Russia to probe U.S. rights violations

By Vladimir Radyuhin

MOSCOW, MARCH 9. Enraged by American criticism of Russia's human rights record, Moscow vowed to investigate media violations by the United States and to launch an advertising campaign to polish up Russia's image in the West.

In a new sign of growing tensions between Moscow and Washington, Russia's Information Minister, Mr. Mikhail Lesin, accused the U.S. of acting like an ``obnoxious policeman'' and telling ``lies'' about Russia in an annual American report on the state of human rights around the world.

The U.S. State Department report released last week said Russia's record on press freedom had ``worsened'' and that ``serious problems'' remained with Russia's overall human rights record, especially in Chechnya.

``We cannot tolerate the pious tone or the unfounded accusations which come from a state where cases of arbitrary policing, violence, anti-Semitism, racism and the breach of fundamental rights and constitutional liberties are nothing unusual and go unpunished,''Mr. Lesin told a press conference in Moscow.

The statement is bound to add acrimony to Russian- American relations overshadowed as they are by U.S. plans to build a national missile defence bitterly opposed by Russia.

Mr. Lesin said his Ministry was drafting a ``report on the state of freedom of speech and the freedom of media activities in the United States.''

The report, to be released later this month, will cover restrictions faced by foreign news organisations and the concentration of U.S. media in too few hands, the Minister said. For example, Washington has refused to allow Russia's Radio Mayak to broadcast in the U.S. even while the U.S.-funded Radio Liberty has been broadcasting in Russia for years. Although Russia and the U.S. have a comparable number of media outlets, Mr. Lesin said, Russia's organisations were controlled by thousands of companies, while U.S. media were run by about 50 conglomerates.

``De facto, U.S. media outlets express the viewpoint of 50 people or 50 boards of directors,'' he said.

Mr. Lesin also said the Russian Government planned to commission an advertising campaign aimed at projecting a ``positive image of Russia'' in the U.S. and Europe.

``How long will the Americans be told lies about processes under way in Russia?'' he said. ``It's time to speak the truth.''

The Minister accused Washington of clamping down on U.S. press freedom, saying Moscow was also studying ways to ``support the public organisations that are struggling for freedom of speech in the United States.''

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Section  : International
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