FINROSFORUM

FINROSFORUM

FINROSFORUM  //  The Finnish-Russian Civic Forum strives to promote cooperation between the peoples of Finland and Russia by supporting civic initiatives for democracy, human rights, and freedom of speech.

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Jul 20 / 5:12pm

FINROSFORUM 2010 | Address to Finnish and Russian Presidents

by Kerkko Paananen

Address to the Presidents of Finland and the Russian Federation by participants of the 4th annual Finnish-Russian Civic Forum, FINROSFORUM 2010

Helsinki, 20 July 2010

Dear President Halonen,
Dear President Medvedev,

While you are meeting today in Finland, we, representatives of Russian and Finnish civil societies, are also gathering here to discuss how non-governmental actors can contribute to cooperation between our two nations and to building a common European space based on the principles of democracy, rule of law and human rights. We would like to draw your attention to the following concerns, which are in the centre of our discussions today.

Like you, dear Presidents, we also want to see Russia a modern and prosperous country. However, we believe that without ensuring fundamental freedoms, building strong democratic institutions and an independent judiciary any technological modernisation efforts will fail. It goes without saying that free and fair elections and independence of the media are essential to this process.

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Filed under // EU Finland FINROSFORUM Foreign Policy Halonen Human Rights Medvedev Russia

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Jul 14 / 10:12pm

FINROSFORUM 2010 | «Модернизация – от слов к делу»

by Kerkko Paananen


Четвертая ежегодная конференция Финско-Российского Гражданского Форумa, «FINROSFORUM 2010», объединит группу экспертов по правам человека, политике и экономике из России и других стран. Конференция проведется 21-22 июля 2010 в культурном центре «София», который расположен в великолепном природном окружении на берегу Балтийского моря в восточной части Хельсинки.

В первый день конференции главная тема дискуссии – модернизация российского общества. В дискуссии будут участвовать бывший вице-премьер РФ Борис Немцов, депутат Госдумы Илья Пономарев, известный политолог Андрей Пионтковский, гендиректор инвестиционного фонда Hermitage Capital Management Билл Браудер и многие другие. Полный список докладчиков можно найти на нашем сайте.

Второй день конференции будет посвящен обсуждению проекта [pdf] для создания новых форм сотрудничества между неправительственными организациями ЕС и России. Ведущие деятели российского гражданского общества приглашены в дискуссию. Будут представлять проект Фрейзер Кэмерон, директор Центра ЕС-Россия, и Хейди Хаутала, председатель Финско-Российского Гражданского Форума.

Конференция открыта для публики, участие в ней бесплатно. Просьба ко всем заинтересованным лицам зарегистрироваться на конференцию заранее здесь.

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Filed under // Модернизация Россия Финляндия Finland FINROSFORUM Russia

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Jul 9 / 2:35pm

FINROSFORUM 2010 | Modernisation: From Words to Deeds

by Kerkko Paananen


The fourth annual conference of the Finnish-Russian Civic Forum, FINROSFORUM 2010, brings together a host of experts on human rights, politics, and the economy from Russia and elsewhere. The conference will be held in the Conference and Cultural Centre Sofia in Helsinki on 21-22 July 2010. The conference venue is located on the picturesque cape of Kallahdenniemi in Helsinki's eastern district of Vuosaari.

The first day of the conference will focus on Russia's need to modernise its political and economic system. Taking part in the discussion will be Boris Nemtsov, Russia's former Deputy Prime Minister, Ilya Ponomaryov, member of Russia's State Duma, Andrey Piontkovsky, Russian scientist and political analyst, Bill Browder, founder and CEO of Hermitage Capital Management, and many others. The full list of speakers is available on our website.

The second day of the conference will be devoted to a discussion about the need to create new forms of civil society cooperation between the EU and Russia. A project to establish an EU-Russia Civil Society Forum [pdf] will be presented at the forum. Leading actors in Russia's human rights movement and civic society have been invited to take part in the discussion. Fraser Cameron, Director of the EU-Russia Centre, and Heidi Hautala, Chair of the Finnish-Russian Civic Forum, will present the project.

