Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2012-03-14-Speech-3-411-000"
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"en.20120314.25.3-411-000"2
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"Mr President, in recent times, we have, in fact, seen two elections in Russia that we could not describe as free and fair. Progress has been made compared with previous elections, but this progress is slight and, to a certain extent, it has been eliminated and the situation has deteriorated as a result of the behaviour of some leading officials.
In both cases, the problem started with the registration of the candidates. Many candidates who would doubtless have been permitted in other countries were not even able to take part in the elections. I believe that there is no justification for this, as the conditions set out for this are designed right from the start to make it impossible for some candidates to stand for election.
Secondly, we have to be critical of the reporting in various sections of the media, which was not at all balanced, in particular, in the electronic media, of course – after all, television is the most important media these days – even though the purely formal election broadcasts were fairly reasonably distributed. However, if Mr Putin took every opportunity to be seen as an animal lover and rescuer of the Siberian tiger, in whatever capacity, that is also clearly an indirect form of election campaigning.
Thirdly, there were also various instances of pressure being applied during voting, with the result that we are, unfortunately, having to give this critical appraisal of the elections. That met with unwillingness, incomprehension and resistance – which is also a sign of the progress of democracy and progress in the development of Russia. After all, whatever criticisms we have, people in Russia nevertheless now have the courage, to a greater extent than ever before, to go out onto the streets and demonstrate. It is then clear that some of our reactions should be rejected and repudiated. Thus, we absolutely must express our criticism if, for example, demonstrators are treated brutally or are imprisoned, at least for a time. These are things that we cannot tolerate. However, I would choose to see it as a positive sign that many demonstrations took place and, in many – although not all – cases, the police acted entirely properly.
In any case, it is not now a matter of arranging one of the umpteenth assessments of the elections; it is a matter of pointing out and emphasising the opportunity that now exists in Russia. I believe that is what matters. The purpose of this resolution is not to be yet another one condemning the elections, although we are obviously also expressing some strong words of criticism regarding a few things. What is important now is to call on all sides finally to adopt a reform package. It is the chance for Mr Medvedev to finally stand up, still in his role as President, and say: I have caused something to happen in this country! After all the hopes that were placed in me and that for years were not fulfilled, I have now shown that something is happening. It is a chance for Mr Putin to begin his new Presidency with a reform programme and to say: yes, I have been much criticised, but now I will demonstrate that I am also capable of taking Russia forward in terms of democracy and modernisation. It is also a chance for the opposition to show that not only can it oppose, but it can also exert an influence. That ought to be the message from this House. We want to join together to support the forces in Russia that want reforms and that want to say that Russia must take a new path into the new millennium that has already begun. Russia must carry out its reforms. It must become more democratic, because one thing has to be clear: modernisation without democracy cannot work, and therefore there needs to be more democracy in Russia along with more modernisation."@en1
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