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On the occasion of the International Day for Tolerance celebrated on 16 November, representatives of bottom-up initiatives for assistance to refugees from five EU states were invited by the EU-Russia Civil Society Forum to Berlin. The guests participated in the Discussion “Refugees Welcome: European Citizens on Watch” at the Literaturwerkstatt (Kulturbrauerei) as well as visited related authorities and a registration site for incoming refugees.
‘This was one of the first meetings by the EU-Russia Civil Society Forum specifically organised with representatives of the EU countries only,’ says Ralph du Long, member of the Forum’s Steering Committee, lawyer, spokesperson at UNITED for Intercultural Action (Netherlands). ‘The visit was very fruitful for networking and definitely contributed to further shaping of the new Forum’s Working Group on migration. It was also very important to support our colleagues from the countries, which are less friendly to the refugees than Germany: Unfortunately, now these are not only refugees, who are endangered in entering the EU, but also civil society activists, who provide assistance to those.’
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TOP NEWS
Black Sea NGO Forum in Tbilisi: Outreach to New Audiences
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Thanks to an invitation by FOND, a Romanian NGDO platform, the EU-Russia Civil Society Forum was granted an opportunity to attend the 8th Black Sea NGO Forum. The event, organised by FOND, took place on 2-3 November 2015 in Tbilisi, Georgia.
The discussions this year were devoted to such issues as environment for the development of the civil society in the region, international visibility of the NGO work, economic impact of civil society organisations on the local and regional level, the role of donors, and many others. Besides, the delegates identified learning as a development driver for the nonprofit sector and were dealing with a strategy framework while selecting proposals for further elaboration.
'I believe the platform - as a strong attraction point for as many interested nonprofit organisations as possible in the very important Black Sea Region - may become a reliable partner for our Forum,' considers Moisés Jomarrón de la Cerda, Project Manager at the Secretariat of the EU-Russia Civil Society Forum, who represented the Forum in Tbilisi. 'I found it interesting that our colleagues have been working on a knowledge network, which is similar to our E-Corner. That may be one of the common points to explore in the future.'
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STEERING COMMITTEE
Statement "Stop the Unfounded and Arbitrary Pressure on the Prominent Russian NGO - the Human Rights Centre "Memorial"
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The Steering Committee of the EU-Russia Civil Society Forum expresses its serious concern and indignation at the increased campaign of pressure by the Russian authorities against the leading Russian NGO – the Human Rights Centre “Memorial” (HRC “Memorial”), a member of the EU-Russia Civil Society Forum.
On 9 November 2015, the HRC “Memorial” received a report from a routine inspection carried out by the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation on 5-30 October 2015. According to this report, the NGO's members had allegedly tried to "undermine the foundations of Russia's constitutional system by calling to overthrow the current government and change the country's political regime." In support of its statement, the Ministry of Justice cites the publications on the website of the organisation criticising Russia's actions in respect of Ukraine and the verdicts handed down to protesters in the Bolotnaya Square case. On 11 November 2015, the findings from the Ministry of Justice inspection containing the wording cited above were forwarded to the Prosecutor General's Office.
These actions are not the first steps of Russian authorities in the campaign of persecution of the HRC “Memorial”. Earlier last year, in July 2014, the Human Rights Centre “Memorial” was included by the Ministry of Justice on the list of “foreign agents”. In September 2015, it received a fine of 600,000 roubles (over 8.5 thousand euros) for violating legislative requirements requesting from the NGOs “executing the functions of a foreign agent” to indicate all their publications (including those on the net) with a remark that they were published by a “foreign agent”. In both cases, the HRC “Memorial” expressed its firm disagreement with these decisions and appealed against them in courts.
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STEERING COMMITTEE
Statement "Solidarity with Magomed Mutsolgov: Stop the Pressure on the Prominent Ingush Human Rights Defender"
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The Steering Committee of the EU-Russia Civil Society Forum is extremely concerned by reports of a raid conducted at the office of the NGO MASHR, Forum’s member, in Karabulak, Ingushetia, and in the home of its leader Magomed Mutsolgov, Head of the Ingush Public Monitoring Committee and a prominent human rights defender.
As reported by Mutsolgov, mass media, and non-governmental organisations, in the early morning of 6 November 2015, a few dozen armed men, some of them masked, came in three armored ”Gazelle” vans and two passenger cars to the MASHR office and Mutsolgov's house located nearby. Saying that they were police officers, the men sealed off the area around the house and the office and spent a few hours searching the premises and confiscating the computers and all of the organisations's documents and archives dating back to its establishment. The conduct of this large group of armed men was clearly intimidating; Magomed's children were terrified and his mother had a heart attack.
