Putin Poised to Create 'Police State'

[kskiska]

FORCES loyal to Vladimir Putin were expected to be on their way to an overwhelming victory today as Russians went to the polls to support a party with little in the way of a manifesto other than slavish devotion to the president.

As opinion polls for the parliamentary elections indicate a crumbling in support for social democratic parties with millions of voters flooding to the Putin-loyal United Russia coalition, political analysts warned the president was well on his way to forming a "police state".

And it seemed unlikely that Friday’s suicide bombing, in which suspected Chechen rebels killed 42 people on a train near the breakaway republic, would blunt a striking success for pro-Kremlin forces as a defiant Putin condemned the attack as an attempt to destabilise the country. As many as 27,000 police are on the streets of Moscow amid fears of further attacks.

(snip)

Analysts agree this projected victory for Kremlin-friendly parties would give the president extreme leverage on parliamentarians and tempt him to ram through unpopular laws that tally with his authoritarian image as a former KGB spy who favours a strong hand.

Respected commentator Andrei Piontkovsky said: "Mr Putin is building a police state and he makes no bones about it."

more…
http://www.news.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=1344542003

[BootinUp]

1. Where's the outrage from the US?

Clark has talked about this in his foreign policy speeches. We are acting like wussies begging Putin for help while he builds his police state. What a world!

[JaySherman]

2. No wonder * and Pukin are buds

Birds of a feather flock together.

Could this be a preview of what's coming to the U.S.? Is it a glimpse of what's in store us come November 2004? All the more reason * must be defeated for the sake of our democracy!

[mikehiggins]

3. Uhh, hold on here dude

"millions of voters flooding to the Putin-loyal United Russia coalition" doesn't specifically sound like a police state to me.

What I find a hoot is people on DU criticising Putin for arresting a plutocrat who tried to use his money to buy votes in the Russian legislature. Nothing wrong with bribing lawmakers, right? The rich have the right to undercut the elected government because, well, they're rich, right? It doesn't matter that they got rich from sweetheart deals when the collectively owned resources of the Russian people, like oil for example, were parcelled out to individuals who used them to become billionaires.

Secret policeman Putin is undoubtedly using his position to get what he wants, but he's doing it through the ballot box instead of using plain white envelopes passed under the desks. Millions of voters are supporting him. How much better are we when a few wealthy individuals can outrank the votes of millions of Americans?

So THAT is why we should criticise him?

[SadEagle]

5. Here is why it's a lot like police state, from BBC:

"Foreign observers and other parties have said that the campaign has been marred by open bias in favour of United Russia in the media."
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3299091.stm)
Basically, all the powers of the government were used to advance the pro-Putin party.

Now, why is state media propaganda important? Because of arrests of heads of opposition media on very questionable charges. Because of take overs and shut downs of most indepent news organizations.
See for example stories like this one http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0701/p06s01-woeu.html

Or look at this:
http://www.rsf.org/country-53.php3?id_mot=256&Valider=OK
doesn't sound very democratic, does it?

Now, surrely people did vote for it. Well, sort of -- the minimum 5% cap for representation in parliament, with 23 parties around, does not make the results wholy democratic. But it is true that the 3 leading parties --- the pro-Putin one, the so-called liberal democrats --- who should be called the fascists, since this is what they are, and the communists do all have certain authoritarian tendencies.

But anyway, I don't think a majority in a democracy has the right to elevate a leader to near-dictotorial power. This goes against the principles of protecting the rights of minorities. And anyway, the real test will always be with what will the power be used for. If it is not used to undermine democracy further --- great. But if the term limits for the presidency are lifted, and the already ultra-powerful role of the presidency is even further expanded, we may soon consider 'Tzar Vladimir" to be a more accurate title than "President Putin"

[papau]

10. Sergei Kovalev- Putin's war-should be assigned reading to LIHOP reviewers

:-)

[Media_Lies_Daily]

19. "Doing it through the ballot box"? You mean, like the NeoCons in 2000?

[gate of the sun]

4. this was posted last night

n/t

[Tinoire]

6. Putin warned us to stay out of Caspian Sea so here comes Rumsfeld

TBILISI : US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld called for Russia to withdraw its troops in Georgia after he arrived to show support for the strategic nation's new leaders less than two weeks after they took power.

"Russia should fulfill its commitments under the Istanbul accords to withdraw Russian forces from Georgia," Rumsfeld said at a press conference Friday after meeting with interim president Nino Burjanadze. "That has been the interest and desire of the government of Georgia," he said.


<snip>
Rumsfeld is the first senior US official to visit the Caucasus nation since president Eduard Shevardnadze was forced from power after mass protests over a parliamentary election that the opposition said were rigged in government's favor.

His visit comes at a time when Moscow and Washington have renewed their Cold War-style rivalry for influence over Georgia, a country seen in the West as a crucial gateway for the export of oil from the nearby Caspian Sea to world markets.

<snip>

On Tuesday US Secretary of State Colin Powell warned Russia at a meeting of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) against supporting "breakaway elements seeking to weaken the territorial integrity of Georgia."

<snip>

Georgia has strategic importance because a pipeline linking Azeri oil fields to a Turkish port on the Mediterranean runs through it.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world/view/60681/1/.html

And of course Soros is at the bottom of yet another "peaceful" revolution in the interest of the neo-cons.

