Upper House approves ‘foreign agents’ bill

Published time: July 18, 2012 11:25
Edited time: July 18, 2012 23:37
Russia's Federation Council, the upper house of parliament (RIA Novosti/Aleksey Nikolskyi)
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Russia’s Federation Council has approved a controversial bill that brands externally-funded NGOs as foreign agents. As the legislation awaits President’s signature, some have likened it to tactics used against the Jews in Nazi Germany.

The bill that tightens screws on foreign-funded non-profit organizations was drafted by several members of the parliamentary majority United Russia party. After initial protests against the legislation, the whole United Russia faction in the Lower House put their names to the draft in support. Deputies from United Russia say the move will give more information to Russian citizens. They also say other countries, particularly the USA, have had similar laws on the books for a long time.

The bill also instructs the Justice Ministry to prepare annual reports on activities of the NGOs that are recognized as foreign agents and present it to the Lower House including a full breakdown of financial operations.

The Russian President suggested changes to the bill after it passed the first reading. The State Duma adopted them in the second reading. Religious organizations, state companies and state-owned corporations and also the NGOs founded by state companies aren’t obliged to report on foreign sponsorship and won’t be called foreign agents if they get any.

Repeated refusal to follow the instructions listed in the bill can lead to criminal proceedings and be punished with up to 4 years in custody. The legislators made a separate bill that hand out administrative punishment in the form of fines. These amendments will be considered by the Lower House in the Autumn.

Opponents of the bill include major NGOs, who went as far as likening the ‘foreign agent’ status to the Star of David patch Jews were forced to wear in Nazi Germany. The activists also said they will have to abandon all external aid and rely only on Russian sponsors, which would curb their activities. HR watchdogs, including the Presidential Council on Human Rights, expressed concern over the development, saying that lack of funding could slow Russia’s drive towards democracy.

However, presidential envoy to the Upper House, Aleksandr Kotenkov, told the senators that the statement issued by the council was “purely personal opinion” of its head Mikhail Fedotov, and “had no relation to the opinion of the head of the state”. The envoy went on to criticize Fedotov for expressing an opinion that was different from Putin’s saying that the official had no right.

A recent public opinion poll has shown that 64 per cent of Russians say foreign-funded NGOs should have no part in the country’s political life. Only 21 per cent of those polled said such organizations should be allowed to operate freely.

To come into force the bill must now be signed by President Vladimir Putin and published in the national press. Senators extended the maximum time needed for this to 120 days from the ordinarily 90 days so that the coming into force is simultaneous for the bill itself and for the amendments on fines.

An activist of Yabloko liberal party holds a poster outside Russia′s lower house of parliament, the State Duma, in Moscow, on July 6, 2012, during an authorized protest against a proposed new bill forcing internationally-funded non-governmental organisations (NGO) to register as "foreign agents". The poster reads: "The NGO bill will lead to lead to a Fascist State!" (AFP Photo/Natalia Kolesnikova)
An activist of Yabloko liberal party holds a poster outside Russia's lower house of parliament, the State Duma, in Moscow, on July 6, 2012, during an authorized protest against a proposed new bill forcing internationally-funded non-governmental organisations (NGO) to register as "foreign agents". The poster reads: "The NGO bill will lead to lead to a Fascist State!" (AFP Photo/Natalia Kolesnikova)
Anton Tushin / <a href="http://ridus.ru">www.ridus.ru</a>
Anton Tushin / www.ridus.ru

Comments (18)

A.Smith 19.07.2012 05:40

Flooding foreign NGO's with CIA/Mossad informants and spys began in earnest by Bush jr. and the Zionist serpent Condie Rice, then USA President and USA Secretary of State. It appears the infestation of Western spys inside of foreign NGO's greatly ballooned under the following administrations of Obama and Hillary Clinton where those spys contacted various terrorist dissidents inside those nations then arranged various weapons, explosives, communication equipment deliverys along with directions straight from the USA Gov. and Apartheid Israel.

S uch directly resulted in building the very foundation of the so-called Arabic Uprising. The NGO's actively facilitated placing weapons, explosives and directives to known terrorists and terrorist organizations inside multiple nations which USA Gov. and Apartheid Israel wanted to weaken, destroy or create a regime change from the inside. USA would consider a foreign nation doing the same to USA as a act of War.

Not only are International Laws and Treatys the direct Casualty of these depraved practices by the USA Gov. but also the very creditability of the USA State Department which foreign nations rightly view as so utterly spy infested and Zionist corrupted they are no different from the terrorist CIA agency themselves. Such places USA foreign citizens into a vulnerable position by abusing NGO's and the USA State Department's creditability, the USA citizens overseas they would seek to help is greatly diminished as foreign nations now see any linkage with the USA State Department as BAD, CORRUPTED and the foreign USA citizen is likely GUILTY.

K udo's to Russia for forcing NGO's to register it's members as 'Foreign Agents'. All BRIC's nations should do the same as the USA State Department is undoubtedly trying to play this same game with NGO's in each of their nations also.

Ame ricans should demand that the Apartheid Israeli Jewish Lobby, AIPAC register it's members as 'Foreign Agents' working for a foreign nation (Apartheid Israel) whose loyalty’s are for a foreign nation (Apartheid Israel) AND severely limit their access to USA elected officials.

+24

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USA (unregistered) 19.07.2012 03:43

Otto von Bulow (unregistered) wrote in #5
Russi an government has finally caught on that its political opposition is being financed by the US taxpayer-funded National Endowment for Democracy and other CIA/State Department fronts in an attempt to subvert the Russian government and install an American puppet state in the geographically largest country on earth, the one country with a nuclear arsenal sufficient to deter Washington’s aggression.   Much of the Russian political opposition consists of foreign-paid agents, and once the law passes leading elements of the Russian political opposition will have to sign in with the Russian Ministry of Justice as foreign agents of Washington. The Itar-Tass News Agency reported on July 3 that there are about 1,000 organizations in Russia that are funded from abroad and engaged in political activity. Try to imagine the outcry if the Russians were funding 1,000 organizations in the US engaged in an effort to turn America into a Russian puppet state. (In the US the Russians would find a lot of competition from Israel.)   Th e Washington-funded R ussian political opposition masquerades behind “human rights” and says it works to “open Russia.” What the disloyal and treasonous Washington-funded R ussian “political opposition” means by “open Russia” is to open Russia for brainwashing by Western propaganda, to open Russia to economic plunder by the West, and to open Russia to having its domestic and foreign policies determined by Washington.   Keywords: Craig Paul Roberts   ...... your english is beautifullllllllllll lllll Otto

+2

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Rojo (unregistered) 19.07.2012 03:38

Finally! This is long-overdue legislation. After 25 years of pathetically crawling before the so-called "West" (i.e. the usury vampires) on her knees, Russia is becoming an indepedent nation once again.

+9

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