The conference is open to the public and participation in the event is free of charge. Registration for the conference is open at http://finrosforum.fi/pages/registration.

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Filed under // Civil Society Economy Finland FINROSFORUM Human Rights Modernisation Russia

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Jul 9 / 2:10pm

FINROSFORUM 2010 | Speaker Profiles

by Kerkko Paananen

The fourth annual conference of the Finnish-Russian Civic Forum, FINROSFORUM 2010, will feature a host of speakers from Russia and elsewhere. Read on for brief profiles on all the featured speakers. We invite all participants to take an active part in the discussions. Please remember to register for the conference!

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Filed under // Finland FINROSFORUM Russia

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Jul 7 / 2:18am

Elena Maglevannaya will not give up

by Kerkko Paananen


The Russian freelance journalist and human rights activist, Elena Maglevannaya, who has applied for asylum in Finland, continues her work at the refugee reception centre in Joutseno, on the Finnish-Russian border.

Maglevannaya has been waiting for a decision on her asylum application for over a year now. If the Finnish immigration authorities grant her asylum, Maglevannaya vows to continue writing about human rights violations in Chechnya.

"It is impossible for me to return to Russia; that would be a death sentence," says Maglevannaya. She has finally received an invitation to a hearing at the Finnish Immigration Service, where she will have an opportunity to recount her reasons to apply for asylum.

"I am excited, but I have great trust in the European system. Here in Finland, there is rule of law. I have often been in a situation where law has no meaning or it does not exist at all," Maglevannaya says.

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Filed under // Asylum Chechnya Finland Human rights Journalism Prisons Russia Torture

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Jun 10 / 7:01pm

The Pied Pipers of Putinism

by Kerkko Paananen

Four civic activists and Russia experts in Finland have published a statement condemning the actions of the so-called Finnish "Anti-Fascist" Committee (SAFKA) and Kremlin's parallel propaganda campaign against Finland. The statement's signatories call on Finnish public opinion to give its assessment of the committee's actions. The authors state that Russia's habit of doing politics on the situation of distressed people living in Finland is unacceptable.

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Filed under // Finland Foreign policy Johan Bäckman Kremlin Propaganda Putinism Russia SAFKA

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Jun 10 / 2:38pm

Asylum for Elena Maglevannaya!

by Kerkko Paananen

Dear Finnish migration authorities,

We urge you to grant asylum to the Russian human rights defender and journalist Elena Maglevannaya. She arrived in Finland in late May 2009 and has stayed there since. Maglevannaya decided to apply for asylum in Finland after she was persecuted by the Russian authorities for her articles about the torture of Chechen inmates in Russian prisons. Moreover, Maglevannaya received several death threats from Russian ultranationalist organisations closely linked to the authorities.

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Filed under // Appeal Asylum Chechnya Finland Journalism Maglevannaya Petition Russia

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May 5 / 12:50am

Venäjän pakolaisvirta Suomeen yltyy

by Mikael Storsjö

Euroopan komission alainen tilastoyksikkö Eurostat julkaisi tiistaina vuoden 2009 pakolaistilastonsa. Eurooppaan tuli viime vuonna lähes 261 000 turvapaikanhakijaa; näistä lähes 48.000 Ranskaan. Kaiken kaikkiaan Venäjän Federaatiosta tulleiden turvapaikanhakijoiden määrä oli yli 20.000 henkilöä, eli toiseksi suurin määrä heti afgaanipakolaisten jälkeen.

Suomen osalta tilastot osoittavat huimaa nousua Venäjän federaatiosta tulleiden turvapaikanhakijoiden osalta. Pakolaisneuvonnan tilastoinnin mukaan Suomeen tuli turvapaikanhakijoita Venäjältä vuonna 2007 kaikkiaan 172 henkilöä, vuonna 2008 yhteensä 209 henkilöä, ja vuonna 2009 peräti 602 henkilöä.

