US boycotts terrorism victims conference after exclusion of rights group
posted by zaina19 on September, 2007 as Human Rights
From: MSN NicknameEagle_wng (Original Message) Sent: 9/13/2007 5:46 PM International Herald Tribune US boycotts terrorism victims conference after exclusion of rights group
The Associated Press Thursday, September 13, 2007
VIENNA, Austria: The United States boycotted a conference on victims of terrorism Thursday after a group that has exposed abuses of civilians in Chechnya was not allowed to participate.
The Russian-Chechen Friendship Society has campaigned against the long conflict against separatists in Chechnya, and published reports alleging torture, abductions and murder of civilians by Russian forces and their pro-Moscow Chechen allies.
The group was ordered closed by the highest court in the central Russian Nizhny Novgorod region in October. The ruling was upheld by Russia's Supreme Court in January.
Rights advocates have denounced the group's closure based on extremism charges as a Kremlin attempt to silence criticism of its conduct in the violence-torn southern region.
At the start of the two-day conference, organized and hosted by the Vienna-based Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, a U.S. representative referred to the group as a "reputable NGO" and lodged a formal protest about its exclusion.
"We have fought hard for the right of peaceful NGOs to participate in such meetings," Chris Sibilla, political officer at the U.S. Mission to the OSCE, said, according to a copy of the remarks.
"For this reason we are outraged and greatly disappointed by the decision and hereby lodge a formal protest," Sibilla added, before walking out with other members of the delegation.
Urdur Gunnarsdottir, spokeswoman for the OSCE's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, said the group's registration had been put on hold by the OSCE's Spanish chairmanship because of "serious objections by Russia."
In particular, Russia claims the representative due to attend the conference was a supporter of Chechen separatists and that a Russian court had ruled the group should not be registered, Gunnarsdottir said.
The Russian mission to the OSCE could not immediately comment on the matter.
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