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Volgograd Evening News, December 25, 2001
A
Call for More Meetings Between the Governmental Leaders and NGO’s
[Translater’s Note - In his December 1, 2001
newsletter the director of the Volgograd Forum, Alexander Yevreinov, reported
that on November 13, local NGO representatives met at the Volgograd Forum to
formulate a coordinated position to present in Moscow at the forthcoming
session on government and nonprofits sponsored by President Vladimir Putin.
The agreed upon directive to the Volgograd representative, Inna
Prikhozhan, emphasized at least
two issues:
1)
press for tax treatment of NGO’s similar to the treatment in the West
where NGO’s are exempt from income tax and where contributions are
deductible from income;
2)
demand the government cease controlling and subsidizing certain mass
media outlets and demand equal treatment of independent outlets.
Below is a report on the
follow-up meeting held in Volgograd upon the return of the representatives
from president Putin’s Civic Forum in Moscow last December on NGO’s.]
The last meeting of the Volgograd
Forum, the independent , open discussion group established in 1994, was
devoted to a report on and
discussion of the results of Moscow Civic forum.
As you recall, President Vladimir Putin made a personal appearance at
the Civic Forum. He delivered a
detailed address and in general shown the spotlight on of the so-called third
sector-that is on non-commercial associations.
The
delegation from our city at the Civic Forum was headed by the President of the
Center of Civic Education (CCE), Inna Anatolievna Prikhozan. Incidentally,
Inna Anatolievna, was in the eye of the storm at the Civic Forum as she served
on the organizing committee with only three
other regional representatives.
The
idea of such a forum came as a surprise to governmental authorities, the
president of CCE noted in her impressions.
Government officials looked at us as people from another planet.
Here
in brief is the top priority of this businesslike Moscow undertaking: to
challenge the government not only a dialogue, but to compel it to cooperation,
to develop general rules of the game on a civic playing field.
What is the third sector?- that is a civic organizations? This appears
to be terra incognito for Russian observers, unexplored territory, and
consequently calling for creative energy.
In
our oblast there are registered about 1880 similar organizations- observed the
head of the City administration’s department of social-political relations
for working with the civic society groups, I.V. Lapshinova.
But the majority of such organizations exist
only on paper. Notwithstanding
such a deplorable state, it was decided to conduct another forum on January
26, 2002 at a round table discussion where local public officials would meet
with whomever, the association of
antiquarians, or the society for the defense of hamsters.
The discussion must be substantive, asserted I.V. Lipshinova- one must
be attentive to the government’s views, present fresh ideas, the
implementation of which serves the interests of the local population.
We will wait for January and then take a reckoning whether the
implementation of a realistic conception of cooperation between government
officials on one side and ecologists, beekeepers, dog breeders and other club
joiners on the other side can be worked out.
Leonid
Schevchenko
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