The decline of democratic freedoms in Russia should be a leading issue at the G-8 meeting this weekend in Genoa, Human Rights Watch said today.
In letters sent to seven heads of state on Friday, Human Rights Watch asked G-8 leaders to press for media freedoms in Russia and an end to continuing atrocities in Chechnya.
Russia's membership in the G-8 has been tied to its embrace of democratic values ever since it joined the group of industrialized democracies in 1997. When Russia joined the G-8, the Denver summit communique cited the "bold measures" Russia had taken toward democracy in explaining its deepened participation in the group.
"The policies of Vladimir Putin's government pose the greatest long-term threat to democratic freedoms in Russia since the break-up of the Soviet Union, said Elizabeth Andersen, executive director of Human Rights Watch's Europe and Central Asia division. "So it's never been more urgent for G-8 leaders to take a strong public stand."
G-8 foreign ministers are scheduled to meet in Genoa on July 18; the G-8 summit will take place July 20-22.
In April, the Russian government took quasi-control over NTV, the country's leading independent television station, and is poised to do the same with Ekho Moskvy, one of the country's most popular radio stations. Meanwhile, troops in Chechnya continue to round up Chechen men for torture and other abuse.
"What's happening in Russia today should raise serious questions about Moscow's continued membership in the G-8," said Andersen. "The attack on media freedoms is part of a broader, creeping authoritarianism we've seen in Russia."
The letter calls on G-8 leaders to ask President Putin to commit to the independence of Ekho Moskvy, and to access for U.N. monitors to investigate abuses in Chechnya.
