Election observers for Russia stymied

WARSAW, Poland - An international security organization said Friday its election observers would be unable to monitor next month's Russian parliamentary balloting because Moscow had refused to issue them visas on time.The development underscores the tensions between Russia and the West about the state of democracy under President Vladimir Putin. The standoff threatens to deepen Western doubts about the legitimacy of the Dec. 2 elections and harden Moscow's insistence that the West lacks the right to criticize how they are carried out.Russia has already come under criticism because it had said it would allow the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to send only 70 observers-far fewer than in previous Russian elections-for the vote."We have not received a single visa for the 70 observers," OSCE spokeswoman Urdur Gunnarsdottir said."We have tried everything...But we sadly now have to conclude that it is not possible."Russia's top election official, Vladimir Churov, denied it has refused the visas and said they were waiting in Warsaw at the headquarters of the election monitoring office, the Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights."All the necessary documents including visas are already in Warsaw, at ODIHR headquarters, so I don't understand what could have prompted such a decision," Churov said at a news conference at the Russian Embassy in Berlin.But Gunnarsdottir said that the visas were certainly not ready by late Thursday, when the OSCE made the "difficult" decision to abandon plans to monitor the elections."Even if the visas are there now, it's too late. We would have needed them last night," she said.Churov insisted that Russia was "certainly ready to receive" any and all monitors, adding that "if one of the missions makes such a decision (not to attend), then that is their decision."A Putin spokesman insisted that Moscow was complying with its obligations to the OSCE, of which it is a member."The Russian Federation is totally complying with its obligations, as part of the OSCE," Dmitry Peskov told The Associated Press."Actually, there were no restrictions introduced to the observation mission," Peskov said, citing OSCE rules that allow a member state the right to say how many observers can be deployed.Peskov said that visas were "a rather technical issue" and referred questions to the Russia's foreign ministry, insisting the decision over whether to send election monitors rested with the OSCE and not Moscow.
"We can hardly speak about violating any rules," he said.Gunnarsdottir said a "meaningful" observation of the election would not be possible at this point because candidates have already registered, the media campaign is under way, and there is too little time to get observers in place.Garry Kasparov, a former world chess champion who is an opposition leader and one of Putin's fiercest critics, said: "Putin's regime has no interest in revealing its dark side."Kasparov told the AP the upcoming elections were "a mockery used by the Kremlin as a decoration to cover up the true colors of the regime."In Brussels, European Union spokeswoman Christiane Hohmann expressed "regret" over the development and urged Putin "to make sure that the election process is open and organized according to international standards for free and open elections."Peskov denied that the absence of foreign observers might raise questions about the fairness of the balloting. There cannot be "the slightest doubts of the legality of the electoral process in Russia," he said. "It's a purely democratic process."All 56 OSCE member countries- including Russia-agreed in 1990 to invite international observers to monitor their elections. The organization then decides whether to send observers based on scheduling and need.The organization has monitored elections in countries including the United States, Britain, France and Poland.In a meeting before the OSCE's announcement, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stressed the need for discussions on Russian-backed proposals that would place new restrictions on election observer missions.Russia and several other ex-Soviet countries that have bristled at Western criticism of their votes and accusations of authoritarian rule, would like to see new limits on the number of observers and restrict their ability to criticize elections.OSCE observers described Russia's last parliamentary elections in 2003 as a step backward for democracy, saying the state had used the media and other levers to favor the main Kremlin-backed party.In another sign of Russia's defiance of the West, its upper house of parliament voted Friday to suspend participation in a key European arms control treaty.The Federation Council voted unanimously for a law suspending Russia's obligations under the Conventional Forces in Europe treaty that limits the deployment of tanks, aircraft and other heavy weapons across the continent.Putin has called for Russia's temporary withdrawal from the treaty amid mounting anger in the Kremlin over U.S. plans to build a missile defense system in eastern Europe. He justified what he called a suspension of Russia's participation in the agreement by pointing to NATO's own failure to ratify an amended version.Russia's lower house of parliament, the State Duma, approved the legislation last week. It will take effect Dec. 12.Lavrov called on the West to ratify the amended CFE treaty, saying that it was the only way to "put in order" arms control in Europe, Russian news agencies reported.Under the moratorium, Russia will halt inspections and verifications of its military sites by NATO countries and will no longer be obligated to limit the number of conventional weapons deployed west of the Urals.The 1990 arms control treaty set limits on the deployment of heavy conventional weapons by NATO and Warsaw Pact countries to ease tensions along the border between the old Eastern bloc and Western Europe. The treaty was revised in 1999 after the collapse of the Soviet Union.Russia ratified the updated treaty in 2004, but the U.S. and other NATO members have refused to follow suit, saying Moscow first must fulfill obligations to withdraw forces from Georgia and from Moldova's separatist region of Trans-Dniester.Russia on Thursday announced that it had completed withdrawal of its conventional forces, although not its peacekeeping troops, from Georgia.
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