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#29 - JRL 2007-213 - JRL Home
Russian Human Rights Activists Invited To Meeting With Rice

MOSCOW. Oct 10 (Interfax) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice plans to meet Russian human rights activists during her Moscow visit on October 13.

"I have been invited to the meeting. Usually the general state of human rights is discussed at such meetings," head of the Moscow Helsinki Group Lyudmila Alekseyeva told Interfax on Wednesday.

She said eight Russian human rights activists would take part.

"I do attend such meetings but I cannot say that I rush to them. We should be working to resolve our problems ourselves," Alekseyeva said.

Director of the Moscow Bureau of Human Rights Alexander Brod who was also invited to the meting told Interfax: "I am not keen on someone saying at such meetings that we are being suppressed and want to ask for help in restoring order. I want to meet Ms. Rice and understand her views. I am interested in the question of what Russia and the United States can do to improve the situation with regard to human rights. Human rights are being violated here and also in the United States."

Invitations were also sent to human rights commissioner Vladimir Lukin, head of the presidential council promoting civic society and human rights Ella Pamfilova, Grigory Shvedov from Memorial center, Tatiana Lapshina from Demos center and Yelena Panfilova from Transparency International, Alekseyeva told Interfax.