DATE=6/23/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=RUSSIA POLITICS (L ONLY)
NUMBER=2-263685
BYLINE=EVE CONANT
DATELINE=MOSCOW
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Russia's lower house of parliament, the Duma,
has approved President Vladimir Putin's plan to
strengthen the Kremlin's control over Russia's
regions. V-O-A Moscow Correspondent Eve Conant
reports regional leaders tried to block a proposal
that would strip them of many of their powers.
TEXT: Lawmakers in Russia's lower house of parliament
approved the plan by President Putin to strip regional
governors of their seats in the Federation Council, or
upper house of parliament.
Lawmakers voted overwhelmingly in favor of the plan,
exceeding the two-thirds majority necessary to block
the upper house from vetoing the bill.
The legislation is just one part of President Putin's
plan to rein in regional governors and strengthen
Kremlin control throughout Russia. Mr. Putin, who was
elected in March, has said tighter federal controls
are necessary to improve Russia's economy and to keep
Russia -- which spans 11 time zones -- a unified
country.
The bill strips Russia's powerful governors of their
seats in the Federation Council and replaces them with
appointed legislators. Governors would also lose
diplomatic immunity from prosecution.
Supporters of the plan say regional governors have
wielded too much influence in the past and have passed
laws which violate Russia's constitution.
But Russian business tycoon and Duma lawmaker Boris
Berezovsky argued that the plan would bring Russia one
step closer to an authoritarian regime.
/// BEREZOVSKY ACT - IN RUSSIAN - FADE UNDER ///
Mr. Berezovsky says that if a governor is elected by
the people, then -- in his words -- "it should only be
the people that can strip him of his powers."
The speaker of Russia's upper house of parliament
where the governors presently sit, argued
unsuccessfully earlier on Friday that passing the bill
would grant President Vladimir Putin too much
political power. (Signed)
NEB/EC/JWH/ENE/KL
23-Jun-2000 10:47 AM EDT (23-Jun-2000 1447 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
|
Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list
|
|
|
