Think-tanks from 18 countries urge G8 leaders 'to defend essential freedoms threatened in Russia today'

"The freedoms essential to democratic society are under threat in Russia today, including the freedoms of expression and political association that are crucial to an open society and a plural democracy," according to PASOS, a network of 26 policy centres in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

PASOS urges the leaders of the G8, first and foremost the Russian President Vladimir Putin, to "remove restrictions on, and improve the implementation of, the freedom of association of civil society groups and political parties, ensure the access of a plurality of political perspectives to national electronic media, and foster an open democratic society in Russia today". The G8 summit is taking place in St Petersburg, Russia, on 15-17 July, and the PASOS statement is endorsed by Strategia - St. Petersburg Center for Humanities and Political Studies, a member of the PASOS network.

PASOS condemns measures used in the name of the fight against terrorism that substantially limit civil freedoms in Russia, and calls upon the G8 leaders to ensure and defend fundamental civil liberties and freedoms. Specifically, PASOS urges President Putin to allow opposition forces greater access to the media, and to remove restrictions on their freedom of association. The "lack of space for live political debate on television, and increasing censorship of pre-recorded shows, is anathema to democracy," says PASOS.

G8 leaders, above all Russia, should make a renewed commitment to create an enabling environment for civil society organisations and the promotion of open society values in Russia. PASOS calls upon the Russian federal authorities to lift curbs on the activities of non-governmental organisations in Russia, including a removal of restrictions on the ability of Russian NGOs to receive funding from international sources, as well as barriers to work on a range of public policy issues. The tendency to arbitrarily interfere in the registration of NGOs, and to establish quasi-NGOs (GONGOs), should also be condemned as a "misleading attempt to portray dialogue with government-affiliated organisations as public consultation".

Independent public oversight of the activities of government is essential to an open democracy and the rule of law, and PASOS urges the Russian federal authorities "to restore freedoms of political activity and free and fair access to the media to ensure that the latest changes in the electoral law do not serve to prevent free and fair elections in 2008".

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For contact details of PASOS members, see www.pasos.org