I have been far too busy to write this at work. (The insurance will cover a new one - I have just beeen to busy to buy the new one!)

But no time for silence. Today is marked as the second anniversary of the murder of Anna Politkovskaya. Therefore I must publish the following reminder written by my dear friend Oksana Chelysheva.

* * * *

On the second anniversary of Anna Politkovskaya's murder I feel like speaking up on those who are still alive. This year I felt more inclined to commemorate her on her birthday and to raise other people's fates on her death day.
Anna Politkovskaya is one of them as here assassins fail to erase her voice, her views and her deeds as well as her charm from her friends' memory.

For me personally Anna is one of those few who will never cease to exist. She is still alive as she is with us in her articles, in her small granddaughter who was named after her. Even the hatred of those who are hiding their shadows behind statements on Anna's "insignificance" and "damaging Putin's Russia's positive image" can't destroy the voice of Anna.
At the same time, I can't accept this kind of post-mortal symbolism of the person who often felt too lonely and even marginalized being called "too passionate", "too radical", "too much involved" and not very "diplomatic" unlike a huge crowd of those who prefer to balance the circumstances rather than call on their changing.
She was often listened to without being heard. And it is also the responsibility of those who could have done a lot more to stop Russia's sliding first to autocracy and now to despotism by just calling the developments in Putin's Russia by their real names…

Anna wanted to live, to enjoy life as fully as such a bright person could, to continue her often desperate attempts to help out those who didn't have public recognition of the level she had.

Their number is increasing rapidly. More and more people are being killed without any hope that their deaths would be ever investigated and the guilty would be ever brought to account. People are being taken into custody under falsified charges. They are more and more often subjected to enforced psychiatric treatment. They are being labeled as supporters of terrorism and traitors of Russian like it happened to terrorism survivors from the Voice of Beslan and Nord-Ost public associations.

Magomed Evloev, the owner of an independent Ingush website, was killed while in police custody on 31 August 2008. The murder is crying for impartial investigation, to ensure that the circumstances under which he died are brought to light and that those who are responsible for his death are charged and tried in accordance with the law. Nevertheless, the outrageous extrajudicial execution perpetrated at day light is declared to be "a death caused by accident". On October 6, life of another Ingush opposition leader was attempted. The car in which Akhmed Kotiev was driving was fired at. Fortunately, the bullets have missed this time.

On 25 July 2008, human rights defender Zurab Tsechoev, working for the human rights organization MASHR (peace) in Ingushetia, was taken away from his home in Troitskaia, Ingushetia by armed men, thought to be federal law enforcement officials. A couple of hours later he was found on a roadside near Magas, the capital of Ingushetia, with serious injuries. He had to be hospitalized. Is there any hope that the perpetrators of this act against Zurab Tsechoev would be ever identified and brought to justice? Much depends on what kind of response the authorities of Russia will get from the international community and whether this response would be limited to some mild rhetoric and expressions of concerns.

Late on 1 August 2008, an arson attack was allegedly made on the flat of human rights defender Dmitrii Kraiukhin from the town of Orel in the Central Russian Federal District. The arsonists had also allegedly tried to block the entrance door. Luckily, Dmitrii Kraiukhin was reportedly not in the flat, but his relatives who were, were able to alert the fire brigade in time. So far, to Amnesty International's knowledge, no criminal investigation into this case has been undertaken, as the authorities allegedly considered the damage too insignificant to warrant a criminal investigation. However, this is not an isolated incident as far as threats to Dmitrii Kraiukhin are concerned.

On 14 August 2008, unknown assailants threw a brick through the window of the flat in Nizhnii Novgorod where human rights activist Stanislav Dmitrievskii lives. Luckily, nobody was hurt. At the same time, the entrance of his apartment building was covered with abusive language and threats against Stanislav Dmitrievskii. Actually, it was all painted with swastikas. A criminal investigation into this attack has been opened. However, I don't believe that it would bring any results. There have been several cases initiated into death threats that both Stanislav and I have received in the last three years. All to no avail. I have heard various investigators telling me, "You do understand… the circumstances. We would not be able to identify those who are behind the threats".

They won't be able because they don't want to. Because they are afraid to get their own voice. Because they are not masters of themselves, in their words. Because they are ready to implement whatever kind of order as they are just loyal serfs of their master.

And it is in your hands to influence them. They should be under moral pressure from all people of good will. They should know that they will never be accepted and welcome outside Russia for their readiness and willingness to be on orders.

They should know that even their property bought in Finland, Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria, Montenegro or Czech Republic and Slovakia would not make them your neighbors. They should know that not everything could be purchased, no matter how wealthy they are. They should be aware that you have honour and dignity and that you are ready to stand up for them. They should be denounced and put to shame.

Oksana Chelysheva

Activists detained in Nizhny Novgorod. Anna Politkoskaya's legacy damaged.

Dear Friends in Nizhny, I hope you are fine. And back at your homes, hotels or offices. We know you have been arrested today.


Can you imagine? Both the organisers and (foreign) participants of a Human Rights Conference for the Memory of ANNA POLITKOVSKAYA have been arrested today.

We could see this was coming. A lot of harm has been done during these past few days by the police in Nizhny.


According to the Sobkor(R).ru news agency the five (foreigners) who were detained are Friederike Behr (Germany), Neil Hicks (UK), Sergio Kurbi (Spain), Rosaria Fernandez (Spain), and Rita Guybens (Belgium). They represent Amnesty International, League for Human Rights (Spain), and Human Rights First (USA).

Perhaps this means that the Human Rights workers, even in Russia, are many and powerful? If they were not, why bother to destroy a Conference for Promoting Tolerance?

Tomorrow a Memorial Event for Anna Politkovskaya of the same kind will be taking place in Moscow. We'll be watching you.

The following text is a press release of a New York based organisation called Human Rights first. Their representative Neil Hicks is among the detained.

