RUSSIA: DAS KRAMER MEETINGS ON NGOS AND HUMAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 MOSCOW 011252 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/05/2016 TAGS: PHUM PGOV RS SUBJECT: RUSSIA: DAS KRAMER MEETINGS ON NGOS AND HUMAN RIGHTS REF: ST PETERSBURG 00554 Classified By: DCM Daniel Russell: 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: EUR DAS David Kramer reinforced US concerns over NGO re-registration and encouraged Human Rights Ombudsman Lukin to finalize details of an "unofficial" human rights/democracy dialogue. Both Lukin and Public Chamber member Nikonov acknowledged bureaucratic difficulties and endorsed the Public Chamber initiative to postpone the October 18 re-registration deadline. NDI, IRI, and AmCham representatives provided different perspectives on the re-registration, but all urged the US not to publicly react until the final process, including appeals, had run its course. Lukin blamed ethnic violence in Kondopoga on official indifference and corruption, exacerbated by an influx of migrants from the Caucasus. Human Rights Watch (HRW) noted a reduced, but consistent, pattern of abuses in Chechnya. Lukin's October 10-12 visit to Washington is another opportunity to underscore concerns over the NGO law and urge a postponement of the re-registration deadline. The Ambassador also raised this in his October 5 meeting with the Chairwoman of the President's Council on Civil Society and Human Rights (septel). End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) During his October 2-4 visit to Moscow, EUR DAS David Kramer discussed implementation of the re-registration of foreign NGOs, trendlines in Russia's democratic development, and progress in establishing an "unofficial" US-Russia human rights dialogue with a range of officials and NGO representatives, including Human Rights Ombudsman Vladimir Lukin, National Democratic Institute Director Mary O'Hagan, International Republican Institute Director Joe Johnson, American Chamber of Commerce President Andrew Somers, Human Rights Watch Allison Gill and Aleksandr Petrov, and Public Chamber member Vyacheslav Nikonov. -------------- Democracy/Human Rights Dialogue - Update -------------- ¶3. (C) Lukin reiterated that FM Lavrov and Presidential Foreign Policy Advisor Prikhodko endorsed Lukin's participation in a new "unofficial" dialogue on democracy and human rights, following agreement between the Ombudsman and Carnegie Center over the number of officials participating and their capacity. The goal is to exchange views between informed US and Russian experts on civil society, democracy, human rights, and other issues of mutual concern and then to present conclusions to both governments. If officials were also serving as participants, Lukin stated, the point of the process would be undercut. The GOR sought a group of individuals, blessed by the two Presidents, to carry out a dialogue with a very limited number of officials serving as "observers," with Lukin suggesting Ambassadors. Lukin said that he and Carnegie had not vetted candidates yet. Any participant should agree to respect the private nature of the meetings and to limit press to mutually agreed upon statements. ¶4. (C) Lukin agreed to meet with DAS Kramer in Washington during his October 10-12 consultations, in order to discuss in greater detail the dialogue's modalities and how the Presidents could launch the endeavor. He welcomed an opportunity to meet with U/S Burns, if available. DAS Kramer noted that the US was comfortable with the broad parameters of the dialogue and encouraged Lukin to finalize the structure. -------------- NGO Registration -------------- ¶5. (C) NDI and IRI representatives described their organizations as in the "cross-hairs" of the re-registration process, with NDI having submitted its package last week and IRI just completing its papers. Both are potentially subject to a suspension of activities on October 19 if the Federal Registration Service takes the full 30 days to review the documents. (Separately, Human Rights Watch noted that FRS officials indicated its application would be rejected -- on the grounds that it was not presented in a plastic folder, as required.) While AmCham's Somers predicted a routine re-registration of his organization and highlighted the efforts of the FRS to conduct outreach to the American NGO community, he acknowledged that increased scrutiny would be devoted to groups focused on the promotion of human rights. ¶6. (C) NDI, IRI, and HRW flagged that the re-registration was the beginning, not the end, of the process, with the first submission of future programming due on October 30. MOSCOW 00011252 002 OF 003 HRW stressed that "it was anyone's guess" as to the level of detail the GOR authorities were seeking. At best, IRI predicted a need to hire an extra staff member to complete the paperwork associated with the new process; at worst, Johnson warned of the beginning of the end of political party programming, with some of his staff members already searching out alternate employment. NDI O'Hagan noted more pressure from local officials directed against participants in NDI programs, a phenomenon IRI said it was not experiencing, with O'Hagan adding that NDI would begin to consider holding some events outside Russia. Kramer briefed on continuing US efforts to influence the implementation of the law, and urged the NGOs to remain in close contact with the Embassy. ¶7. (C) NDI, IRI, and AmCham all counseled against public US condemnation of the GOR in the event that certain NGOs failed to be registered by October 18. It was important, they all stressed, for the process to run its course, for the organizations (if rejected) to file appeals, and for the US to underscore its belief in the rule of law and its expectation that Russia live up to its international (e.g. OSCE, COE) commitments. Only if the appeal process failed to reinstate an organization's registration, they noted, would it be appropriate for a sharp and public reaction. AmCham's Somers stressed that his constituents -- primarily the business community -- do not want a politicized or high-profile approach. The GOR, he warned, is not in a mood to care about bad headlines in the West; instead, the AmCham believed -- and was seeking to document through surveys -- that American companies were inculcating Western values through their investment and engagement in Russia. American business representatives, he noted, remain perplexed by the worsening bilateral relations, surprised by the imposition of sanctions on Sukhoi and Rosoboronexport, and concerned by the GOR drift to reclassifying segments of the economy as "strategic." Somers reiterated his community's conclusion that the more the international community engaged Russia and absorbed it into international trade regimes, the greater the chance of disseminating Western values. ¶8. (C) While NDI and IRI characterized the Ombudsman as not interested in the re-registration process, Lukin told Kramer that his ability to act was limited by his mandate to respond to gross violations of human rights or to petitions brought by citizens and organizations; to date, he stressed, no organization had approached him with concerns. Sitting on the board of an as-yet-unregistered NGO, Lukin said that he believed bureaucracy and corruption were the primary factors in the sluggish work of the FRS. Having been handed a political hot potato, he noted, the instinct within the FRS was to go slow and stretch out the process until the true intent of the political leadership was divined. ¶9. (C) Inevitably, Lukin said, corruption played a factor, with FRS officers "directing" companies to law firms that provide "facilitation" of the registration process. (In fact, such firms exist, and they reportedly are requesting 10,000 euros.) Leading human rights organizations in the North Caucasus had sent a letter highlighting registration difficulties to the regional Ombudsman, who was charged with preparing concrete data. If any GOR actions appeared politically motivated, Lukin affirmed that he would take up the case. His private assessment was that smaller, provincial organizations would bear the brunt of any difficulties. Many had fallen into the habit of "ignoring formalities," with some institutionally unprepared to meet legitimate GOR demands for accounting. Lukin agreed to meet with IRI Craner and NDI Wallock when they visit Moscow October 17-18. ¶10. (C) Lukin acknowledged the initial confusion, highlighted to Kramer by NDI, over whether October 18 was a deadline for submitting registration documents or a drop dead date by which all organizations needed to be registered. As a result, he privately endorsed the Public Chamber's October 3 initiative to secure an extension of the deadline and accepted Kramer's arguments on the damage to Russia's reputation that a cancellation of NGO programming would produce. Public Chamber International Relations Chairman Nikonov told Kramer he was optimistic that the GOR would extend the deadline and perhaps eliminate it altogether, based on conversations he had with FM Lavrov, as well as Presidential aides Yastrzhembsky and Prikhodko. He noted that the timing of the EU-Russia summit on October 20 increased the chances of GOR responsiveness to the letter sent by Public Chamber President Velikhov to FRS Head Movchan, since Putin would not want to be embarrassed by a row over NGOs. -------------- --- MOSCOW 00011252 003 OF 003 Xenophobia -- Results of Kondopoga Investigation -------------- --- ¶11. (C) Lukin said that he was not sure whether xenophobia was growing, or simply growing more visible. Incidents that were classified as hooliganism in the past were now being prosecuted as hate crimes. He reviewed the results of his visit to Kondopoga, noting the chain of events (reftel) that culminated in the deaths of three. Lukin attributed the outbreak of violence to the "absolute inactivity" of the local police, who were "bought or disinterested;" to the weakness of local authorities, who had allowed six years of self-government to erode all governing institutions; and to the tensions generated by an influx of migrants from the North Caucasus. In contrast to previous migrants from the Caucasus, who had intermarried and been absorbed into local society, newer arrivals were more likely to form their own criminal gangs and reside within their own communities. He contrasted Kondopoga to the capital of Karelia, where a more active police force had prevented violence. Lukin was quick to note that Russia was experiencing the same phenomena confronting other European countries and the lesson he drew was the need to strengthen state institutions. Lukin acknowledged the role of Aleksandr Potkin, formerly press secretary of the ultra-nationalist Pamyat society and current SIPDIS leader of the Society for the Prevention of Illegal Migration, in instigating violence. While three criminal cases had been opened against him, Potkov was careful to hug the outer limits of the law and Lukin was not confident that he would be prosecuted successfully. -------------- Chechnya: HRW Update -------------- ¶12. (SBU) Human Rights Watch told Kramer that although Chechen Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov had become less involved directly in human rights abuses, those under his control continue to commit them. HRW's Petrov, who had just returned from Chechnya, pointed out that while there continues to be a pattern of abuse and a systematic use of torture, the number of disappearances and murders appears to have gone down. He highlighted that security forces commit human rights abuses. Signs are growing, however, of an increasing divergence between the Russian forces and those loyal to Kadyrov, as well as within pro-Moscow Chechen security forces. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶13. (C) Lukin's October 10-12 visit to Washington provides another opportunity to reinforce with a sympathetic and reasonably influential interlocutor our strong concerns over the implementation of the NGO re-registration, while advancing the establishment of an "informal" but GOR-sanctioned human rights dialogue. The Ambassador meets with the President's Council on Civil Society and Human Rights Chairwoman Ella Pamfilova on October 5 and will review outstanding concerns of US NGOs and encourage her to secure an extension of the October 18 registration deadline. ¶14. (U) DAS Kramer did not have an opportunity to clear this message. BURNS