PRESS-RELEASE

Moscow, November 19, 2000

"We witness the consolidation of an antidemocratic partocratic regime. The draft of the federal law on parties worked out in the Central Election Commission by order of the Kremlin administration, actually stipulates the establishment of police and administrative control over political parties, and flagrantly violates citizens' right to freedom of association guaranteed by the art. 30 of the Constitution, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the defense of the human rights and freedoms. This is the only way to interprete the provisions on the opportunity to nominate candidates on elections by parties only; on the prohibition of the regional parties; on the prohibition of election blocks and coalitions; on the minimum quantity of parties' members - 10 thousand members, and the quantity of regional branches - 100 members. And the most important thing - state financing for the parties which by the way is provided also in the other three drafts of the bill (prepared by t

he Duma Committee on public associations, the faction "Yedinstvo" and the faction "Yabloko").

The state financing being on the one hand an instrument of "corporal punishment" and "corporal award" of the parties by the state, on the other hand - a cementing solution for creating the system of ruling-opposition parliamentary parties guaranteed from the "attack from the street", is Alpha and Omega of any partocratic regime - including the regime which is being constructed today in Russia on the worst pattern of the post-war Italian regime of the UDC-ICP.

No one Russian party - with the exception of the "Free Democrats of Russia" headed by Marina Salie - oopposed the state financing for the parties. The human rights champions keep silence, the media keep silence. Meanwhile according to the Fund "Public opinion", two thirds of Russian citizens declare their negative attitude towards the idea of budget financing for the parties, because they think, as we do, that political organizations should be financed by those who share their political goals. All the political forces of Russia without exception - even the opposite ones - have united aspiring to implement the state financing, to do it quickly and without any fanfares, until the citizens come to their senses, the citizens from whose pockets party machinery of the "Yedinstvo", the Communist Party, the "Yabloko" and the Liberal-Democratic Party will be financed.

In this situation we, the radicals, have the task to undertake our utmost to awaken within nearest weeks the public opinion, organizing campaigns to mobilize citizens - voters and tax-payers - against the state financing for the parties, against the antidemocratic law on parties. A campaign aimed at the State Duma, its deputies, beginning from the deputies elected in the one-mandate districts. We still hope for the support of the forces and organizations that are devoted to the ideas of democracy, freedom and human rights not only in words".

For further information:

tel. (095) 208-1805, (902) 675-6379

www.radicalparty.org

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Transnational Radical Party

Moscow Office

Pechatnikov Pereulok 6

103045 Moscow, Russia

Tel. & fax +7-095-208.1805

mailto:rp.moscow@radicalparty.org

www.RadicalParty.org