http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4664974.stm
Last Updated: Tuesday, 31 January 2006, 11:09 GMT Putin warning over 'puppet' NGOs Mr Putin has drawn criticism over new rules for foreign NGOs Russian President Vladimir Putin has defended tighter controls on NGOs in Russia, saying he will not allow foreign "puppeteers" to control them. He was commenting on the recent spying row in which Moscow accused British diplomats of making secret payments to non-governmental organisations. "We are for their funding being transparent... we don't want them led by puppeteers from abroad," he said. However he ruled out any expulsion of the British diplomats concerned. "Let them stay... It will be nicer for us to know that we can keep an eye on these people," he told reporters at his annual Kremlin news conference. Mr Putin has signed a law giving the authorities wide-ranging powers to monitor the activities and finances of NGOs. The new powers, which include the right to suspend NGOs should they "threaten Russia's sovereignty or independence", have been condemned by both domestic and international rights groups. The rules are widely seen as a Russian effort to prevent any Ukraine or Georgia-style revolution spearheaded by NGOs. Defence of G8 role Human rights activists have also attacked Russia's current chairmanship of the G8, accusing Mr Putin of authoritarian methods. But he hit back on Tuesday, saying Russia's role in the grouping of leading industrialised countries was backed by all the leaders in it. "No-one is against our active participation in this club. No-one wants the G8 to return to a group of fat cats," he said. Mr Putin said Russia's economic growth last year had exceeded expectations, even though many Russians were still poor. He also said that the G8 was not only about the economy but about global security. Mr Putin warned of the danger of a revolution in Uzbekistan, saying it could turn the Central Asian state into "another Afghanistan". Russia has avoided putting pressure on the authorities in Uzbekistan, despite international outrage over their harsh crackdown against opposition activists. -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: osint@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