Neil Hicks and Oksana Chelysheva, an organiser of the event, have been here in Helsinki a number of times, like you can see by reading IStori (tag: "Russia" on the right hand side bar).

******

Harassment by Russian Authorities Another Attempt to Avert Investigation of Politkovskaya’s Murder

Human Rights First criticized the Russian government’s harassment of organizers and participants in events planned to mark the first anniversary of the assassination of Anna Politkovskaya, calling this interference another in a long list of official attempts to hinder a credible investigation of the journalist’s murder.

A representative from Human Rights First, who traveled to Russia to take part in the commemoration, has witnessed the government’s efforts to intimidate participants first-hand.

In advance of events scheduled for October 5-6 in Nizhny Novgorod, police raided the offices of the organizers, seizing several computers. Hotel reservations for several guests were cancelled due to a purported water leak, and a room booked for a press conference was suddenly rented for another conference. On October 5, traffic police towed away a minivan used by organizers to transport guests. Participants reported a heavy police presence at hotels and near the offices of human rights organizations.

“The Russian authorities are reminding us of the importance of Politkovskaya’s work in their own way, by trying to silence those who have gathered to commemorate her life,” said Maureen Byrnes, executive director of Human Rights First. “Instead of trying to uncover who was behind the murder, police are using their resources to harass local activists and intimidate foreign visitors.”

Human Rights First is concerned that the Russian authorities are trying to shift responsibility for Politkovskaya’s murder to unnamed forces outside the country. Ten suspects have been arrested in connection with the investigation. Despite the fact that the suspects included current and former members of Russia’s Federal Security Service, Prosecutor General Yuri Chaika claimed that “only individuals located outside the territory of the Russian Federation could have an interest in getting rid of Politkovskaya.”

“We call on the Russian government to carry out a prompt, thorough, impartial and transparent investigation into Politkovskaya’s murder that takes into account the clear evidence of the involvement of individuals with close ties to the security services,” Byrnes said.

Politkovskaya’s investigative journalism had made her many enemies inside Russia. Politkovskaya, who was gunned down in her apartment on October 7, 2006, was seen by many in the Russian human rights community as a colleague and ally. She worked closely with several human rights organizations to gather information about violations in Chechnya and to help the victims of the conflict.

“Few acts have done more to create the climate of uncertainty and insecurity for Russian human rights defenders than Politkovskaya’s assassination and the government’s refusal to adequately investigate it,” said Byrnes. “Official attempts to put a slanted interpretation on this tragic event are not consistent with the pursuit of justice.”

Anna Politkovskaya Events. Her legacy is not fading.

Sunday the 7th of Oct is Vladimir Putin's birthday. This date will be remembered forever because that's when the respected journalist and human rights activist Anna Politkovskaya was murdered, in 2006.

*****

I still remember the agony when hearing about her assasination. It was a beautiful Saturday in Frankfurt. Had just discussed about her in a short, informal meeting at the Book Fair. Later sitting alone by Zeil, the busiest shopping street, waiting for a Finnish Newsagency to call and ask for a comment. Calling Mr HP (who was there in Frankfurt but not with me at the shopping inferno) who was in tears on the phone. Trying to think about something to say to the journos. Watching CNN with pictures of Anna's murderer, thinking out loud "the guy with the cap does not look like a Chechen at all". Looking forward to coming home. Calling miss Funnybunny, who saw "auntie Anna" on TV many times during the following days. Or weeks.

*****

In several countries there will be anniversary events taking place on Sunday. In Helsinki, we will gather at Koko-teatteri, Unioninkatu 45, at 6 pm. The program on stage is more artistic than political (music, poetry, prose), but I'm quite sure political issues will be discussed afterwards at the bar of Koko, by several active people; Finnish friends and readers of Anna's, and other people interested in Russian issues.

About Russian anniversary events I will report more soon once I get the more detailed info.

What I do know for sure is that both in Moscow and Nizhny Novgorod Anna's legacy will be honoured by beautiful, peaceful and respectful events.

*****

Anna Politkovskaya at the Finnish Bookstore, Suomalainen kirjakauppa, in Helsinki 2003.


"Minä kirjoitan mitä näen."
TAITEELLINEN ILTA ANNA POLITKOVSKAJALLE

sunnuntaina 7.10. kello 18 KOKO-teatterissa, os. Unioninkatu 45 (Pitkänsillan lähellä).
Liput viisi euroa.

Ohjelmassa musiikkia, runoja ja tietysti Politkovskajan tekstejä. Esiintyjinä nuoria suomalaisia muusikoita, Koko- ja Klockrike-teattereiden väkeä ja ihmisoikeusaktivisteja. Kerromme myös tuoreimmat terveiset ihmisoikeusaktivisteilta ja Annan ystäviltä Venäjältä. Sielläkin muistetaan Annaa samaan aikaan.

Illanvietto kestää vähän alle puolitoista tuntia. Tilaisuuden järjestää Suomen PEN.
Tervetuloa!

LIPPUVARAUKSET KOKO-teatteriin:
GSM 050 321 9919, p. (09) 278 4820
toimisto@kokoteatteri.fi

*****

”Jag skriver det jag ser”
MINNESKVÄLL FÖR ANNA POLITKOVSKAJA

söndagen den 7.10 klockan 18 på KOKO-teatteri, Unionsgatan 45 (nära Långa bron). Biljetter fem euro.

På programmet står musik, dikter och naturligtvis Politkovskajas egna texter. De framförs av unga finländska musiker, skådespelare från Kokoteatteri och Klockriketeatern samt människorättsaktivister. Vi får också hälsningar av människorättsaktivister och Annas vänner i Ryssland. Också i Ryssland hedrar man Annas minne samtidigt som vi gör det.

Evenemanget räcker knappt en och en halv timme. Arrangör är Finlands PEN.

Välkommen!

---end---

Anna Politkovskaya's birthday. The police chasing activists and media.

Anna Stepanovna at the airport in 2003.


Today Anna Politkovskaya would have had her 49th anniversary.

