President Halonen expresses concern over situation in Russia
Tarja Halonen
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Heidi Hautala
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Finland's President Tarja Halonen said in an interview with the regional newspaper Hämeen Sanomat that if the Russian government did not know anything about the recent political murders of Russian citizens, the situation is alarming.
On the other hand, if the Russian leadership was aware of the incidents, the situation gives even more cause for alarm, she stated.
"However, we should be reasonable in our demands and not think in black and white", Halonen noted.
Moreover, the president stressed that the collapse of the Soviet Union took place relatively recently, and the country has no previous experience of a western model of democracy and constitutional state.
Speaking at the Independence Day commemoration of the peace organisation Committee of 100 in Finland yesterday, MP Heidi Hautala (Greens), who is the Chair of the Green parliamentary group, suggested that so-called "kitchen table diplomacy" could be a way to contribute to the civic rights situation in Russia. Hence a Finnish-Russian civic forum should be established.
In Hautala's view, Finland should learn from the END movement, which criticized the power-bloc politics of the Cold War and supported the groups led by human rights activist Andrei Sakharov among others, demanding democracy in Russia.
Previously in HS International Edition:
Anti-democracy: A letter from Russia (28.11.2006)
Finnish Chief of Defence expresses concern about political development in Russia (8.3.2006)
Links:
Andrei Sakharov
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 7.12.2006 - TODAY |
President Halonen expresses concern over situation in Russia
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