Posted on 08/23/2012 7:09:16 AM PDT by marshmallow
Moscow, August 23, Interfax - Moscow believes that Western evaluations of the court trial of members of Pussy Riot punk group are partly politically-motivated and thinks that the Christian roots of European civilization should not be forgotten.
"One can recognize that the case of the said punk group served only as a pretext for another wave of hasty, biased and politically-motivated evaluations. One gets the impression that for some human rights institutions and mass media a chance to kick another anti-Russian scandal is more important than the future of these young women," Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said answering questions from the media.
He admitted "elements of a conflict of civilizations" in the situation. "Many people in the post-modernist West forget about the Christian roots of Europe and in addition to that don't want to respect the feelings of followers of other creeds believing that religion restricts democracy. They speak out for the full freedom of actions similar to the ones which made Pussy Riot ill-famed. However, we are convinced that it is harmful to forget the norms of morality that are common for all world religions. Both in our life and policy we try to stick to traditional values as well as intentional law," the diplomat's answers posted on the Foreign Ministry website say.
"As for unconventional values, they are permissible only there where they do not conflict the law or morality," he added.
"One should not forget that fundamental international legal tools of human rights imply that the freedom of expression is not absolute and is inseparable from certain restrictions," Lukashevich added.
He said that pursuant to Article 19.3 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights dated December 16, 1966 states that the exercise of the right to expression "carries with it special duties and responsibilities" and "may therefore be subject to certain restrictions, but these shall only be such as are provided by law and are necessary: for respect of the rights or reputations of others; for the protection of national security or of public order (order public), or of public health or morals."
Lukashevich also recalled that the European Convention on Human Rights dated November 4, 1950 in Article 10.2 implies that the exercise of the freedom of expression "may be subject to such formalities, conditions, restrictions or penalties as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society, in the interests of national security, territorial integrity or public safety, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, for the protection of the reputation or the rights of others, for preventing the disclosure of information received in confidence, or for maintaining the authority and impartiality of the judiciary."
"These are legally binding commitments of all states and they must be observed," Lukashevich said.
He also recalled that in 2011 the art group Voina won the Innovation prize in visual arts in the nomination "Work of visual art".
"So the criticism of the restriction of the freedom of expression in art is clearly far-fetched," he said.
Lukashevich said that the action in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior was not the first controversial performance of Pussy Riot members who had earlier belonged to Voina.
"Those who have already familiarized themselves with 'the freedom of expression' of Voina group know what group action in the form of a sex orgy involving a pregnant woman they staged in a museum, how they used a dead chicken in their 'art' in the presence of a small child. For some reason the tolerant West did not express its indignation with their odd action of 'hanging' immigrant workers and representatives of sexual minorities in a big supermarket," Lukashevich said.
In his opinion, the essence of the Pussy Riot action in the Cathedral of Christ the Savior has been forgotten.
Commenting on the support for punk group members by Western stars Lukashevich said: "Our opponents overlook the nature of the action of the punk group insulting millions of Orthodox Christians and people of other religions having traditional notions of morality."
The diplomat said that Moscow's Khamovnichesky court brought its sentence after thoroughly checking all the facts in the framework of acting norms of procedure and can be appealed by the defendants or their representatives in due order with higher instances.
He said that the judicial system in Russia is an independent branch of power. He recalled that President Vladimir Putin had spoken against an overly strict punishment of group members while the Supreme Church Council of the Russian Orthodox Church called for demonstrating mercy to the young women in case of their repentance. "Even though in a number of Western countries, such as Germany, Finland, Austria and others, stricter punishment is implied for attempts to obstruct church services and wearing masks in public places is forbidden," he added.
What a coincidence, neither is Obama.
The old word for this was "Caesaropapism."
The more things change . . .
I don't have to believe anyone. I am a native Russian speaker and fixed the "mistakes" myself. I will post it at the end. If anyone here objects to my translation, please let me know.
"They had a mighty funny way of showing that."
