NGO LEGISLATION: LOOKING AHEAD TOWARD

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MOSCOW 002132

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/03/2016
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PINR PREL RS
SUBJECT: NGO LEGISLATION: LOOKING AHEAD TOWARD
IMPLEMENTATION

REF: MOSCOW 1090

Classified By: Ambassador William J. Burns. Reasons: 1.4 (B/D).


1. (C) SUMMARY: A bit over a month before Russia's new NGO
legislation goes into effect, most independent NGO activists
are concerned about its implementation but retain a
wait-and-see attitude. In recent weeks, the government has
initiated investigations against some independent NGOs, but
it has also favorably resolved some troublesome cases. We
continue to reiterate our concerns about implementation to
high-level interlocutors, many of whom acknowledge the
validity of those concerns. The broad expectation is that
the Kremlin will hold off on launching a sweeping attack on
independent civil society at least until after the G-8
Summit, and perhaps thereafter. The timing and harshness of
its implementation are open to speculation, with the
implementing regulations now being drafted also playing into
the equation. END SUMMARY
.

2. (C) Signed by President Putin on January 10, the
controversial new NGO legislation will go into effect on
April 10. Over the past few weeks, several contacts have
told us, the Justice Ministry has proceeded with drafting
implementing regulations, working in conjunction with other
ministries and agencies. That process has been opaque,
however, with none of our contacts indicating they had any
details about it.
.
NGO COMMUNITY'S VIEWS
--------------


3. (C) Civil society activists have expressed to us their
continued concerns about the legislation's potential impact.
Sakharov Center Director Yuriy Samodurov told the Ambassador,
who was visiting the Center on March 3, that the legislation
was likely to make things harder for NGOs. Offering his
Center as an example, Samodurov said that it might be forced
to clear planned exhibits in advance with the Justice
Ministry, its affiliation with foreign nationals could cause
problems, and Samodurov might be forced to resign as its
director because of his March 2005 conviction for inciting
religious hatred. International Republican Institute Country
Director Joe Johnson told us March 4 that there were
indications, still unconfirmed, that the implementing
regulations could impose new requirements that would further
complicate his organization's work in Russia.


4. (C) While there is widespread concern, however, many civil
society activists acknowledge that they are unsure exactly
how the legislation will be implemented. Moscow Helsinki
Group head Lyudmila Alekseyeva told visiting EUR DAS David
Kramer on February 21 that many activists are taking a
wait-and-see attitude. Alekseyeva believed it unlikely that
the GOR would launch a major attack on a large NGO before the
G-8 Summit, although it was possible this could occur after
the Summit to send a warning to the rest of the independent
civil society community. For now, NGOs could only prepare
themselves for whatever might transpire.


5. (C) The period since the signing of the legislation has
seen some incidents that have further chilled the atmosphere
for independent NGOs. The Moscow Procurator's office, for
instance, recently warned Memorial that its publication of
information on Hizb-ut-Tahrir's ideology may constitute
promotion of Islamic extremism. Memorial head Oleg Orlov
called the warning a new effort to pressure civil society.
A contact at Memorial told us on March 1 that the
organization had taken the item off its website, at least
temporarily, to avoid immediate problems, but was planning to
take the case to court to get a ruling making clear that it
could be restored to the website.


6. (C) At the same time, the news has not been all bad. The
St. Petersburg Procuracy's decision to renew a tax case
against the British Council had been widely seen as an effort
to rein in NGOs. A British emboff told us March 4, however,
that following a meeting between FM Lavrov and British
Foreign Secretary Straw, the GOR had given HMG the text of a
cultural agreement that the British had long been requesting
and that would resolve most of the British Council's problems.
.
EXPRESSING OUR CONCERNS
--------------


7. (C) The Ambassador and others have continued to underscore
our concerns about implementation. The Ambassador raised the
issue March 3 with DFM Aleksandr Yakovenko. Acknowledging
that implementation was not directly within the MFA's
purview, the Ambassador stressed that it would bear heavily

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on Russia's image abroad. The GOR might think ahead to
meeting with NGOs and the media when the legislation takes
effect, explaining its implications, in order to demonstrate
transparency and a desire for cooperation. Registering an
NGO, such as the New Eurasia Foundation, could also show GOR
goodwill, the Ambassador stressed. Yakovenko agreed that
doing so was worth considering and said he would pursue it
with FM Lavrov.


