RUSSIAN PRESIDENT TO DISCUSS XENOPHOBIA PROBLEM WITH POLICE AND POLITICAL PARTIES SOON

ARKA News Agency, Armenia
Nov 28 2006

YEREVAN, November 28. /ARKA/. Russian President Vladimir Putin
intends to convene a meeting with law enforcement authorities and
the leaders of country’s twelve political parties soon to discuss
xenophobia-related problems, Russian Duma’s Speaker Boris Grizlov said
Thursday as met his Armenian counterpart Tigran Torosyan in Moscow,
Armenian National Assembly press office reports.

Grizlov admitted that crimes against strangers had become dangerously
commonplace in Russia.

He pointed out the jurors’ recent acquittal of the murderers in St.
Petersburg saying it had prompted serious discussions.

Armenian speaker, in his turn, said Russia is a large country where
numerous incidents happen. He doesn’t think these crimes are motivated
by anti-Armenian sentiments. Each of these cases must be considered
separately and wrongdoers must be tracked down and prosecuted to the
full extent of then law.

SOVA Russian analytic center’s figures show that the biggest number
of racism-grounded attacks, especially deadly, against Caucasianshas
been recorded between 2004 and 2006.

Of them, seven homicides have been recorded over a period between
January and May 2006, nine homicides in 2005 and 14 murders in 2004.