#13
Izvestia
November 23, 2001
WITHOUT A DIVINITY, BUT WITH INSPIRATION
Human rights groups launch a new attack on the authorities
Author: Georgii Ilichev
[from WPS Monitoring Agency, www.wps.ru/e_index.html]
CIVIL SERVANTS ARE CALLING FOR A BUREAUCRATIC REVOLUTION, WHICH MAY MEAN REFORMS TO THE USUAL SYSTEM OF NON-TRANSPARENT INFORMATION. MEDIA MINISTER MIKHAIL LESIN PAID A VISIT TO THE FIRST DAY OF THE CIVIL FORUM TO DISCUSS TRANSPARENCY. FIFTEEN YEARS AFTER THE LAUNCH OF GLASNOST, THE BATTLE CONTINUES.
Yesterday, on the final day of the Civil Forum, its participants held 70 (!) roundtable meetings, grouped under 21 topics. Everything that interests the concerned citizen was under discussion: from development of local government to domestic and foreign policy, from the youth movement to the military reforms. The issue of information transparency by the state was the topic of one of the most curious meetings.
In order to discuss the problem of the state's transparency to our society with the delegates, Media Minister Mikhail Lesin paid a visit on the first day of the forum to meet with them. According to eyewitnesses, an attempt at a dialog failed: the parties managed to display their mutual dislike. As Alexei Simonov, President of the Glasnost Protection Foundation and host of the roundtable meeting, stated: "the meeting resembled a talk between the deaf and the blind," but there are reasons for serious concern, since "the minister is not accountable for availability of information." (...)
The topic of glasnost (publicity) is not new - fifteen years ago the process of perestroika had begun with publicity, that is, an opportunity for open access to the information which had previously been withheld from Soviet citizens. However, many state-run structures have during that period managed to isolate them from publicity and are so successful at doing so, that they are even capable of ignoring the Constitution with impunity (not to mention the Law of Press). As the Article 24 of the Constitution has it, "federal and local government bodies and their employees are obliged to provide an opportunity for people to get familiarized with documents and materials which directly concern their own liberties and rights."
As a result of the yesterday's meeting, delegates of the Civil Forum put forward a proposal to the head of the Cabinet for "confirming" the list of Kasianov's information transparency "by means of issuing a special government decree." Peculiar emphasis was laid on the fact that the decree "must contain a demand that any legal acts, having to do with rights and commitments of citizens and organizations, be published on the Internet timely (!)."
The last detail strongly resembles a summons for a bureaucratic revolution, but less radical proposals were unlikely to be expected from people, who are trying to obtain that the authorities be more transparent.
An "Establishing an Institute of Public TV and Radio Broadcasting in Russia" resolution was another interesting document approved at the Media and Society roundtable meeting. It subjected activities of all currently operating TV companies to criticism since, in the delegates' opinion, their activities do not correspond with interests of our society and cater for interests of a small group of officials and businessmen only. The knights fighting for publicity see approval of the law "On Public TV Broadcasting" and creation of the system for training reporters, specializing in the social topics, as a way out of this.
Participants of the roundtable meeting were satisfied with results of their work and did not resent the fact that none of the significant officials attended the second day of the forum.
(Translated by Andrei Ryabochkin)
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