On October, 29th the Anti-Fascist March against Hatred was held in the center of St Petersburg. More than 600 people, including Russian Federation Ombudsman for Human Rights Vladimir Lukin, took part in the march. Participants approved an appeal to President Putin, accusing anti-Georgian campaign launched by authorities. (02-N0V-06)
Text: HRH/Moscow, by Yanina Savenko. Sources: newsru.com, svobodanews.ru, demos-center.ru
The March was the held the third time in memory of killed ethnographer and anti-Fascist activist Nikolay Girenko. The first March against Hatred was held in St Petersburg in October 2004 and was dedicated to birthday of the killed scientist and human rights activist. From that time every year in the end of October a similar action is held. This year the march was also dedicated to recently killed journalist Anna Politkovskaya. Participants of the action were carrying portraits of Anna Politkovskaya and Nikolay Girenko as well as posters with slogans “You Can’t Kill Truth!”. Besides, this year another important theme of the march was anti-Georgian campaign, launched by Russian leaders. Many participant of the action were wearing on the chest cards with inscriptions“I’m Georgian”.
Appeal to stop persecution of Georgians
Activists of Yabloko, Union of Right Forces parties, Republican Party of the Russian Federation, human rights activists, participants of the movement “Russia without Racism”, anarchists, members of civil organization Memorial were marching along main streets in St Petersburg to the Academician Sakharov square, where they held a rally. Picketers adopted an appeal to President Vladimir Putin: “Anti-Georgian campaign, which began after your speech, has led to discrimination of Georgians. Not you, Mister President, but history was creating the Russian Federation and it’s not you who can destroy the cultural community”. Participants of the rally also applied to St Petersburg authorities asking to memorialize Nikolay Girenko and by opening the memorial plate.
What happens on the new official holiday?
Meanwhile, pro-Fascist parties on November, 4th, the Day of National Unity (a new official holiday in Russia) plan to hold in Moscow and other cities of the Russian Federation the “Russian March” . On October, 20th the Executive Committee of the “Russian March-2006” declared about “determination of masses of Russians to go on the 4th of November into the streets of the Russian Federation and to claim their rights, freedoms and national interests of Russian people”. Today place and time of meeting of the March participants in different cities of the Russian Federation have been already determined, posters are prepared, and appeals to join the March are put on web-sites in Internet and in metro. Organizers also invite all Orthodox believers to go into the streets together with participants of the march and to celebrate in such a way the Day of the Icon of Kazanskaya Mother. Last year the Movement Against Illegal Immigration organized a similar action called the “Right March”.
Opposition of human rights activists
Meanwhile human rights activists try to press for a ban on the march and on propaganda of national hatred ideas. For example, according to Ulyanovsky Anti-Fascist Movement declared that since 30th of October the territory of Ulyanovsky region has been declared free from Fascism and its manifestations. Antifascists are going to lead propaganda against Fascist ideology among youth of Ulyanovsk, to erase over Fascist symbols and also try to prevent conducting public pro-Fascist actions on November, the 4th. Recently representatives of Ulyanovsky Anti-Fascist Movement have managed to withdraw more than 30 books concerning Nazi ideology and Hitler ideas from activists of “Slavic Union”.