And what is going on in Russia at this very moment? The police is raiding the office of Novaya Gazeta in Nizhny Novgorod. The editor-in-chief, Zahar Prilepin, is in agony. Their computers are being confiscated. (Prilepin visited us last July, at the Civic Forum 2007 conference, hence the link.)

Yesterday the same kind of demonstration of police forces was carried out at the office of the Nizhny Novgorod Foundation to Promote Tolerance, the successor to the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society (RCFS). They lost their computers, too. I wonder what kinds of accusations the diligent prosecutor's office will come up with.

This new wave of threats and confrontation, orchestrated by the over-active police and probably FSB, too, is a disgrace. Ugly. Pathetic.

***

You thought Russia is partly in Europe? No, it's vice versa. Now I understand what the Kremlin has been getting at.



*****

EDIT: The office of the Nizhny Novgorod Human Rights Alliance is being raided now. According to the locals, the police want to "check out the administrative, financial, entrepreneurial and business activities" of the non-governmental organisation.

В настоящее время в офисе Нижегородского правозащитного союза (руководитель Сергей Шимоволос) ГУВД проводит проверку лицензионного оборудования на основании постановления о проведении финансовой, предпринимательской, хозяйственной и торговой деятельности по типу уже проведенных в офисах Фонда в поддержку толерантности и Новой газеты. Сотрудники организации предоставили документы, свидетельствующие, что на балансе организации нет компьютеров. Однако, сотрудники ГУВД угрожают все равно изъять компьютеры на основании нового постановления. Сотрудники НКО сообщают, что это уже четвертая проверка организации за неделю.

Activists' headquarters raided. Newspaper confiscated. And, more poisonings in Russia.

I will be updating soon about the unclear and alarming situation in Nizhny Novgorod. The police there has recently confiscated a newspaper, its 60 000 copies (= the whole print run).

Today the police has still been harassing the activists who want to organise a demonstration on Sat 24. Some people are scared there. Like the ones who demand democracy, and fight for freedom of speech.

According to the local journalist and activist Oksana Chelyseva "the special issue of the newspaper is devoted to the situation in Nizhny Novgorod in regard to such problems as demolition of the historical center of the city, the unpopular reform of the housing and communal services, the construction of a highway in the heart of the historical city, the lack of any guarantees to hold fair election."

But before I get more information on Nizhny Novgorod, here is a very interesting piece of news from today's Moscow Times:

I think Tlisova's poisoning was a warning. When she failed to heed that warning and leave, she was "warned" again.

by Yulia Latytina:

An article ran 11 days ago in London's Sunday Times about a Russian journalist requesting political asylum in the United States. Working under the pseudonym of Maria Ivanova, she is an expert on the Caucasus region and claims to have been poisoned last autumn.

Up until last Thursday, people unfamiliar with the specifics of the story were trying to guess her true identity. Those who knew the whole story, however, were praying for her life. This is because Fatima Tlisova -- former correspondent for Svoboda, Novaya Gazeta and The Associated Press, head of the North Caucasus bureau of the Regnum online news service and winner of numerous international awards -- was scheduled to fly last Thursday from Nalchik, in Kabardino-Balkaria, to the United States. She was then to fly out of Turkey on Wednesday for the United States, where she has won a two-year scholarship to study at Harvard.

The unwanted publicity caused by the article in the Sunday Times may have put Tlisova in greater danger four days prior to her flight. The source of the information is unclear, as she never spoke with the paper's reporters, and I know many journalists who kept silent to avoid putting her in danger.

Because of her professionalism, the security services saw the widowed mother of two as an enemy. Before her poisoning, her home had been searched, she had been detained by authorities, and articles appeared calling her a U.S. spy and a terrorist leader. Her fellow journalists were questioned and told that she was a Turkish spy.
Her colleagues only learned about these events through third parties, or after weeklong delays: Tlisova, a proud Circassian, had absolutely no desire to make waves or leave her native Kabardino-Balkaria. She just wanted to work honestly at her job.

At the end of last October, Tlisova returned home after an evening walk, applied face cream from an old cosmetics jar, had a cup of coffee, and went to sleep. In the morning, skin was peeling from her fingers and her tongue had become swollen. She was rushed to a local hospital, where she was diagnosed with kidney failure.

A week later her symptoms had disappeared. After comparing her test results with those taken at the onset of her symptoms just 10 days earlier, doctors at a Moscow clinic couldn't believe the results came from the same person.

A few weeks later, I talked with one of the government's highest-ranking officials for the North Caucasus. He knew all about Tlisova's case. Kabardino-Balkaria is, after all, a small republic, and Tlisova is well-known. Despite her almost pathological humility, these events had caused quite an uproar. The official said he thought very highly of Tlisova and her work. "I ordered them to leave Tlisova alone," he told me.

Two weeks after this discussion, a man knocked at Tlisova's door and asked: "Does Ruslan Nakhushev live here?"

Nakhushev is a human rights activist from Kabardino-Balkaria who disappeared without a trace after he was interrogated by the Federal Security Service. Tlisova knew him well. It is events like this that suggest that the FSB has more to do with running the country than the civil authorities.

I think Tlisova's poisoning was a warning. When she failed to heed that warning and leave, she was "warned" again. The second poisoning affected both her heart and her kidneys. After that, the AP arranged for her to work in the United States as part of a two-year professional exchange program. And so it was that the journalist I consider to be the leading expert on the Caucasus left the country.

It is becoming increasingly difficult for the country to prove that the Caucasus is a good place to invest. For that matter, it is also having trouble proving that self-exiled tycoon Boris Berezovsky was involved in the murder of journalist Anna Politkovskaya and the poisoning of former FSB agent Alexander Litvinenko.


Yulia Latynina hosts a political talk show on Ekho Moskvy radio.

Elections. Excellent time to celebrate Political Lies on Tuesday, March 20.

The Parliamentary Elections in Finland took place on Sunday.

