KREMLIN HUMAN RIGHTS CHAIRWOMAN PROMISES NO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MOSCOW 011266

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR/RUS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/06/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM KDEM SOCI RS
SUBJECT: KREMLIN HUMAN RIGHTS CHAIRWOMAN PROMISES NO
SUSPENSION OF NGO ACTIVITY


Classified By: Ambassador William J. Burns. Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

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Summary
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1. (C) Chairwoman of the Presidential Administration Council
for Civil Society and Human Rights Ella Pamfilova
emphatically assured Ambassador October 5 that "nothing would
happen" to curtail the activities of NGOs not re-registered
by the October 18 deadline. Pamfilova's office was
monitoring the Federal Registration Service and planned a
special October 18 session at which it would examine NGO
registration status reports. Embassy next steps: Ambassador
has raised the issue with Deputy Foreign Minister Yakovenko,
and will continue to intercede with appropriate GOR
interlocutors. Septel will report current NGO re-registration
state-of-play.


2. (C) Pamfilova said there was no legislation pending or
being drafted that would prevent foreign financing of NGOs.
She traced recent interethnic violence to corruption, and
agreed that President Putin should use the remainder of his
term to tackle the problem. Pamfilova stressed the
importance of U.S.-Russian cooperation in combating the
Islamic threat. On Georgia, Pamfilova saw Saakashvili as "no
democrat." End summary.

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NGOs Will Stay in Business
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3. (C) Ambassador opened his October 5 meeting with
Presidential Administration Human Rights and Civil Society
Chairwoman Ella Pamfilova by briefly describing his concern
that the failure of international NGOs to be re-registered by
the October 18 deadline could mean a suspension of their
program activities until registered by the Federal
Registration Service (FRS). Pamfilova, who was accompanied
by Executive Secretary of the Presidential Council for
Promoting the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights
William Smirnov, noted that she had heard similar fears
expressed by other international representatives. She said
--repeatedly and emphatically-- that "nothing would happen"
to NGOs not registered by October 18. Either the deadline
would be extended, or the NGOs would otherwise be able to
continue their activities until registered by the FRS.


4. (C) Pamfilova told the Ambassador that her Commission
would hold a meeting on October 18 at which all information
available at that time would be examined. If there were any
problems, she would intercede with the appropriate government
agencies and with the President, if necessary. Pamfilova
said that she was in close contact with the FRS and would
remain in contact as the deadline approached. She again
reassured the Ambassador that NGO activity would not be
interrupted because of the October 18 deadline.

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No Restrictive NGO Financing
Legislation on the Horizon
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5. (C) The Ambassador told Pamfilova of rumors of pending
legislation that would prohibit foreign contributions to NGOs
working in Russia. Pamfilova ascribed the reports to the
"political campaign," and insisted they were not true. Her
office had met recently with select members of the Federation
Council and the State Duma. There were, she repeated, no
plans to introduce new legislation or modify existing laws.

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Corruption Spawns Interethnic Violence
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6. (C) September's interthnic violence in the Karelian city
of Kondopoga had sparked increasing concerns about xenophobia
and extremism in Russia, the Ambassador noted. Pamfilova
ascribed the violence there, and elsewhere in Russia, to "a
crisis of our law enforcement system." It was riddled with
corruption, she said, and she argued that the "everything is
for sale" atmosphere in local police forces spawned economic
problems that mutated into interethnic ones. President
Putin, Pamfilova agreed, must squarely address the problem,
and her office planned to make its own modest contribution
through an October 26 roundtable on xenophobia and
intolerance.


7. (C) Pamfilova prescribed a draconian approach to

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corruption in Russia: "a purge that would cut the connections
between government and organized crime." The fact that law
enforcement agencies had been able so quickly to identify
Georgian organized crime groups in the wake of recent
problems with Tbilisi meant "the police know who they are and
how they make their money." She agreed that President Putin
should use the remainder of his term to tackle the problem,
noting that corruption "affects all social strata," and that
beginning the fight "would take the edge off of things."


8. (C) Pamfilova was less optimistic about prospects for
stemming corruption in the Caucasus, noting that the region's
ethnic patchwork and traditions made success there less
likely. Federal "money is sent there, but never gets to the
intended destination," she said.

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Russian-Western Sparring Allows
Islamic Threat to Grow
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9. (C) The meeting continued with an emotional monologue by
Pamfilova about the Islamic threat. She cited the recent
cancellation of a performance of an opera in Berlin for fear
that it would offend Muslim sensibilities as evidence that
"political correctness" was causing the West to "lose to
Islam." "Anything can be a spark" for Muslim outrage, she
said, even (the Russian poet) Pushkin. Disagreements between
the U.S. and Russia are abetted by Islamic extremists. The
West, Pamfilova contended, seemingly does not understand that
the only solution is to join forces with Russia.

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Georgia
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10. (C) Pamfilova segued into an excoriation of Georgian
President Saakashvili, "no democrat," who "understands the
damage his actions are doing to Georgia and Georgians." She
deplored Saakashvili's personal attacks on President Putin.

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Comment
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11. (C) Pamfilova's unequivocal response to the Ambassador's
concerns about the NGO re-registration process and her
determination to remain in close contact with the FRS are
cause for hope. The Ambassador has brought the same concerns
to the attention of Deputy Foreign Minister Yakovenko and to
others in the Presidential Administration. Septel will
report on the registration status of international NGOs and
preview further steps planned by the Embassy before the
October 18 deadline.
BURNS