LUKIN LOOKS FORWARD TO THE END OF HIS TENURE AS RUSSIAN

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MOSCOW 003148 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL KDEM KCRM KJUS RS SUBJECT: LUKIN LOOKS FORWARD TO THE END OF HIS TENURE AS RUSSIAN FEDERATION OMBUDSMAN ¶1. (SBU) Summary: Russian Federation Ombudsman Vladimir Lukin told visiting HFAC Chairman Berman that his term as Ombudsman for the Russian Federation has been a "difficult job of compromises." Lukin said that during his almost five years as Ombudsman, it has been most important for him not to spoil relations with members of the government and representatives of the opposition and civil society. Lukin, a founding member of the liberal, pro-Western Yabloko political party, told Berman that moving NATO to Russia's boundaries was a mistake, because it increased nationalistic feelings here. Lukin agreed that television media has become increasingly centralized and controlled by the government, but said there were other outlets for news available to Russian citizens and that there was neither "full freedom of the press" nor a "strict Iron Curtain" in Russia. End Summary. "A Difficult Job of Compromising" -------------- ¶2. (SBU) In a candid October 15 meeting with visiting HFAC Chairman Howard Berman (D-Cal) and HFA;QQJQQ, noting that he had served as the chairman of the Duma's Committee on International Relations. Lukin was the second person to be appointed Russia's Human Rights Ombudsman. Prior to the enactment in 1995 of legislation authorizing the creation of the ombudsman's office, human rights activist Sergey Kovalyev served as Russia's unofficial ombudsman. In 1996, constitutional lawyer Oleg Mironov, described by Lukin as "a Communist," became Russia's first Ombudsman. After Yabloko failed to win seats in the Fourth Duma in December 2003, then Russian President Vladimir Putin nominated Lukin to become Russia's second Ombudsman. He was confirmed by the State Duma in February 2004 and his initial term expires in March 2009. ¶3. (SBU) Lukin described his work as Ombudsman as a "difficult job of compromises," that was more challenging than his two years (1992-93) in Washington as Russia's first post-Soviet ambassador. He said his office can receive as many as 200 complaints each day; Assistant Ombudsman Georgiy Kunadze confirmed to us that the office receives 30,000 complaints per year. Lukin noted that it was most important for him as Ombudsman not to spoil relations with members of the government and representatives of the opposition and civil society. He joked to the Congressman that in response to a complaint by a leading Russian human rights activist that he should be more proactive as Ombudsman, he had responded "better to be 'not so active' for a long time than 'active' for a short time." Lukin admitted that he was looking forward to leaving his job as Ombudsman when his term expires in March. ¶4. (SBU) Lukin told Berman that as Ombudsman, he can propose Duma investigations and the office has the power to decide on its own when there has been an abuse of human rights without referring to the Russian State Duma or to a Russian court. He discussed the power of the Ombudsman's office to entertain appeals from the military and provided Berman with copies of not only his Annual Report for 2007, but also special reports on military conscription and hazing. He pointed out that his office can visit all types of prisons, both military and civilian and that it had a special team that visits prisons unannounced. (Note: Lukin visited prisons in the Samara region of south-central Russia on October 21. End Note). Lukin Sympathetic Towards Jailed Lawyers -------------- ¶5. (SBU) Berman asked Lukin his views on the case of former YUKOS Oil lawyer Svetlana Bakhmina, who has appealed for clemency and early release from detention. Lukin answered that he supports an early release for Bakhima, who has two children and is eight months pregnant. Lukin added that as Ombudsman, he cannot interfere with an investigation, but that he has appealed to the prosecutor in the case of former YUKOS Vice-President and head lawyer Vasiliy Aleksanyan and had succeeded in getting the terms of his confinement changed. (6:AQnA7qd Note.). ¶6. (SBU) Lukin said that the murder of Novaya Gazeta journalist and Kremlin-critic Anna Politovskaya was "clearly a contract murder." He said that the killer is on the run, but the accomplices are currently on trial. He added that the identity of the person who ordered Politovskaya's murder may be made known at the trial. He has gone on record as saying that until the killer is brought to justice, this case cannot be considered closed. MOSCOW 00003148 002 OF 002 "Mistakes Were Made" in Bilateral Relations -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Concerning U.S.-Russian relations, Lukin said that both countries have made mistakes. In particular, he thought that moving NATO close to Russia's borders was a mistake, because it increased nationalistic feelings here. He agreed with Berman that U.S. policy toward Russia was having a negative influence on Russian domestic politics and undermining the efforts of liberal forces here. He said the 1990 Paris Declaration was a "distraction" and that there should have been more honesty from the start about NATO's enlargement plans. He added that he was against Russia's recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia until Georgia had become a member of NATO. Lukin called for a new beginning in U.S-Russian relations after the inauguration of a new U.S. president in January 2009 and chastised the current U.S. administration for simply pocketing Putin's concession of closing its naval bases in Cuba and Vietnam and his strong support for the U.S. in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. ¶8. (SBU) Lukin agreed that the government has increased its control over television media in Russia, but said there were other outlets for news available to Russian citizens. He cited the "mostly" independent REN-TV as presenting an independent voice on Russian television and noted that Euronews is broadcast in Russian without censoring. He concluded that Russia needed an equivalent of the U.S. Public Broadcasting System, and added that there was neither "full freedom of the press" nor a "strict Iron Curtain" in Russia. ¶9. (SBU) Lukin said that he will be in the U.S. after the elections as part of the dialogue between his office and the Carnegie Foundation and offered to meet with Chairman Berman if both are in Washington at the same time. ¶10. (SBU) HFAC Staff cleared this message. BEYRLE