The weather was horrible, it was raining cats and dogs. Half frozen cats and dogs.

More women then ever, 84 out of 201, 42 %. Two representatives younger than 30 (the both of those are men). Right wing won, the social democrats (not a very leftist party, anyway) lost a lot. That was not a surprise, both the ex-chair Paavo Lipponen and the current chair Eero Heinäluoma are widely know as very arrogant men who do not seem to be supporting little people, unlike their party is supposed to. And one of their ministers was caught hiring a graphic desinger, who was unwillingly moonlighting. (Asked by the minister's husband to accept his salary "under the table", taxes not included, of course.) Openly angry, inconsiderate and rudely behaving "social" "democrat", Mrs Leena Luhtanen dropped out. And, she was the Minister of Justice!

And, was my candidate elected? Unfortunately not. But I am happy I was able to vote for a friend, human rights activist, feminist and football fan. Despite of the fact that his team is Arsenal. (Definitely not IStori's team.)



*****

Tomorrow, on Tuesday the 20th, it will be possible to heartily celebrate the Anniversary of the Political Lie. How appropriate.

In Helsinki, the reading will take place at Belly's (Uudenmaankatu, ex-Kultainen karhu), at 7pm. Please join us!

Quoting the press release of Peter Weiss Stiftung:

The Peter Weiss Foundation for Art and Politics' call for a worldwide reading in memory of Anna Politkovskaya has attracted great interest. On March 20, 2007, the Anniversary of the Political Lie, almost one hundred institutions, private individuals and schools in 19 countries will remember the assassinated Russian journalist. More than 100.000 people will attend the readings or listen to the radio broadcasts.
...

The events will be held at the following places: Antananarivo (MAD), Bamberg (D), Barcelona (E), Basel (CH), Berlin (D), Bonn (D), Bremen (D), Brussels (B), Bydgoszcz (PL), Coburg (D), Cottbus (D), Edinburgh (GB), Frankfurt (D), Freiburg (D), Graz (A), Hall i.T. (A), Hamburg (D), Hanau (D), Hanover (D), Helsinki (FIN), Kaliningrad (R), Karthum (SUD), Koblenz (D), Kwazulu-Natal (SA), Leipzig (D), Ludwigshafen (D), Lugano (CH), Los Angeles (USA), Lübeck (D), Luxemburg (LUX), Magdeburg (D), Milan (I), Mannheim (D), Montreal (CND), Moscow (R), Munich (D), Omsk (R), St. Petersburg (R), Prague (CS), Ramallah (Palestine), Rome (I), Rostock (D), Sasso Marconi (I), Seattle (USA), Schwedt (D), Stockholm (S), Tblissi (GEO), Valencia (E), Vienna (A), Zurich (CH). For an exact listing of the whereabouts and times, please visit our website www.peter-weiss-stiftung.de.

IStori commenting: this list is not complete. There is also one session in Rovaniemi, the Finnish Lapland: Rovaniemen Teatteri – Lapin Alueteatteri ja Lapin maakuntakirjasto osallistuvat Anna Politkovskajan muistoksi järjestettävään maailmanlaajuiseen lukutapahtumaan. Teatterin näyttelijät lukevat Politkovskajan monologeja teoksista Toinen Tshetshenian sota ja Putinin Venäjä – Vaietut puheenvuorot maakuntakirjaston Aalto-salissa tiistaina 20. maaliskuuta klo 17-18. Tapahtumaan on vapaa pääsy.

Enemies. Bad Finland. Food. (Part I)

An article that was published earlier in the New York Times, I think, has now appeared in the Observer of the Guardian. No wonder, as this is very interesting: "Who Is Killing Putin's Enemies?

Vladimir Putin has presided over a staggering economic boom in the six years since he took control of the Kremlin. Meanwhile, a dozen of his critics have been assassinated and the country's vast natural resources are in the pockets of a chosen few. (End of quote.)

Was quite touching to read about Anna Politkovskaya's last moments.

*******

Finland, Finland, Finland. I have been blogging so much about Russia lately, that I could say a few words about Finland for a change.

So. Three things I dislike in Finland:

I could say some serious things too, like racism, xenophobia, industry destroying the environment and wasting energy and producing a lot of trash and exploiting the third world countries, but I'll get back to those later. This list is much lighter now. But yet, these are the things I hate:

3) Finland hosting the Eurovision Song Contest. Why, of why did we have to win the bloody farce last spring? Bad and extremely boring music, expensive set up. Bad everything. (I was très heureuse with zero points.)


2) Ugly, uninviting and distasteful Finnish architecture. There is a lot of it, too much. Look at any centre of any little town in Finland. Driving through the whole Finland, from Helsinki to Sodankylä, Lapland (every June, to the Midnight Sun Film Festivals) makes me cry.

1) The Finnish food. Bad, tasteless, raw tomatoes and cucumbers (pickled cucumber with almost no vinegar and with lots of sugar = Swedish style. Sugary "Felix" pickled cucumbers are disgusting), watery, boiled potatoes, bad meat...

When Berlusconi said two years ago that the Finnish food is bad, quite a bunch of Finns got offended. Why? (I said immediately this is the first, and probably the only time, I hear any words of wisdom coming out of Berlusconi's mouth.) Should the Finnish food be good, there would not be so many pizzerias, kebab houses and hamburger-junk-food places around. Please, the Finnish cooks: learn how to demand good ingredients, and PLEASE learn to use spices. And not just in Helsinki, but elsewhere, too.

*******

Luckily Miss Funnybunny loves easy food. Easy to make, that is. I try to use a lot of organically grown vegetables, and never raw ones. I never put tomatoes into the fridge but let them rest by the window for a week or two before we eat them. And, in winter, sun-dried tomatoes or tomato sauces are more practical and tastier.

