Moscow Helsinki Group and Mr. Putin
Moscow, Russia
November 24, 200121-23 of November 2001 there took place a so-called 'Citizens Forum' in the Moscow Kremlin Palace of Congresses. It was supposed to be a gathering of various non-governmental human-rights, citizens-rights, consumer-rights, etc. groups in order to try to establish an open dialog with the Russian government. Top government officials came to meet the activists.
Mr. Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, gave the key-note address. The idea seemed very good but there were some 'buts' which nobody seemed to want to notice. The huge and airy Palace of Congresses was full of representatives of various cults, freely distributing their propaganda literature and engaging into active PR actions. There were noticed Falun Gong, Scientology, the Moonies, Mother of God Center and some others. Mrs. Lyudmila Alexeyeva, the president of notorious Moscow Helsinki Group chaired the meeting, as if legitimizing even the presence of Mr. Putin. We should remember that Moscow Helsinki group closely cooperates with Scientology. Just recently two organizations jointly organized a seminar on 'religious tolerance' in Moscow President Hotel. Before that Scientology sponsored a Moscow Helsinki group brochure which came out with Scientology logo and head quotation from L. Ron Hubbard.
Because of that many experts had openly named the Moscow Helsinki Group to be the branch of Scientology. And the president of this very notorious organization was shown on all TV-channels sitting above president Putin and chairing the meeting at which he was just one of the speakers. It is amazing that nobody of Mr. Putin's advisers had warned him about that.
On the evening of November 21 Mrs. Alexeyeva was interviewed on the program 'Podrobnosti', RTR channel. There were two questions on which she gave deliberately very vague answers. She would not say who paid USD 1.500.000 - the cost of the meeting. She had to admit that all Russian Human Rights groups exist on foreign money. But she would not tell what organizations pay this money. Yet, we know that the one who pays to the orchestra, calls the tune. Whose tune is the Moscow Helsinki group playing?