EXCERPT: After Geert Ritsema of Greenpeace asked the president to seek measures limiting the sale of genetically modified crops, Putin signaled support, saying he felt surrounded "by kindred spirits."

"In negotiations about Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization, we are being forced to give up the right to inform people about" genetically modified foods, Putin said.

Putin did not name the countries opposed to mandatory labeling, but he noted, "We insist on norms suggested by NGOs."
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Putin Says NGOs Won't Be Crushed
By Anastasiya Lebedev
The Moscow Times, July 5, 2006. Issue 3446. Page 1 http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2006/07/05/001.html

President Vladimir Putin, who has been lambasted around the world for a new law regulating NGOs, walked into a massive room full of NGO activists Tuesday and pledged he would personally ensure the law was not too onerous.

"This law was meant to create order in this sphere, not to stiffen" regulations of nongovernmental organizations, Putin told the crowd of several hundred activists gathered at the World Trade Center Moscow complex. "If we find that there is, in fact, a stiffening of the regulations, I myself am ready to act to initiate changes, including those you recommend."

Putin's comments at the Civil G8 conference followed carefully worded remarks from human rights activists Yury Dzhibladze and Claire Rimmer, who is from Britain.

Without singling out Russia, the two activists, directly addressing Putin in front of conference participants, asked the president to address government-NGO relations, xenophobia and public oversight of law enforcement, among other issues, at the upcoming G8 summit.

In a thinly veiled attack on the Kremlin, Dzhibladze also cited several threats to NGOs: stricter registration and accounting requirements, which are contained in the new NGO law; GONGOs, or government-organized NGOs, thought to be a reference to the Kremlin-created Public Chamber; and the linking of criticism of the government with extremism or terrorism, which has been proposed in a State Duma bill.

Neither Dzhibladze nor Rimmer mentioned the word Russia -- except when Rimmer briefly brought up Chechnya -- but it was clear to many in attendance that the country they were most concerned about was the one they were in.

This was not lost on Putin, who reserved his most impassioned comments for the two activists

Responding to Dzhibladze and Rimmer, Putin promised that human rights would be discussed at the G8 summit in St. Petersburg, which runs July 15-17. But he admitted to being ashamed that, on the summit agenda, the subject falls under the "Miscellaneous" heading. He hinted that many countries were reluctant to discuss human rights.

"Everyone's ready to talk about human rights in other countries, but no one wants to talk about human rights in their own country," Putin said.

Putin said the NGO law, which went into effect in April, had been reviewed by experts from the Council of Europe and that their suggestions had been taken into account.

Speaking during a lunch break, Dzhibladze said he was pleased that his comments had elicited a strong reaction from Putin, but he added that the president was incorrect in saying that Council of Europe officials had signed off on the NGO law.

"We had read the experts' conclusions, and there was a clear argument that the law does not correspond to European standards and norms," he said.

But Dzhibladze said he was glad the president had promised to make changes to the law, if need be. "We'll get him on that," he said.

In his opening remarks, Putin also addressed environmentalists' opposition to nuclear energy, saying other G8 countries would oppose getting rid of nuclear power plants because no good alternatives had been proposed.

As he spoke, six demonstrators in dark T-shirts, each bearing a single Russian letter, stood up on their chairs and screamed, "Nyet AES," or "Say no to nuclear power stations." Putin and Ella Pamfilova, who heads the presidential council for civil society and presided over the conference, thanked the protesters. The protesters came from the environmental group Ekozashchita, or Ecodefense.

When it came to some of the other activists' comments, Putin struck a more conciliatory note than he had with Dzhibladze and Rimmer. After Geert Ritsema of Greenpeace asked the president to seek measures limiting the sale of genetically modified crops, Putin signaled support, saying he felt surrounded "by kindred spirits."

"In negotiations about Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization, we are being forced to give up the right to inform people about" genetically modified foods, Putin said.

Putin did not name the countries opposed to mandatory labeling, but he noted, "We insist on norms suggested by NGOs."

The president avoided responding directly to a comment by Joost van der Meer, director of the Moscow branch of AIDS Foundation East-West, who asked Putin to put preventive treatment and support services for AIDS patients on the G8 agenda. Van Der Meer added that G8 countries should back programs for drug users, prostitutes, gays, prison inmates and other marginalized groups.

Seizing on van der Meer's mention of drug users, Putin said AIDS should be discussed in the wider context of heroine smuggling and financing for terrorist activity.

Putin ended his remarks by addressing business leaders who had asked G8 leaders to help fight corruption, which impedes commerce. "I ask business to join in [the fight] by not contributing to corruption. Don't bribe anyone. Don't give them money unnecessarily" Putin said, eliciting laughter from the audience.

NGOs' recommendations for G8 summit

*A moratorium on new nuclear power stations. Some G8 governments -- including Russia -- see nuclear power as a promising alternative to oil and gas. But the NGOs said it was not a safe source of power.

*A special tax on oil production, the proceeds of which would go toward fighting climate change. President Vladimir Putin, who attended the forum, was skeptical. Russia is the world's second-biggest oil exporter.

*An extra $10 billion per year from G8 nations for programs to ensure everyone has access to education.

*Stepped-up efforts to treat and prevent HIV/AIDS. The NGOs also said the G8 should be held accountable for previous commitments it had made on tackling the disease.

*International financial and trade organizations like the World Trade Organization and the World Bank should be reformed because they are entrenching poverty and inequality.

*Adopt international standards on human rights. NGOs said human rights were being sacrificed in the international war on terror. They singled out Iraq and Chechnya as examples.