Because Miss Funnybunny's three-year-old friend at their nanny's is half Italian, my two-and-a-half-year-old Funnybunny speaks a (huge) bit of Italian, too! In the mornings, when she is to get her oatmeal, we often have the following discussion:

Mummy IStori: Here is your oatmeal, dear. Wait a second, I am just putting it onto the plate. There is Winnie the Pooh, see? No, the Mumin plate is not clean, sorry. Please, honey, don't come near the hot kettle. Put your legos away. NOW. No, I don't think your horsey would like this kind of food. Now...
Miss Funnybunny: I WANT to have latte, with my porridge! Latte, latte, latte!!!!!
IS: Ask nicely. But sure. (Pouring milk into her bowl.)
Miss F: And... Zucchero!
IS: Yes, sure. (Putting a tiny little bit of sugar onto the dish.)
Miss F: (Smiling like a winner.) And cannella!
IS: But of course! (Adding a puff of cinnamon onto Funnybunny's porridge.)

Then my happy and clever little daughter starts eating her oatmeal. She is proud of herself: she can speak, she knows how to ask for things - and how to be polite, even though that is easily forgotten - and she can eat without making a huge mess. (Just a little mess.)

And I am happy and proud, too.

Lost. Part II.

Please see Lost I, ie. the previous entry in my blog.

The following quotes are from the press release of Russian-Chechnyan Friendship Society (RCFS).

"It is evident that the so-called positive image of Russia is also of no concern for the present Kremlin authorities. They keep complaining about somebody’s evil intention to discredit them in the eyes of their free world counterparts when murders
of dissident politicians and journalists in the contemporary Russia are raised at the international fora from time to time. They have got used to avoiding answering unsuitable questions about Chechnya for so long that now they feel free to mockingly neglect them. There has been no other response from the Russian authorities to the claim of the international public figures to the murder of Politkovskaya but mere words about continuing investigation. The Russian authorities have responded to the concerns expressed about the ruling to liquidate the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society (RCFS) on absurd extremist charges with the final decision to crack down on us."

*****

IStori: This is HARD stuff! It is not often that I get to see words like "so-called positive image", "evil intention" and "to mockingly neglect".

But I just love their sincerity; straight forward, with no hesitation, let alone fear.

No, there must be fear, after all this violence. But it does not show in this text.

Their soulmates abroad should give a helping hand.

*****

RCFS: "The court session held at the Supreme Court yesterday was a farce. Firstly, the hearing was postponed until late afternoon without warning. It was an obvious

attempt to get rid of observers but all of them were at the door of the Supreme Court at 3 pm. Then officers of justice claimed that there was not enough room for all the observers in a tiny court room where the hearing was organized. However, it turned out that they had deliberately brought a group of people who just occupied the seats in an attempt not to let observers attend the trial. When those people were asked what organization they represented, they mockingly responded, “No organization. We are just public". Later two of those people confessed that some of them were students of the Law Academy and that they had been ordered to stay in the court room."

IStori: Excuse me? They fill the room with students. Kids. Who are told to come and occupy all the seats.

And they, representatives of the Supreme Court, actually think they can get away with that!

It is the kind of stupid, hard-boiled arrogance that, had it not been such a tragic event, it would make me laugh.

And, as a matter of fact, they can get away with that.

This is very frustrating.

Citizens' Forum

FINNISH-RUSSIAN CITIZENS' FORUM ESTABLISHED

A group worried about the undemocratic development and the state of human rights in Russia has established a non-governmental organisation, Finnish-Russian Citizens' Forum.

The organisation is to "help citizens and peoples in Finland and the Russian Federation to cooperate, and to support non-governmental organisations in their effort to strengthen democracy, human rights, and freedom of speech in Russia".

The active team-work of people concerned about Russia's current development started soon after the murder of Russian journalist and civil rights activist Anna Politkovskaya. Several appeals were sent to the governments of Finland and Russia, and public discussions, and demonstrations for human rights were organised in autumn 2006.

The Citizens' Forum supports Russian non-governmental organisations, which are now facing difficulties in their work due to Russia's new draconian law on NGOs. The Citizens' Forum will invite representatives of Russian organisations to Finland, organise visits to Russia, and distribute information about the situation in Russia.

The Citizens' Forum will soon open its web site at www.finrosforum.fi.

The name of the new organisation translates into Swedish as "Finsk-ryska medborgarforumet". The Citizens' Forum carries an unofficial name in Russian: "Finsko-rossiyskiy grazhdanskiy forum".

Sign this. Deadline: January 22, 2007.

Russian Organization Faces Crucial Court Hearing

Urge President Putin to Cease Harassment of Independent Human Rights Defenders

Click Here to Take Action.

On January 23, 2007 the Federal Supreme Court in Moscow will hear the appeal against an order to close a human rights organization, the Russian Chechen Friendship Society (RCFS), issued by a court in Nizhny Novgorod on October 13, 2006.

The organization has suffered a long history of threats, harassment and attacks that appear designed to silence its work as one of the few remaining independent organizations reporting on human rights violations in the context of the ongoing conflict in Chechnya and the North Caucasus.


Enforcing the closure of RCFS would send a chilling message to other human rights defenders in Russia, particularly in the aftermath of the unsolved killing of the eminent journalist and activist Anna Politkovskaya.

We ask you to urge the Russian government to uphold basic freedoms of expression and association, and cease harassment and interference with the work of independent human rights organizations. The Russian government should withdraw its opposition to the organization's appeal, and the closure order against RCFS should be lifted.

Click Here to Take Action.

Learn more about the harassment faced by RCFS.

Good, was it? Make 2007 a better one.

I have challenged some of you. Please tell me

- How was it, in 2006? (Locally, globally, whatever.)
- 2007: What do you think YOU should do better? Or, what should be done? (... to make this a better world. Whatever.)

Big questions, I know. But I am trying to scratch the surface here.




Before I start thinking of good deeds and promises, I list some major things of this year. (Soon to be last year.)

And before I list anything, I have to add that I think that politically, and judging the general atmosphere (in Finland, too) intellectually, and even environmentally, this year has been a bad one. Sorry to say.

