16 January the negotiations of the German Chancellor Angela Merkel with the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin took place in Moscow. Angela Merkel among other issues has strongly raised questions concerning problems of human rights in the Russian Federation, first of all it is the question of the situation in the Chechen Republic and in the Northern Caucasus and discriminating legislation toward the public organizations. (19-JAN-06)
Talking about the new Russian legislation which restricts freedom of nongovernmental organizations, Angela Merkel has said that the use of this law mustn’t impede the work of these organisations. “We will attentively keep an eye on the upcoming situation and then we’ll have decide if it’s worth to discuss this issue. We want NGO in the Russian Federation to have further opportunity to do their work in Russia”, said the Chancellor.
At the Embassy of Federal Republic of Germany in Moscow Angela Merkel has discussed the question of the activities of the NGO at the special meeting with the representatives of the different groups of Russian society – with Russian human rights defenders, scientists and cultural workers, representatives of the legislative power and businessmen. There were a few well-known representatives of the Russian human rights movement – the Chairman of the Moscow Helsinsky group Ludmila Alekseeva, Chairman of the Society “Memorial” Arseny Roginsky and the head of the “Union of the Solder’s Mothers Committees of Russia” Valentina Melnikova.
Commenting on the situation concerning the new NGO law, the Russian Federation Ombudsman for Human Rights Vladimir Lukin told the chancellor of Germany that “Russian people don’t want democracy and the new law corresponds to the expectations of Russian people”. In reply Valentina Melnikova firmly declared that the danger to the democracy came from the Kremlin and not from Russian people.
Taking floor after the reception Mrs Melnikova said “Having invited to the official meeting the representatives of public society and oppositional parties Angela Merkel gave Vladimir Putin a lesson of democracy. We hope that it’ll become good tradition and the heads of other European states will follow her example”. The representative of Soldiers Mothers of the Russian Federation expressed deep satisfaction of the fact that Germany had elected a woman as a Chancellor and added that it gave us hope that such important problems as putting an end to the war in the Chechen Republic and realization of the military reform would be soon solved.
