Russian Misperceptions of U.S. Intent Among Concerns at Hearing
09 February 2006
State's Fried, Lowenkron also discuss Russian "backsliding on democracy"
By Jeffrey Thomas
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington -- Two senior State Department officials shared with Congress February 8 their concerns about recent developments in Russia regarding human rights, civil society and democratic governance.
Assistant secretaries Daniel Fried and Barry Lowenkron expressed particular concern about Russia's relations with many of the nations of Eastern Europe and Eurasia, its misperceptions of U.S. intentions in the region and what Fried called Russia's "backsliding on democracy."
Lowenkron told the U.S. Helsinki Commission that he recently traveled to Moscow at the behest of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to convey "deepening" U.S. concerns about nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in Russia. (See related article.)
"Civil society in Russia is under increasing pressure," said Lowenkron, the assistant secretary for democracy, human rights and labor. He cited several "ominous signs of things to come," including Russian allegations that British spies have been funding NGOs; repressive actions against the Russian Chechen Friendship Society; and efforts by the Ministry of Justice to revoke the registration of the Russian Human Rights Research Center.
"These and other developments suggest that the Russian government has a deep mistrust of civil society, and especially of organizations that receive foreign funding and are engaged in politically sensitive activities like human rights monitoring," said Lowenkron.
He characterized the new NGO legislation as "just one element in a broader pattern of restricting the space for independent views, consistent with the apparent aim of [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin to concentrate power in the Kremlin and direct 'democracy' from the top down." (See related article.)
On his recent trip to Moscow, Lowenkron said, he encountered "deep suspicion that Western states had manipulated election outcomes in Ukraine, Georgia and elsewhere by funding NGO activity there."
Lowenkron said he responded to such suspicions by emphasizing "that they were fundamentally mistaken about what happened in Ukraine and Georgia, that our NGO funding and activities there were transparent and fully in keeping with OSCE [Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe] and other international standards and practices."
"Our assistance is designed to help ensure that elections are free and fair, not to pick winners and losers," he added.
Fried, the assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs, said Russian officials express a strong sense of concern about recent democratic revolutions in neighboring Ukraine, Georgia and Kyrgyzstan - the so-called "colored revolutions."
"Partly as a result of these events, many Russians now view U.S. involvement in the region with growing wariness," said Fried. "On visits to Moscow, one can sense Russian public and official concern about the prospect of more so-called 'colored' revolutions and the fear that these would undermine regional stability, and Russia's security and economic interests."
He termed this Russian view of American policy "misplaced," adding that the United States does not see itself as in competition with Russia in Eurasia or see U.S. and Russian interests as in conflict.
"We believe it is in Russia's interests as well as our own to have stable and prosperous democracies developing on its borders, which would naturally lead to maintaining good ties with Russia," Fried said.
"Failed states and authoritarian regimes, which alienate their own people along Russia's periphery, do nothing for regional stability, security or prosperity," he said. "It would surely be better for Central Asia and Eastern Europe if Uzbekistan and Belarus, for example, were moving in a reformist rather than increasingly repressive direction."
DEMOCRACY IN RUSSIA
On the subject of democracy in Russia, Lowenkron said "the current trajectory is discouraging," and Fried expressed regret that "the Russian government's commitment to internationally recognized human rights, including democratic norms, media freedom and the rule of law, has deteriorated."
But Lowenkron added that the Russia of today is not the Soviet Union. "The space for individual freedoms is immeasurably larger than anyone could have imagined in Soviet days."
Fried also cited areas in which Russia and the United States work successfully and in partnership, such as on counterterrorism, arms control and reconstruction in Iraq and Afghanistan. "There exists considerable potential for greater progress in these and other areas where we share overlapping interests," such as Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization, he said.
Both officials offered some concrete ideas about what the United States should do to help Russia on the path to democratization. Lowenkron said the United States will "speak honestly about our concerns with Russian officials. We do this as a friend to Russia." There also will continued U.S. support for programs to foster civil society and democratic governance and to encourage free and fair elections, he said.
Lowenkron added that "we will continue to work with our allies and other democracies around the world to send a strong message that we expect Russia to fulfill commitments on human rights and democratic freedom." His bureau will be "a focal point where NGOs can register their concerns about their treatment, not only in Russia but in other countries across the globe where we are seeing disturbing efforts to restrict NGO activities."
Fried noted Russia's chairmanship this year of the Group of Eight (G8) industrialized countries and said the United States will "encourage the Russian Government to demonstrate to its G-8 partners and the world its commitment to the values of democracy, human rights and the rule of law common to all industrialized democracies and real progress."
For additional information on U.S. policy in the region, see Europe and Eurasia.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