Very negative stuff:

1) Unfair political systems. Lack of human rights.
- Murders of Politkovskaya and Litvinenko. Several wars; Darfur, Somalia, Chechnya, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine... to begin with.
- Saddam executed without a proper trial. Bad example. But I guess the war in Iraq has had very little to do with justice, and this equals to the both sides.
- Materazzi making Zidane crazy; the both of them ruing the final.

2) Environmental hazards. Global warming. Black "winter" in most of Finland. Total waste of energy, electricity, oil, and any kind of valuable global resources.

3) Poverty. Poor becoming poorer. Seems to be a trend.


But now the good things in 2006, and these are very private:

1) Miss Funnybunny and the rest of my loved ones. You never fail.


2) Professionally this has been the time of major changes, for the better. I have liked these changes a lot. (But as this is not a work diary I will end this discussion here.)

3) I have had time for the things I like during my leasure time: have been watching football (soccer) in Finland and in Germany, riding (horseback), travelled in Iceland (is was also business trip, though) and in Estonia (total freedom!). Let alone Prague.

4) Have got new friends. (At times I don't realise how this is even possible, at least in Helsinki: I feel I already know more or less of everybody, and the ones to become friends with me already are. But NOOOOO, there are so many wonderful new people to meet! And this year has been a success again.)

5) Hard times have connected people.

*********

And now to the New Year. What to do better in 2007? IStori's heavy list:

1) Be good to yourself. Get enough sleep. Read good books. Avoid TV. Go out, walk and run. Eat well. Mostly organically produced and vegetarian. Those are far better for you and the environment, compaired to the meat and milk of greatly suffering animals and veggies with pesticides. If you are short of money, you do tend to eat much better and cheaper, too, if you make your own food instead of buing junk food. Listen to good music, like this kind of jazz. Best there has ever been.

2) Be good to others. This is a huge thing to do. I'll try to figure out what it means. But for me the first step is that day by day I try to spend more time with miss Funnybunny. (And, day by day she is getting older, cleverer and funnier!)

3) Demand good things. Speak publicly for human rights, equality, end of environmental destruction, or peace (and if you are a politician, do more then just speaking). Say no to idiotic stuff like wars, attacks, invasions. They are never for good. They are for cheaper oil, gas pipes or liberated drug business. Do not vote for idiots. Use your brain.



(Basically, what I am saying is that stop whining and kick ass.)

And finally, let me make your day and include here a Helsinki clip I dedicate to those of you who

a) live elsewhere, or are somewhere travelling, and to
b) all of us who miss snow.

Best wishes from Praha / Prague. Crazy World. Good Bye, Juice Leskinen.

I just came back from a nice visit to Prague. One of the most interesting places in Europe.

At the same time in Finland there was

– EU summit in Helsinki, which was
– visited by Putin; and
– there was a demonstration reminding him of Anna Politkovskaya's brutal murder and demands to solve the crime and start respecting human rights‚ and
–Juice Leskinen, one of the most favoured, loved and cited poets & songwriters in Finland, died.

And in London, Aleksandr Litvinenko, the ex-FSB agent died of radioactive Polonium poisoning.

***

Mr HP and I managed to visit one of the scariest places on earth, Museum of the Theresienstadt Ghetto. It is not just a museum, it is a big ghost town. Either there are new(er) inhabitants, or they are ghosts.

"This couldn't be happening any more, could it?", was what I was thinking when looking at children's drawings describing every day life at the concentration camp. (Only few of them survived. They were sent to Auschwitz.)

The world has become crazy, near us, too. Very, very strange things have happened this autumn: A friend murdered. A person gone missing, longed for and seached by a friend.

But happy things, too: new babies born, and there are some happy newlyweds around. And some, like SP, on the verge of final countdown. Sonja, this is for you! (And it's not "Final Countdown", I can assure you. It is the music we loved. Hahaa I still do...)

Glad to be back home. With miss Funnybunny.




Ei elämästä selviä hengissä.

KGB. Jokes. Do not waste your time with bad books – Kafka again.

According to some TV news, a former FSB officer Alexander Litvinenko has been delivered to hospital in London with acute poisoning. As I understood, he was investigating Anna Politkovskaya's murder. Privately? Don't know. I did not get good links to this story yet. So I put couple of KGB jokes instead. Enjoy:



*****

A hotel. A room for four with four strangers. Three of them soon open a bottle of vodka and proceed to get acquainted, then drunk, then noisy, singing and telling political jokes. The fourth one desperately tries to get some sleep; finally, frustrated, he surreptitiously leaves the room, goes downstairs, and asks the lady concierge to bring tea to Room 67 in ten minutes. Then he returns and joins the party.

Five minutes later, he bends over an ashtray and says with utter nonchalance: "Comrade Major, some tea to Room 67, please." In a few minutes, there's a knock at the door, and in comes the lady concierge with a tea tray. The room falls silent; the party dies a sudden death, and the joker finally gets to sleep.



The next morning he wakes up alone in the room. Surprised, he runs downstairs and asks the concierge where his neighbors had gone. "Oh, the KGB has arrested them!" she answers. "B-but... but what about me?" asks the guy in terror. "Oh, well, they decided to let you go. You made Comrade Major laugh a lot with your tea joke."

*****

The KGB, the GIGN and the CIA are all trying to prove that they are the best at catching criminals. The Secretary General of the UN decides to give them a test. He releases a rabbit into a forest and each of them has to catch it. The CIA goes in. They place animal informants throughout the forest. They question all plant and mineral witnesses. After three months of extensive investigations they conclude that rabbits do not exist. The GIGN goes in. After two weeks with no leads they burn the forest, killing everything in it, including the rabbit, and make no apologies. The rabbit had it coming.
The KGB goes in. They come out two hours later with a badly beaten bear. The bear is yelling: "Okay! Okay! I'm a rabbit! I'm a rabbit!"

*****

This weekend has been good.

