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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Mar 29 / 1:30am

Pakolaisvakoilu kriminalisoitava

by Kerkko Paananen

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Suomen eturivin pakolaistyötä tekevät kansalaisjärjestöt ovat kääntyneet hallituksen puoleen ns. pakolaisvakoilun ehkäisemiseksi ja sen kohteeksi joutuneiden turvallisuuden ja oikeuksien takaamiseksi. Suomen Pakolaisapu, Pakolaisneuvonta, Suomen PEN, Kiila ja Suomalais-venäläinen kansalaisfoorumi esittävät, että hallitus käynnistäisi pakolaisvakoilua koskevan lainsäädäntövalmistelun rikoslain muuttamiseksi.

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Filed under  //  FINROSFORUM   Kiila   PEN   Pakolaisapu   Pakolaiset   Pakolaisneuvonta   Turvallisuus   Vakoilu  
 
Mar 2 / 12:49pm

PEN: End Climate of Impunity in Russia!

by Kerkko Paananen

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The Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC) of PEN International welcomes the pledge by Russian authorities to reopen investigations into the cases of five murdered journalists. Valery Ivanov, Natalia Skryl, Aleksei Sidorov, Yuri Shchekochikhin, and Vagif Kochetkov were all killed -- or are suspected to have been killed -- in connection with their journalistic activities. WiPC urges Russia's Federal Investigative Committee to investigate these cases thoroughly, and calls for an end to the climate of impunity that exists in Russia where attacks on journalists frequently go uninvestigated.

Russian journalists work in an increasingly hostile environment and live under constant threat of legal harassment and violence. In 2010, some 40 journalists were attacked because of their work. According to human rights groups, there have been 19 unsolved murders of journalists since 2000. Investigations are often superficial and frequently stagnate. Progress in high-profile murder cases, such as those of Anna Politkovskaya (murdered in 2006) and Natalia Estemirova (murdered in 2009), has been very slow. The five murdered journalists whose cases have been reopened are listed below:

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Filed under  //  Impunity   Journalism   Justice   Murder   PEN   Russia   WiPC  
 
Sep 29 / 2:56pm

International PEN Voices Support for Finno-Ugrians

by Kerkko Paananen

International-pen

International PEN, meeting at its 76th International Congress in Tokyo, Japan, on 25 September to 1 October 2010, notes that the Finno-Ugrian peoples of Russia are in a difficult situation. Many of them are in danger of extinction or becoming absorbed by the majority Russian population.

The proportion of the Finnish-Ugrian population within the different republics of Russia is as follows: Mordovia 32%, Udmurtia 30%, Mari El 43%, Komi Republic 25%, Nenetsia 9%, Khanty-Mansia 1,2%, Komi-Perm 59%. All together, there are around four million Finno-Ugrians in Russia.

Pressure is exerted on minority media. Central powers have taken over many independent media and journalists are oppressed in many ways. According to a report by the Glasnost Defence Foundation in 2010, there are no free media left in any of the regions of the Russian Federation. Only the internet enables some independent Finno-Ugrian reporting.

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Filed under  //  Fennougria   International PEN   Language   Minority   PEN   Russia