Ireland and EU must challenge Russia on human rights abuses
The Green Party took part in a Europe-wide protest today against the Russian Government’s dismal attitude towards human rights. Green Party Chairman and Foreign Affairs spokesperson John Gormley TD was joined by Party Councillors and General Election candidates outside the Russian Embassy in Dublin, with posters highlighting the names of six people who have been recently killed in politically-motivated assassinations under President Vladimir Putin’s increasingly autocratic regime. Marking UN International Human Rights Day, Green Parties across Europe protested outside Russian embassies in London, Berlin, Brussels, Vienna and in other European capitals.
Deputy Gormley said: “The assassinations this year of ex-spy Alexander Litvinenko, journalist Anna Politkovskaja and the Vice-President of the Central Bank Andrei Kozlov are symptomatic of the deteriorating regard for human rights in the Russian Federation. Vladimir Putin’s system of so-called ‘guided democracy’ is far from democratic. He is using it to keep his political opponents and dissenting voices under control. The media, business, NGOs, elections and political parties are all subject to rigid state control.
“Human rights violations by the justice system, the police and the military are barely investigated and rarely punished. So it is not surprising that politically motivated killings have not either been properly investigated or brought to court. The Russian Parliament recently approved a law permitting secret services to carry out targeted assassinations abroad. The situation there is going from bad to worse.”
On International Human Rights Day Green Parties across Europe are calling on the President and Government of the Russian Federation to:
- Properly investigate human rights violations committed by state bodies and bring the perpetrators to justice
- Clarify politically motivated assassinations, especially the killing of Anna Politkovskaja
- Guarantee freedom of the media and the freedom to hold public assemblies
- Make it possible for civil society organisations to do their work – even if they are critical of the Government
“I am calling on the Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern to make human rights a key factor in Ireland’s diplomatic dealings with Russia, and to persuade the European Council to make Human Rights a guiding principle in EU-Russia policy. Respect for human rights must not be weakened by economic and energy interests,” concluded Deputy Gormley.