* Leena had an excellent birthday party at Kulosaaren Kasino. What a lovely place. Mr. HP and I have to start frequenting it. And boy, didn't we dance! Yes, we did! A lot! Mr HP has a new nickname now, "Fred A".

* Miss Funnybunny and I went to Heidi's, too. Our visit was brief, but it was good to see good guys. Some of them were there a month ago eating Greek salad.

* I had a good time with Miss Funnybunny all weekend. She´s great. She sings all the time, now her favourite is "Happy Birthday". She keeps telling me – tone of her voice requiring respect for a mature person – that she is not a baby any more. She says she is a big girl. Well, that's right, two years and a half is much more than baby ages, measured in months.

* Mr HP and I are getting ready for our visit to Prague, taking place next week: We have been reading travel guides - the best one being in Finnish, published by Mondo. Best wishes to Antti Helin!

So, a Kafka quote is needed. Do not waste your time, that is what he says. The following reminded me of the time-saving tips I wrote last summer. (But I refuse to link them here. Waste your time and find them in my archives.)

"Altogether, I think we ought to read only books that bite and sting us. If the book does not shake us awake like a blow to the skull, why bother reading it in the first place? So that it can make us happy, as you put it? Good God, we'd be just as happy if we had no books at all; books that make us happy we could, in a pinch, also write ourselves. What we need are books that hit us like a most painful misfortune, like the death of someone we loved more than ourselves, that make us feel as though we had been banished to the woods, far from any human presence, like a suicide. A book must be the ax for the frozen sea within us. That is what I believe.”
– Franz Kafka to Oskar Pollak, January 27, 1904

Show must go on. Anna Politkovskaya's work, too.

More birthdays this week! What a wonderful world. Congrats, Leena, for your mega birthday, and to Heidi and Jussi, too! Your card is
here!

Winter is closer. We have had a little snow in Helsinki, too, and in northern areas there are loads of it. Not melting before April.



But the sea around Helsinki is icy cold. Deadly dangerous, but looking harmlessly stiff and lazy, getting prepared to be buried under the ice.

*****

The Finnish Broadcasting Company YLE has been proud to send the following piece of information:

"Tickets for international Eurovision Song Contest on sale before Christmas

Tickets for the international Eurovision Song Contest to be held in Helsinki next May will be on sale by mid-December. Tickets will be on sale for the international semi-final (May 10) and final (May 12) and for the dress and final rehearsals. All in all there will be eight possible audience events. The programme for the dress and final rehearsals will be the same as for the semi-final and final, apart from the voting of course. YLE has invited 12 artists to compete for the honour of representing Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest to be held in Helsinki in 2007."

WHO cares about Eurovision Song Contest? Who? I just don't get that.

Or, maybe I do care. As a taxpayer I care just enough only to wish the money spent on the contest of Euro clowns would be put to anything more important (and, almost anything is more important). Like to small cultural societies and magazines – to those who are to lose governmental funding this year.

I have always been so happy about Finland being the last one. If the forum is as bad as the annual Eurotrash, there is absolutely no need to qualify!

But back to _really_ important things: Anna is still here. Her show must go on. There is a bunch of us who will help.

In the Beginning Of a New Era and Camel Jumping

In the Beginning Of a New Era
is a wonderful piece, written by talented Terhi Kokkonen and composed by Kerkko Koskinen. None of the young – or older, if there are any – stars in the production team are gaining any money from this, but instead, they are to transfer the profit to Chechnya.

How to achive this altruistic goal, that is not the easiest of all the questions. It is on the same level as the biblical "how can a camel jump through the eye of a needle. But that's enough of the Bible for the rest of this year.


The banking systems of Chechya is either under a strict control of Moscow, or just collapsed. And to have someone transporting anything there over the borders, that is not actually easy either. Only few get visas that far. Permissions for visiting Chechnya must be asked from Kremlin. And surprising as it may seem, these guys are not know as very generous gentlemen.

But I will be telling you more about the Chechnya project later on. If this is really a New Era, things must be getting better and you will get happy updates. I will be personally involved, as many others. We are many now.


Voima, a Finnish magazine for thinking and active citizens, has the press release of this musical work of art in its pages also in Russian.

Otchen harasho.

That Greek salad... Bullets. Winter coming.

Yesterday evening we had a good round table wondering how to make things better in Russia.

Russia. Our favourite hobby. Main topic. Top of the pops. Neverending story.

Luckily we had a Russian with us, for a change! AN is a film director, and used to know Anna P., too. What a pity we never met when Anna was around.

Our hostess, HH, is a Finnish parlamentarian, and very interested in Russian politics. PH is a senior politician, currently working for the UN (that abbreviation equals the huge organisation the Secratary-General of which is Kofi Annan. I was not referring to any other mysterious friend of mine!)

The center item on the table, Greek salad, was there because of our journalistic friends, TN and NF, are Greek freaks. (But I am just envious: how come is it possible that some get to be interested and have energy to dig into other cultures besides North-Eastern Europe?)

KM was there too. She is a cultural journalist. Loves Russian stuff, especially theater.

Actually, all of us, including miss Funnybunny and mr HP, used to be friends of Anna Politkovskaya and always hanging around when she was visiting us.

I was thinking about that when I listened to the new piece (Uuden ajan kynnyksellä, "In the Beginning Of a New Era") for memory of Anna (and for human rights), composed by Kerkko Koskinen, and lyrics by Terhi Kokkonen. They sing:

"The one telling the truth
in an elevator she gets a bullet in her forehead.
They don't know about you yet.
They don't know about me yet."

There are more of us. But hopefully the eagle with two heads will run out of bullets soon.

(GO AND GET THE SONG HERE: www.voima.fi)



It was raining today. Winter is coming. But there was some magic in the air, look: outside the railway station it was all blue. (Play misty for me.)

I like the predictable fact that there will be snow soon. Aaahhh, winter... Playing in the snow with Miss Funnybunny. The smell of food in the owen. Mulled wine. Candles everywhere, all the time, all day. Not seeing the bellybuttons of every woman under 40. Winter IS good.

