Kasparov calls anti-Kremlin =80=98alternative parliament’
Web posted at: 3/28/2008 8:25:48
Source ::: Agencies
MOSCOW =80¢ A coalition of anti-Kremlin parties led by former chess champion
Garry Kasparov will hold an `alternative parliament’ in May, a spokeswoman for
The Other Russia group said yesterday.
The unofficial assembly, probably in Moscow, is in protest at the number of
parties disallowed from contesting last December’s parliamentary elections,
Marina Litvinovitch said.
`This will effectively constitute the first meeting of the National Assembly,
‘ she claimed. `This assembly must reunite all the groups excluded by the
system.’
`We consider the current parliament does not represent all of Russian society
since some movements were unable to participate in the (parliamentary)
elections because their parties were not registered and because the ballot
conditions were unfair,’ she said. Kasparov’s Other Russiacoalition includes
his own United Civil Front, and the far-left National Bolshevik Party.
The alternative parliament is due to met on May 17-18, while two preparatory
conferences are scheduled-one for the liberal opposition in Saint Petersburg
on April 5, and another the following day in Moscow for leftwing groups.
Several parties, such as the Greens, were prevented from standing in the
December 2 parliamentary election. A total of 11 parties finally made the
ballot, while only four received sufficient votes to win seats in the Duma.
Meanwhile, three rebels were killed Thursday in a raid on a village in
Russia’s turbulent Dagestan province, a news agency reported, citing the local
branch of the FSB federal security service.
The Peninsula