[Tinoire]

11. Russian Ambassador: We Will Not Allow US Presence in Caspian

Attemðts by the countries not related to the Casðian region to reðlace their trooðs in the region will lead to tension in the region, Nikolay Ryabov, Russian Ambassador to Azerbaijan told journalists on Friday.

06/12/2003 03:06
Baku Today

According to the Ambassador, there is no necessity, but US will in it. "The littoral countries themselves should ensure security in the Casðian without US intervention, which try to enter the region located in thousand kilometers of their borders," said Ryabov, stressing that the US would be ðresent in the region. "We will not allow it."

General Charles "Chuck" Wald, Deðuty Commander of the Íeadquarters of the U.S. Euroðean Command, stated in Baku late in November that the United States intends to launch imðlementing the ðroject related to security in the Casðian region in January 2004.

Wald said the ðroject to be realized in the Azerbaijani section of the Casðian would enable to control over under and above water areas, while information obtained would be immediately ðassed to the military leadershið.

Information for this report provided by Trend
http://www.bakutoday.net/view.php?d=7292

[Tinoire]

12. US Defense Secretary Arrives In Baku

Donald Rumsfeld will meet his Azerbaijani counterpart Safar Abiyev and President Ilham Aliyev to discuss development of military cooperation, Azerbaijan's role within US led anti-terror coalition, sending more Azerbaijani peacekeepers operating in Iraq, situation in South Caucasus region as well as regional conflicts.
As reported state officials denies discussing deployment of US troops in Azerbaijan during Donald Rumsfeld's visit. Pentagon chief will hold press conference on finals of his meeting at Presidential Administration. This is second visit Defense Secretary makes to Azerbaijan following the first one after September 11, 2001 tragedy in New York. Later Mr. Rumsfeld will head to Tbilisi and from there to Kabul.

http://www.bakutoday.net/view.php?d=7259

[SpiralHawk]

20. Thanks for broadening our context, Tinoire

"In times of universal deceit, telling the truth is truly a revolutionary act." -George Orwell

[Maple]

7. Not an American concern

.

[sweetheart]

8. It is a global concern

and all people have the right to speak out... and not be heard... just like canadian trees. ;-)

[Nlighten1]

9. I've looking into his soul...

Remember when Bush said that? He must have liked what he saw.

[DeathvadeR]

13. Police State? Yawn!!!!!!!!!

Miami had that many police on the streets during the Trade protests.

[Gloria]

14. LDPR, HOMELAND ALSO BIG WINNERS--Kremlin hanky panky

From the current World Media Watch......

3//The Moscow Times Monday, Dec. 8, 2003 Page 1

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2003/12/08/002.html



LDPR, HOMELAND ALSO BIG WINNERS

By Simon Saradzhyan
Staff Writer



The Liberal Democratic Party of Russia and the Homeland bloc appeared to be among the winners of Sunday's election, showing the broad appeal of both parties' nationalist and anti-oligarch rhetoric among impoverished and disillusioned voters.



(SNIP)


The Kremlin either set up or helped promote a number of parties, including Homeland, in an effort to steal votes from the Communist Party or discredit it in the eyes of its traditional electorate.


(SNIP)



Homeland co-leader Sergei Glazyev, an economist, chose the immensely rich and unpopular oligarchs as the main targets of his campaign. He called for raising taxes on their oil companies and using the money to increase pensions and public sector wages.



His co-leader Dmitry Rogozin, presidential envoy for Kaliningrad and outspoken hawk, also hit out at the oil barons, but he interspersed his anti-oligarch tirades with calls for a greater Russia and vows to protect the interests of ethnic Russians abroad.



This hard-hitting rhetoric made Homeland so popular that the Kremlin started to become concerned that it would do too well in the elections and move beyond its control. Hence, regular coverage of Homeland on Channel One television came to an end more than a week before the vote.



But even Rogozin's sharp-worded attacks on the oligarchs paled in comparison to Zhirinovsky's televised escapades.



"And no big business. Don't put it in their hands because they will steal it all and take it all out. Medium-sized businesses, perhaps -- but under the control of the special services," Zhirinovsky said during debates on NTV's "Svoboda Slova" program on Friday evening.



Unlike Homeland, LDPR is a veteran of the political scene. Some allege the party was set up by the Kremlin as a manageable opposition to the Soviet Communist Party.

(MORE)

[SadEagle]

17. The important thing to know about LDPR.

The 'Liberal Democratic Party of Russia' is neither liberal, nor democratic. They're ultra-right-wing, authoritarian, anti-semistic, and in short would be most accurately referred to as the Fascist Part of Russia

[Rex]

15. Once again the U.S. outshines the U.S.S.R.

We started forming OUR police state almost 3 years ago! Ha! Take that Pooty-Poot! Poots just jealous of our Patriot Acts and First Amendment Zones. Our Faux News makes all other state sponsored press agencies look like weekly tabloid junk!

Once again America shines brighter than the Ruskies ever will! USA USA USA!

[Tinoire]

16. Don't do that!

You made me spit out a perfectly good Gewurztraminer!


LMAO

[dusty64]

18. Hmmm,

this sure does sound familiar. Its like a description of the "diebold strategy for one party rule". >>"Analysts agree this projected victory for Kremlin-friendly parties would give the president extreme leverage on parliamentarians and tempt him to ram through unpopular laws that tally with his authoritarian image as a former KGB spy who favours a strong hand.""