We are particularly concerned about the text of the order warranting the search as part of the ‘operational investigation and search activities’, signed by the Acting Chair of the Supreme Court of Ingushetia. This document says that Magomed Mutsolgov allegedly ‘serves as liaison for anti-Russian NGOs located in Georgia, United States, and Europe, and acts on behalf and orders of foreign NGOs" and that he, ‘while pursuing subversive purposes in Russia, has taken steps aimed at inciting religious conflict’ and is involved in ‘various extremist projects’, ‘which spread anti-Russian information and propaganda to shape destructive public opinions about the Russian government's actions in regard of Ukraine, Georgia, and Syria.’ The document further states that ‘for subversive purposes, he uses various online media and social networks. In addition, Mutsolgov had organised various seminars, workshops, and forums.’ The document also states that Mutsolgov allegedly ‘acts in a very secretive manner, trying to conceal his involvement in extremism. He only uses proven channels and proxies. He manufactures and stores various extremist materials aimed at inciting ethnic hatred in society, and also other items prohibited for free circulation in Russia.’
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MEDIA
Two New Brochures of the Forum Published
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The EU-Russia Civil Society Forum is proud to present two brochures, which were published in 2015.
The booklet "Voices from Civil Society" was prepared within the “EU-Russia Legal Dialogue” Project. 14 authors from NGOs and universities in Russia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, and Slovakia presented legal aspects and thematic areas, in which NGOs from Russia and the EU have a need for share of experiences and coordination, and jointly reflected on possible working formats for the Legal Dialogue in the future. The booklet consists of 13 articles and five thematic units - NGO-Government Relations, Civilian Oversight, Advocacy/Lobbying, Environmental Protection, and Gender Equality.
Another brochure - "Our Stories" - is a collection of stories told by Forum members, supporters, representatives of authorities, donors as well as our kind volunteers and interns. The contributors reflect on various aspects of the Forum's operation - starting with its origins, mission, and values through the achivements of Working and Expert Groups and up to Forum's events, guidelines for statements and policy papers, or communications. As Anna Sevortian, Forum's Executive Director, put it in her preword, 'the story of tomorrow has yet to be written. If one of the stories resonates with you, we would be happy to start writing one together.'
Both publications will be presented at the 6th General Assembly of the EU-Russia Civil Society Forum, which will be held on 7-9 December 2015 in Budapest, Hungary.
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MEDIA
Oleg Orlov (Human Rights Centre "Memorial", Moscow, Russia): 'We Still Don't Know What Is Happening'
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To watch the interview in Russian please follow the link
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Mr Orlov, thank you very much that you agreed to give an interview for the EU-Russia Civil Society Forum under such challenging conditions for both Russia and the Russian civil society. Not once and not twice, your colleagues received threats or were persecuted, the Human Rights Centre “Memorial” was named a “foreign agent”... But it is the first time, when your organisation was blamed of ‘ruining the foundations of the constitutional system of the Russian Federation.’ How do you assess these new developments?
Certainly, I can assess those negatively It is clear that there is a new level of pressure on Russian NGOs. How are we ruining the foundations of the constitutional system? The inspection report by the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation states that we were ‘calling to mount a coup d’etat.’ Where and when were we calling for that? There is no any verification for this. We still don’t know, what is happening. Probably, it is a test step to find out the reaction from the Russian and international human rights community to that unprecedented political accusation. Perhaps, that is the beginning of a new pressure campaign. We still don’t know. There may be another assumption that the perpetrators overleapt themselves, ie the inspection group didn’t understand some details, went too far, etc. To tell the truth, it is hardly to believe in this, as long as because such an accusation could not be brought in without having had an approval from the high level officials of the Ministry of Justice.
Anyway, for the moment, the campaign of public support against such a political accusation towards us has played a significant role. Anyway, in the warning document, which we received as a follow-up of the report by the Ministry of Justice, there were no political accusations anymore. There are only references to doubtful changes there, which we should include in our Charter. But these are not political accusations anymore. What it is, we still don’t know. And it is not clear, whether it is a step back or the Ministry of Justice, as it has already declared, just forwarded the report as it is to the Prosecutor’s Office. So, the ball is on their side of the court - and we will soon know, how they are going to act towards our organisation.
You mentioned that it might have been a test on reaction by the Russian civil society and the international community. Do you feel support from both of them in this case?
Yes, we feel that support, actually. Signatures were gathered in support of us. It was claimed by many organisations, politicians, and Council of Europe bodies that the actions towards a legally operating organisation were inadmissible. That’s why we felt the strong support in Russia as well as from abroad. Presumably, the government has noticed that support in some way as well.
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