Letter of protest against Russian parliamentarians at meeting in Geneva
Keystone-SDA
Exiled Russians in Switzerland are protesting the participation of Russian parliamentarians with close ties to Putin at the Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly in Geneva.
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The prtest was voiced in an open letter to the president of the House of Representatives, the president of the Senate and foreign minister Ignazio Cassis.
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“The presence of Putin’s elite in the delegation is a snub to the principles of peace, democracy, the rule of law and Switzerland’s neutrality,” reads the letter from the Russia of the Future – Switzerland association.
This “Putin elite” includes Konstantin Kosachev, who systematically promotes propaganda for a war of aggression, Pyotr Tolstoy, who was expelled from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe for war rhetoric, and Leonid Sluzki, a supporter of anti-democratic laws, the letter states.
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As they are accused of being incapable of constructive dialogue, and merely using the platform of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, whose meeting in Geneva continues until Wednesday, to feign “legitimacy” in the West.
“We strongly protest against the misuse of humanitarian and parliamentary forums for war propaganda and to legitimise belligerent aggression,” reads the open letter.
The association of exiled Russians is calling for Switzerland to take a clear stance against the aggressive rhetoric of the aforementioned Russian members of parliament and to integrate the voices of the Russian opposition in exile, who are campaigning for democratic development in Russia.
It also calls for the participation of the Russian opposition in the official assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
Stalin comparison
In Russia itself, there has been no effective opposition since president Vladimir Putin has not allowed any critical statements against his so-called special operation or other controversial issues, especially since the military invasion of Ukraine he ordered in February 2022.
People who do not comply with this will be rendered harmless in penal camps for years or even decades, just like in Stalin’s time, says the letter.
Putin often has compatriots he does not like poisoned abroad. The autocrat, who had the constitution changed in order to extend his term of office and, according to Western observers, is holding on to power by means of rigged elections, has been wanted by the International Criminal Court in The Hague as a war criminal since March 2023.
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Translated from German by DeepL/mga
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