Russia's anti-terror plans derided
Tom Washington | Moscow News - themoscownews.com | July 25, 2011 | JRL 2011-132-28 | Home
As Russia and its president offers help to Norway, anti-terror arrangements back home have been kicked into the long grass.
Protection plans for buildings have been widely decried by ministers as different ministries point out holes in the proposals.
The plans first made it on to the drawing board in February, about three weeks after a suicide bomber killed 37 and injured 173 in the arrivals hall of Domodedovo airport Now, five months on, they look to be foundering.
And it means that there has been little progress beyond the installation of extra checkpoints at rail stations (pictured above).
Flaws in the plans
The under-fire proposals were drawn up by the ministry of regional development, together with the FSB and the Federal Protection Service (FSO).
Elvira Nabuillina's ministry of economy development is leading the chorus of disapproval. The ministry says that initiatives for developers already in place for 2012 will cost both business and the budget 174 billion rubles, before new security requirements are added to the list of obligations.
"During discussions about the document the ministry could not agree on the basic issue of how to make builders pay for anti-terrorist equipment," Nabuillina's office told Kommersant.
Vague and unformed
The plans are not only insufficiently developed but lack support across ministries. The draft "will not affect the level of protection of buildings and structures," they say, Kommersant reported.
Fuzzy outlines open up portholes for corruption, creating "preconditions for abuse by employees of organs of state examination," Kommersant reported. What is needed, says the ministry, is a clear set of rules and performance requirements for the characteristics and placing of hardware and security devices.
The next step
The ministry of regional development has not yet familiarized itself with the conclusions that present themselves, but it is considering two possible options, a ministry spokesman told Kommersant.
The first is that the rules will be finalized by developers, taking on board the comments that have been offered. Alternatively, a packet of rules and recommendations will be sent to the government which will then assess the need to implement them.
Drawing on experience
Russia has suffered a number of terrorist attacks in recent years. As world leaders including Dmitry Medvedev offered their condolences to Norway after a far-right terrorist killed over 80 on Friday Russia also offered the fruit of its own experience in tackling terrorism, RIA Novosti reported.
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