Taustalla on Venäjän Federaation alueella yhä heikentyvä ihmisoikeustilanne, josta EU joutuu kantamaan oman vastuunsa. Tosin Venäjän maahanmuuttoviraston mukaan 44 % venäläisistä pakolaisista olisi muista IVY-maista tulleita venäjänkielisiä pakolaisia. Tämä väite ei ole kovin uskottava, sillä Eurostatin tilastointi rakentuu kansallisuuteen eikä kieleen. Kenties Venäjä ennakoi tulevaa historiankirjoitusta ja tilastoi jo tänään pohjoiskaukasialaiset ulkomaalaisiksi?

Lähteet: Eurostat, Pakolaisneuvonta, RIA Novosti

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Filed under // Asylum Chechnya EU Finland Human Rights Ingushetia North Caucasus

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Apr 23 / 4:13am

Finlandization: Maximum-Security Tikkurila

by Kerkko Paananen


Tikkurila, which owns two production facilities in Saint Petersburg, is a characteristic example of how a corporate carrot can easily turn into a corporate stick. Built in the late nineties by Finns using Finnish technology, the company’s water-based paints manufacturing plant in St Petersburg (the so-called "old" Tikkurila factory) was long considered an oasis of humane euro-capitalism in the city.

One worker recalls: “In 1997, our salary was 500 dollars a month with an annual 20-30% raise. During the 1998 ruble default, when sales plummeted, Tikkurila made no layoffs, but shortened the workday instead. There was company-paid medical insurance, good working conditions, polite management. In short, we were absolutely satisfied and did not think about organizing a trade union.”

In 2007, when Tikkurila acquired another plant, TEKS, everything changed. For workers at the old plant, it looked like the “gangster-like” TEKS had squashed their peaceful communist oasis. Soon after the merger, management began introducing "lean manufacturing methods." One senior manager noted with satisfaction that the company saved 35 million rubles as a result of this “breakthrough.”

Show your solidarity with workers at Tikkurila's factories in St Petersburg by signing the petition addressed to general director Timo Laitala. Please let Tikkurila corporate management know what you think. You can also let FinnWatch, which monitors Finnish companies abroad, know how you feel about Tikkurila’s treatment of its workers in Russia.

Read more:

http://chtodelat.wordpress.com/2010/04/22/finlandization-maximum-security-tikkurila-saint-petersburg/

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Filed under // CSR Finland Human Rights Russia Tikkurila Trade Union

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Mar 29 / 4:10am

Defend Freedom of Assembly in Russia!

by Kerkko Paananen


Amnesty International Finnish Section will organise a demonstration in support of the freedom of assembly in Russia. The demonstration will take place on Wednesday 31 March 2010 at 6 pm outside the Russian Embassy in Helsinki (Tehtaankatu 1).

The 31st Article of the Constitution of the Russian Federation guarantees freedom of assembly. There have been several demonstrations in support of the freedom of assembly in Moscow and other cities on the last day of each month with 31 days.

The authorities have under various pretexts consistently banned the demonstrations on Moscow's Triumphal Square; yet, people have continued to assemble on the square every other month at 6 pm. Demonstrations have taken place in cities throughout Russia.

On 31 December 2009, police arrested 50 activists who demonstrated in support of the freedom of speech and freedom of assembly as guaranteed by the Russian Consitution. Among those arrested was 82-year-old dissident Lyudmila Alexeyeva, who received the European Parliament's Sakharov Prize in December 2009.

Besides Helsinki, demonstrations in support of the freedom of assembly in Russia will be held on 31 March 2010 in Berlin, Paris, Prague, Tallinn, Tel-Aviv, Washington, and elsewhere. Please join us in expressing support for basic human rights in Russia!

UPDATE:

Amnesty International expresses condolences for the victims of the bomb attacks in Moscow. Amnesty condemns the attacks against civilians. Those responsible must be brought to justice according to international human rights standards. Read more:

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Filed under // Amnesty Demonstration Finland Helsinki Human Rights Russia

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