"Then they should have held their protest outside some administrative office, not in the Cathedral. …I wish that the members of Act Up and Wham who committed lewd acts in Cathedrals in the US would have gotten similar punishments."
Again, this issue has been protested sporadically for years at other venues and with other techniques. First of all, mass outdoor protests are very limited and suppressed because the corrupt government refuses to issue the permits. If you start a protest without permit in Moscow, you are very likely to be shot and/or imprisoned for longer than this band. Second of all, any successful protests or dissent are covered up by the state-controlled media.
This act was provocative enough to finally get the worldwide attention this issue deserves. In Europe, it has been front-page news for a while.
There was nothing lewd about this act. They were literaly covered head to toe except for a small neckline. PHOTO
Russian Original
(Хор)
Богородица, Дево, Путина прогони
Путина прогони, Путина прогони
(конец хора)
Черная ряса, золотые погоны
Все прихожане ползут на поклоны
Призрак свободы на небесах
Гей-прайд отправлен в Сибирь в кандалах
Глава КГБ, их главный святой
Ведет протестующих в СИЗО под конвой
Чтобы Святейшего не оскорбить
Женщинам нужно рожать и любить
Срань, срань, срань Господня
Срань, срань, срань Господня
(Хор) Богородица, Дево, стань феминисткой
Стань феминисткой, феминисткой стань
(конец хора)
Церковная хвала прогнивших воджей
Крестный ход из черных лимузинов
В школу к тебе собирается проповедник
Иди на урок - принеси ему денег!
Патриарх Гундяй верит в Путина
Лучше бы в Бога, сука, верил
Пояс девы не заменит митингов -
На протестах с нами Приснодева Мария!
(Хор)
Богородица, Дево, Путина прогони
Путина прогони, Путина прогони
(конец хора)
Translation with My Corrections in BOLD
(choir)
Virgin Mary, Mother of God, chase Putin away
chase Putin away, chase Putin away
(end chorus)
Black robe, golden epaulettes
All parishioners crawl to bow
The phantom of liberty is in heaven
Gay-pride sent to Siberia in chains
The head of the KGB, their chief saint,
Leads protesters to SIZO (a type of prison) in convoy
In order not to offend His Holiness
Women must give birth and love
Crap, crap, Holy crap!
Crap, crap, Holy crap!
(Chorus)
Virgin Mary, Mother of God, become a feminist
Become a feminist, become a feminist
(end chorus)
The Church’s praise of rotten dictators
The cross-bearer procession of black limousines
A teacher-preacher will meet you at school
Go to class - bring him money!
Patriarch Gundyaev believes in Putin
Better if he, that bitch, believed in God instead
The belt of the Virgin can’t replace mass-meetings
Mary, Mother of God, is with us in protest!
(Chorus)
Virgin Mary, Mother of God, chase Putin away
chase Putin away, chase Putin away
(end chorus)
Most Common English Translation posted online:
(choir)
Virgin Mary, Mother of God, put Putin away
Рut Putin away, put Putin away
(end chorus)
Black robe, golden epaulettes
All parishioners crawl to bow
The phantom of liberty is in heaven
Gay-pride sent to Siberia in chains
The head of the KGB, their chief saint,
Leads protesters to prison under escort
In order not to offend His Holiness
Women must give birth and love
Shit, shit, the Lord's shit!
Shit, shit, the Lord's shit!
(Chorus)
Virgin Mary, Mother of God, become a feminist
Become a feminist, become a feminist
(end chorus)
The Church’s praise of rotten dictators
The cross-bearer procession of black limousines
A teacher-preacher will meet you at school
Go to class - bring him money!
Patriarch Gundyaev believes in Putin
Bitch, better believe in God instead
The belt of the Virgin can’t replace mass-meetings
Mary, Mother of God, is with us in protest!
(Chorus)
Virgin Mary, Mother of God, put Putin away
Рut Putin away, put Putin away
(end chorus)
PING
Thank you for the effort & the sharing of this translation.
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