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Europe should push Russia on rights: watchdog
AFP
MOSCOW
Petroleumworld.com 11 24 06
The European Union should press Russia over its "deteriorating" human rights record, Human Rights Watch said Thursday on the eve of an EU-Russia summit in Helsinki.
The rights group called on the EU to "press Moscow to repeal invasive restrictions imposed on non-governmental organisations," said Holly Cartner, the watchdog's Europe and Central Asia director.
Cartner also highlighted to need to "end torture and forced disappearances in Chechnya".
"A strong EU human rights policy towards Russia will not make Moscow turn off the gas to Europe," she said, in reference to Russia's position as a major energy provider to the EU.
"The EU's silence over the Kremlin's rollback on democracy and human rights has not even secured its energy supplies," Cartner said. "In fact the EU's passivity may have emboldened the Kremlin because its bullying tactics are met with silence from the EU," she added.
"The EU must waste no more time in pressing Russia to reverse the decline in respect for human rights," Cartner argued.
The EU is increasingly dependent on Moscow for energy, importing 30 percent of its oil and 40 percent of its gas from Russia.
AFP 23 1740 GMT 11 06
Copyright© 2006 AFP. All Rights Reserved.
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