THE STATEMENT OF THE ARMENIAN COMMUNITY REGARDING THE RECENT MURDERS BASED ON RACIAL AND ETHNIC HATRED

AZG Armenian Daily
07/06/2006

In the course of recent years cases of violence based on racial and
ethnic hatred acquired a frequency in Russia. Along with this, there
have been evident attempts of the Russian law-enforcement agencies
and judiciary to cover up the racially motivated crimes or even
justify the criminals, thus encouraging the recurrence of aggressive
xenophobia and extremism.

According to a number of experts’ evaluations, today more than a
half of the neo-Nazi organizations of the world are registered in
Russia. The case in point is not the isolated marginal groups, but
a mass phenomenon; a considerable part of the contemporary Russian
society is contaminated by racist and xenophobic pathologies. Moreover,
there are grounds to assume that the neo-Nazi organizations are
backed by a whole system, including the Russian mass media, business
structures, law enforcement agencies and courts, as well as other
state institutions of Russia.

In connection with the above-mentioned facts, the Armenian public
organizations and the virtual community consider it a duty to condemn
any manifestation of ethnic and racial hatred, and express their
deep concern about the growth and scale of xenophobia, racism and
neo-Nazism in Russia. Both the Russian society and the authorities
carry a direct responsibility for the deterioration of the situation.

With regard to the racially motivated attacks against Armenians, one
should also mention the political dimension of these incidents. The
official statements from both sides about the “age-old friendship and
brotherhood” sound false in light of such events. The Armenians do
not intend to remain silent while our compatriots are being killed in
Russia. The political leadership and the elite of Russia are causing
a rift between the two nations by their inertia regarding this issue.

We are aware of the low level of legal and civil culture in Russia,
when both the constitution and laws of the country are being widely
violated. However, the current situation is not only about the
violation of the Russian legislation, but rather about the gross
breach of international norms and obligations Russia signed on
to. The Armenian community will continue monitoring numerous facts of
aggressive xenophobia and crimes based on racism in Russia, and will
inform the corresponding international bodies in a timely fashion
about the unwillingness and inability of the Russian Federation to
carry out its international commitments.

Thus, the present statement will be disseminated throughout the
international community, including international organizations.

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