Paul
Goble
Staunton, November 14 – International
organizations concerned with Arctic peoples have spoken out on behalf of the
Association of Indigenous Numerically Small Peoples of the North Siberia and the Far East of the Russian
Federation (RAIPON) whose operations the Russian justice ministry suspended five
days ago.
Yesterday, RAIPON’s website posted
an analysis of the Moscow directive with its lawyers arguing that the justice
ministry had applied the law incorrectly, and today the site features both an
appeal to senior officials of the Arctic powers and the letters RAIPON has
already received from several international organizations involved with the
Arctic peoples.
Such international support, the
product of long and hitherto Moscow-approved contacts between Russian and
international Arctic peoples groups, suggests that the Russian authorities may
seek a way to suspend their suspension order.
At the very least, this pattern means that Moscow has created new
problems for itself internationally by incautious behavior at home.
On November 9, the Russian justice
ministry suspended RAIPON until April 20, 2013, because Moscow said it had
failed to comply with Russian laws requiring all-Russian organizations have legally
recognized branches in a majority of the country’s subjects (www.raipon.info/Documenty/Pravitelstvo/Minyust_1.11.12.pdf).
According to lawyers with whom it
consulted, the justice ministry’s ruling lacks legal foundation. The provisions of Russian law the ministry
cites “do not apply,” RAIPON insists, and the organization notes that it has
been working with Moscow since 2011 to ensure it is in compliance which up
until now had ruled that RAIPON was operating within the law (www.raipon.info/component/content/article/1-novosti/3595-2012-11-13-09-19-56.html).
That has prompted RAIPON to issue an
“open statement” to the senior officials of the Arctic Council, a body on which
it has represented the Russian Federation but which also includes delegations
from Canada, Denmark, Iceland, Finland, Norway, Sweden and the United States (raipon.info/component/content/article/1-novosti/3599-2012-11-14-08-18-15.html).
The
appeal notes that “for the first time in the history of the Senior Arctic
Officials’ meeting, the working place under the RAIPON flag will remain empty.
For the first time, RAIPON will not be able to participate in the SAO Arctic
Council meeting due to political reasons.”
And,
it continues, “for the first time, RAIPON has to use the Arctic Council venue
for an open political statement, something that never happened before given the
mandate and spirit of cooperation within the Arctic Council.”
The
Russian organization points out that RAIPON has worked on an entirely
legal basis “for the last 22 years,” a period that it said included “years of
hope for improvement of the situation in Russia” regarding “the rights of the
indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East.”
Now, however, the letter stressed,
these hopes have largely dissipated. Russian officials by their “repressive”
move against RAIPON and their “rude interference in the internal affairs of
RAIPON” are responsible for this, and the RAIPON leadership said it will
continue to operate as it has up to now.
Expressing gratitude to the
international participants in the Arctic Council, RAIPON said it remains open “for
cooperation and dialogue with the Russian federal authorities on the basis of
mutual respect.” But at the same time, it calls on the members of that Council
to urge Moscow “to stop administrative and political pressure and interference
with the self-governance of the indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia and
the Far East.
The RAIPON website says the
organization is receiving calls and letters of support from allied groups abroad
(raipon.info/component/content/article/1-novosti/3600-2012-11-14-09-33-52.html), and today it
published copies of three of them: raipon.info/Documenty/English/Letter_Raipon_November_14.pdf
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