I like going to work in the morning when it's dark (sure, it is dark the whole day, but nonetheless...) and lighting a candle as the first thing. Even before my first sip of coffee.

And reading Doctor Zivago. I read it in every fourth winter, and soon it will be time time time.

No more Visas. Putin in Lahti. Greek salad.

There are more and more journalists in Finland who don't get visas the Russia any more. Once, when Anna Politkovskaya (Politkovskaja) was in Finland, there were about 5-6 journalists around a tabl, of the kind. (We were in restaurant Kappeli, having blinys and wine. Lovely evening, that was!)

A (late) human rights lawyer Mati Wuori, who was with us, said it is outrageous.



So, on Friday, we went to a small, strange town of Lahti, to meet Vladimir Vladimirovitch Putin. (See the previuous entry, from Thu 19 Oct.)

Lahti is located by a lake called Vesijärvi. In English, "Waterlake". Isn't that a wonderful example of the endless sources of imagination of our ancestors?

Back to the protest /vigil /demonstration. Nowadays the police are hysteric, and so are the Heads of State. You can not go anywhere near the actual meetings to protest.

BUT WE HAD ALREADY WON, in that sense that according to the news Mr. Putin had had to reply the sincere and perhaps, more than slighty uncomfortabe questions about the human rights situation in Russia. Both, our Prime Minister Mati vanhanen, as well as President Tarja Halonen had discussed with Putin. Ms Halonen had a lot a chance to talk, she went to the airport to get Putin to Lahti, and together they drove there and back. More than two hours together.

But, as all the sensible activists have concluded repeatedly, it is not the talks that count, but action. Something should change. Rule of law, at first.

* *** ***** *** *

But what on earth does Greek salad have to do with all this? Believe it or not, it has EVERYTHING to do with Putin, Politkovskaya, and politics, in these two countries, Finland and Russia.

But I will explain that later this evening, Miss Funnybunny just woke up and we are going out to the rain for a while.

To be continued...

Putin and Vanhanen in the Center of the Universe, Lahti.

Today Lahti is the Center of the Universe.

Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin is coming to Finland, to a big EU meeting, in two hours. He will go to Lahti, Sibelius hall.

Quite a number of people are going there, like Mr. HP and Miss Funnybunny. Only 1 hour drive from here, 48 min by train.

We are there to say hi, and to demand the following. I just e-mailed this to Kremlin, too.

To

President of the Federation of Russia
Vladimir Vladimirovitch Putin

President of the European Council
Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen

October 20, 2006


APPEAL FOR FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND THE PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS


Two weeks ago the highly respected and awarded journalist Anna Politkovskaya was murdered in the centre of Moscow. This brutal act of violence was yet another setback to freedom of speech, democracy and the respect for human rights in Russia.
In addition to the murder of Anna Politkovskaya, dozens of human rights activists are regularly faced by threats and acts of oppression. They are threatened by physical violence, by loss of job, by threats to their families, by politically motivated law suits and by shaming in the non-independent media.
Travel by individual activists abroad is prevented. Non-governmental organisations are increasingly facing official obstruction of their work and threats of non-registration under the new law. All the mentioned acts above are happening everyday somewhere in Russia.

The murder of Anna Politkovskaya should serve as a final opening of the eyes of those who have repeatedly denied that human rights are eroding in today's Russia. It should serve as a final opening of the eyes for us in the European Union to see what really is going on under the surface in Russia.

Anna Politkovskaya spoke loudly for the rights of those who did not have any and those who were losing their rights in the midst of the war, i.e. “fight against terrorism”, as the government has described it.
She spoke for the need for rule of law in her home country. In her last article she wrote:
"[In Chechnya and in Russia] prosecutors and judges are not acting on behalf of the law and they are not interested in punishing the guilty. Instead, they work to political order to make the Kremlin's nice anti-terrorist score sheet look good and cases are cooked up like blinys. ...
This is what a group of mothers of convicted young Chechens wrote to me: 'In essence, these correctional facilities (where terrorist suspects are held) have been turned into concentration camps for Chechen convicts. They are subjected to discrimination on an ethnic basis. The majority, or almost all of them, have been convicted on trumped-up evidence."

We appeal to you, President Vladimir Putin, that the Russian army and courts of law should respect the European Convention for Human Rights. The culture of impunity should not be allowed to live a day longer.
The Russia authorities should immediately intensify ongoing investigations and start new ones into the disappearances and deaths of Chechen civilians.
Independent observers should be allowed to visit prisons and refugee camps all over the territory of the Russian Federation to ensure that torture is not taking place.
Urgent measures need to be put in place to stop the intimidation and to guarantee the protection of human rights defenders working in Russia.
The full investigation into the murder of Anna Politkovskaya including finding out who possibly ordered the killing should be pursued vigorously and the perpetrators should be prosecuted and tried in a open and fair manner.

In 2004 Anna Politkovskaya was asked whether she believed it might take generations for her country to become truly free.
She answered: "I wouldn't ever want to say it would take generations. I want to be able to live the life of a human being, where every individual is respected, in my lifetime."

Unfortunately it is too late for her, but not too late for you, President Putin.

*****
Prime Minister Vanhanen, we urge and encourage the European Union and especially the Finnish Government now holding the Presidency of the EU to raise these serious and urgent human rights concerns with the Russian Federation. The EU would be betraying its own core values if it failed now, when there is a momentum to take up these serious questions, to demand immediate action from the Russian government to uphold freedom of speech and to guarantee the protection of human rights defenders. This autumn you, as the President of the European Council, have several opportunities to directly address these problems with President Putin.
We therefore appeal to you that these issues be prominently on the agenda at these meetings, in particular and in depth, at the EU-Russia summit in Helsinki on the 24th of November.


Amnesty International
Finnish Section

Finnish Helsinki Committee
International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights

Finnish Peace Committee

Finnish PEN