MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti political commentator Vladimir Simonov.) - During the July conference with the Council for Civil Society and Human Rights, Russian President Vladimir Putin categorically objected to foreign financing of political organizations in Russia.
In November the State Duma (lower house of parliament) began the first reading of the bill on amendments to relevant laws.
The parliament calls for closer monitoring of more than half a million public, non-governmental and human rights organizations, foundations and associations. Nobody knows the precise figure because the law regards groups without an official residence address whose personnel do not receive official wages as formally non-existent.
Quite a few such organizations receive foreign financing, and some of these non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have actively contributed to the color revolutions in Ukraine, Georgia and Kyrgyzstan. The United States has the greatest liking for such "remote manipulation." Soon after the orange events in Kiev last year, libertarian congressman Ron Paul (R - TX) demanded that an independent commission should be established to investigate the illegal funding of Viktor Yushchenko's campaign by U.S. organizations.
He said in his speech to Congress on December 7, 2004, entitled "U.S. Hypocrisy in Ukraine:" "We do not know exactly how many millions - or tens of millions - of dollars the United States government spent on the presidential election in Ukraine. We do know that much of that money was targeted to assist one particular candidate, and that through a series of cut-out non-governmental organizations (NGOs) - both American and Ukrainian - millions of dollars ended up in support of the presidential candidate, Viktor Yushchenko."
The issue was taken up again the other day, when the U.S. Congress approved spending on supporting democracy in foreign countries. The Congressmen decided to allocate $4 million on democracy in Russia. The staff of the American mission in the OSCE have explained how this money will be spent. Revolutions in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) were only a rehearsal for 2007-2008, when major funds are to be invested in the "cut-out NGOs" that can promote the establishment of a Western version of democracy in Russia.
Amendments to the bill the State Duma is debating are a response to these designs. Firstly, the Russian parliament wants to bind the NGOs to register their existence with the state. The authorities also want to know their sponsors and the projects into which they invest sponsors' money. But the essence of the bill is the prohibition of foreign financing of Russian NGOs' political operation. The MPs are also discussing the size of tax to be levied on the sponsors' generosity.
"Duma deputies have concluded that at least 20-25% of the 450,000 NGOs live on the money of the Western community," said deputy Alexei Ostrovsky, a co-author of the bill. "These are primarily human rights groups, whose registration forms proclaim their activity as the protection of the rights of Russian citizens. In fact, they are engaged in shady operation on the money of foreign sponsors."
The Duma's desire to streamline the operation of the NGOs provoked a powerful outcry of these organizations and the West. Former Senator and democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards and former Congressman and republican vice presidential candidate Jack Kemp, co-chairmen of an Independent Task Force launched by the Council on Foreign Relations to review current U.S. policy toward Russia, sent a panicky letter to President Bush.
I can understand their concern, as the new bill may approve the closing of foreign, including American, NGOs in Russia. They interpret this as Moscow's deviation from a policy of pluralism and the curtailment of Russo-American ties. In fact, the new amendments aim only at blocking the operation of those who use the cover of public activities to import color revolutions technology to Russia. Moreover, the authors of the bill drew on the experience of the United States, where the slightest attempt by a foreign organization to finance the political operation of an NGO would detonate a nationwide scandal.
Dimitri Simes, President of the Nixon Center (ex officio) in Washington, has said on the Russian TVC Third Channel: "There are laws in the United States that do not allow such organizations as mine to support political parties. We may not take an active part in the party and political life of the country. In general, Americans are big patriots. The idea of foreigners telling them how they should develop their country is completely unacceptable to them."
In a word, the U.S. administration appears to suffer from a dual personality disorder. It refuses to be told how it should live but thinks that Russia must obediently listen to what Washington tells it through public organizations that exist on American money.
Governments of most Western states control public foundations, Simes said. "This is why I think that the idea of a relevant Russian bill corresponds to world practice. In my opinion, many of these NGOs are treading beyond reasonable and acceptable limits."
The parliamentary debates will soon begin in Russia, where the overwhelming opinion is that the country needs the bill but it should be revised and improved. It should draw an even clearer line between the classical human rights operation and purely political experiments paid for with foreign money and designed to clone an orange revolution in Russia. We must weed out the Russian vegetable plot without trampling on the delicate sprouts of civil society.