8. (C) The Ambassador reinforced our views in a March 2
meeting with Human Rights Ombudsman Vladimir Lukin. Saying
that the legislation might prove "more useless than harmful,"
Lukin agreed that much depended on its implementation. Some
Kremlin officials wanted to apply the legislation harshly
against independent NGOs, Lukin said, while others opposed
that view. Pointing to the legislation's vague definition of
political activity as a troublesome element, Lukin said that
if a narrow definition was applied, independent civil society
would not be harmed. Also troubling was that the legislation
did not imply a presumption of innocence for NGOs, allowing
bureaucrats to issue a ban on questionable grounds, which the
NGO would have to challenge in court to regain registration.
If the legislation were implemented in a positive way in the
first six months after going into effect, however, that would
set a good precedent, Lukin argued.


9. (C) In conversations over the last few days with Duma
Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Konstantin Kosachev and
Federation Council International Relations Committee Chair
Mikhail Margelov, the Ambassador reiterated our concerns.
Each said that the legislature would monitor implementation
and take action if necessary. The Ambassador made a similar
point in another recent conversation with Ella Pamfilova,
Chair of the Presidential Council for Assistance to
Development of Institutions of Civil Society and Human
Rights, who said she would follow the implementation closely.
The Ambassador also noted to Russian G-8 Sherpa Shuvalov
that flawed implementation of the legislation could harm
Russia's image during the G-8 Summit. Shuvalov acknowledged
the point and added that President Putin was aware of that.
Our UK Embassy interlocutor told us visiting HMG officials
have also continued to raise their concerns with Russian
officials. Moscow Carnegie Center Director Rose Goetemoeller
told the Ambassador on March 3 that she had also stressed
concerns about implementation to GOR officials and had urged
them to take constructive steps once the legislation goes
into effect to ease the NGO community's fears.


10. (C) In previous conversations, members of the Public
Chamber have told us their body would play an important
monitoring role. Bishop Sergey Ryakhovskiy, a Chamber
member, told us March 2 that he had been placed in charge of
a working group to track implementation. That working group
planned to assess implementation for three months after the
legislation goes into effect, at which point it would provide
Chamber Secretary Yevgeniy Velikhov with a formal report. If
things were going badly, Ryakhovskiy said, he would press for
the Chamber to urge amendments to the legislation. Another
Chamber member, Institute of Religion and Politics Director
Aleksandr Ignatenko, told us March 1 that he had been among
the signatories of an appeal to Putin not to sign the
legislation before the Chamber could properly consider it,
and that he and other signatories, though disappointed that
their appeal had not been heeded, still intended to keep a
close eye on implementation.


11. (C) As noted reftel, the American Chamber of Commerce was
considering organizing a roundtable for officials drafting
the implementing legislation to highlight Western experience
with NGO law. AmCham Executive Director Andrew Somers told
the Ambassador on March 2 that his organization intended to
hold such a session shortly. AmCham held a briefing for its
NGO members on the legislation on February 7.
.
COMMENT
--------------


12. (C) Civil society activists, though highly concerned with
the new legislation, maintain a wait-and-see attitude. Most
are not totally resigned to its harsh implementation,
although they acknowledge that that is a possibility. There
are many scenarios for how the situation will play out, and
many observers do not expect a harsh application of the
legislation as soon as it goes into effect, believing that if
it will be applied vigorously, that would only be done after
the G-8 Summit. The timing and harshness of its
implementation are open to speculation, and the nature of the
implementing regulations now being drafted would also be a
significant factor.
BURNS