Posted on 03/11/2006 5:09:36 AM PST by Flavius
MOSCOW: Moscow denounced on Friday an official US report criticizing the state of human rights in Russia, saying it smacked of double standards and could damage relations between the states.
The annual report released on Wednesday by the US State Department was "not objective" and posed a threat to "the normal development" of relations between the governments, the foreign ministry said here in a statement.
Its spokesman, Mikhail Kamynin, pointedly mentioned allegations of US rights abuse in Iraq and Afghanistan. The government of President Vladimir Putin came in for stinging criticism in the Washington report, which singled out the "continued centralization of power in the executive branch" achieved by virtually stripping parliament of power and replacing popularly elected provincial governors with presidential appointees.
"This trend, taken together with continuing media restrictions and self-censorship, a compliant State Duma (lower house of parliament), continuing corruption and selectivity in enforcement of the law, political pressure on the judiciary, and harassment of some non-governmental organizations (NGOs) resulted in an erosion of the accountability of government leaders to the people," the report said.
The report also expressed concern about Chechnya, where it said federal troops and pro-Moscow Chechen forces engaged in abuses including torture, summary executions and arbitrary detentions. Kamynin, the Russian foreign ministry spokesman, said such assessments did not help Washington’s reputation in Moscow. "This kind of non-objective report impedes the normal development of Russian-US relations, creates a feeling in Russian society that US politics is biased against Russia and encourages anti-Russian elements in American society," he said in the statement.
"The report is full of misleading information and demonstrates the double standards in attitudes to human rights in Russia and internationally," he added.
The spokesman cited the "violations of human rights in the United States... which are being revealed by international organisations" and the "serious violations of humanitarian law in Afghanistan and in Iraq in which the United States is implicated".
"In Russia, we are actively working to perfect our protection of human rights in accordance with the Russian constitution and the country’s international commitments," he said.
"The government of President Vladimir Putin came in for stinging criticism in the Washington report, which singled out the "continued centralization of power in the executive branch" "
Isn't that what liberals use to smear Bush here at home?
You know, at this point, let's drop the act. It's plain to everybody that we're NOT friends, we're enemies. I guess Russia wants another shot at the title. They're going to be disappointed again.
Not quite, how about russia seek democracy instead of putins power grab? How about russia act like a responsible member of the world community and stop supporting terror regeims? How about russia quit trying to bully its neighbors and own populace?
I can go on here ya know.
Sorry, I should have put the big "SARCASM" sign out.
Soros is a KGB agent. If he is involved, he is only doing it to give Russia an excuse to become more western.
Young man, what have you been smoking? Soros is an anarchist. You accuse Putin of being KGB, and yet Soros and Putin are enemies. Do you even have a clue what you believe?
"Soros is a KGB agent. If he is involved, he is only doing it to give Russia an excuse to become more western."
Does that statement even make sense to you?
Understand, I'm just not too bright. Honest.
"Soros is a KGB agent."
do you have any evidence to prove this?
I ment that Soros is an excuse for Russia to become more militant and build it's military. Perfect work for a KGB agent.
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