CHECHNYA. YET ANOTHER ATTACK
ON THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION:
WWW.SAVECHECHNYA.ORG CLOSED DOWN
Brussels, 29 January 2003. On 21 January the Russian Internet provider Mastak.Ru
decided to close down www.savechechnya.org, the website of the Council of
Non-Governmental Organisations (CNO). The representative of the provider, Mrs
Galina Borisova, explained the decision as follows: "Our company has always tried
to keep outside political questions, and your site has an anti-Russian bias, which
creates serious difficulties for our work.” The site in question, which
provided independent information on the humanitarian and political situation in
Chechnya and campaigned against the war in the Caucasian republic, has never shown
any anti-Russian aims. The decision to block the site is a violation of the right
of the Russian, Chechen and all other peoples to free, independent information.
It is a further attack on the fundamental liberties and rights of the citizens
of the Russian Federation, a violation of the international commitments of the
Russian Federation and a further hindrance to the freedom of action of the
NGOs. It also further reinforces the media blackout on the innumerable abuses
committed by the Russian military and paramilitary forces in Chechnya.
Question from Olivier Dupuis, Member of the European Parliament and Secretary
of the Transnational Radical Party, to the European Commission:
“What information does the Commission have on this affair? Has the Commission
asked the Russian authorities for explanations regarding his arbitrary decision,
which violates the freedom of opinion and expression? What action does the Commission
plan to take in order to lead the authorities of the Russian Federation to put
an end to the continuous erosion of the fundamental liberties and the civil and
political rights of the people of the Russian Federation?”
www.radicalparty.org
=====
Olivier Dupuis
Member of the European Parliament
http://www.radicalparty.org/
tel. +32 2 284 7198
fax +32 2 284 9198