Deep Politics Forum

Blimey, Clinton's charges based on recent events is stupendously hypocritical.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec...sky-russia

Quote:Russia hits back over oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky
Moscow warns US and Europe to 'mind their own business' as oil tycoon found guilty of theft and money laundering

Tom Parfitt in Moscow
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 28 December 2010 12.30 GMT


Mikhail Khodorkovsky stands in a Moscow court as a judge reads the verdict in his second trial. Photograph: Tatyana Makeyeva/REUTERS
Russia's government came out fighting today in response to international criticism over the jailing of oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, warning the US and European countries to "mind their own business".

Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, issued a statement on Monday saying the oligarch's conviction raised "serious questions about selective prosecution - and about the rule of law being overshadowed by political considerations."

But a foreign ministry spokesman in Moscow said: "Judgements about some kind of selective application of justice in Russia are without foundation." He added: "We are counting on everyone minding his own business both at home, and in the international arena."

Khodorkovsky, 47, and his business partner, Platon Lebedev, 54, were found guilty by a Moscow court yesterday of theft and money laundering, in a trial that critics say is revenge for the tycoon questioning a state monopoly on oil pipelines and propping up political parties that oppose the Kremlin.
Clinton's censure was echoed by politicians in Britain and Germany. Catherine Ashton, the European Union's foreign policy chief, urged Moscow to "respect its international commitments in the field of human rights and the rule of law."

Viktor Danilkin, the trial judge, said the two men had been found guilty when he began reading his 250-page verdict yesterday. But their fate remains unclear because sentencing will not take place until he finishes the text, which could take several days.

The Russian foreign ministry spokesman hit back at criticism from abroad, saying that "in connection with statements from Washington and a series of European capitals, we would like to underline once more that this question is a matter for the judicial system of the Russian Federation. Attempts to place pressure on the court are unacceptable."

The trial related to "serious accusations of tax avoidance and laundering of criminally received income. In any country such deeds require criminal punishment. In the United States, by the way, life sentences are given for these acts."

Similar prosecutions were common, the spokesman claimed. "Thousands of cases regarding the responsibilities of entrepreneurs before the law are considered in Russian courts," he said.

The spokesman referred to comments by Dmitry Medvedev on Friday, saying Russia's president had "stressed that nobody has the right to interfere in the prerogatives of the judicial authorities."

Khodorkovsky and Lebedev have been in jail on earlier fraud and tax evasion charges since 2003. They are due for release next year but prosecutors in the current trial want them to stay in jail until 2017.

Several hundred protesters gathered around the trial court in Moscow's Khamovniki district yesterday shouting, "Shame!" and "Russia without Putin!" as proceedings got under way inside.

Danilkin resumed reading his verdict today as police closed streets around the court to traffic.

Asked about Khodorkvosky's second trial earlier this month, Vladimir Putin, the prime minister, replied: "A thief should be in jail."

Khodorkovsky's backers condemned that as open pressure on the court, but Putin later claimed he was referring only to the businessman's first conviction.

In her comments yesterday, Clinton said the case had a "negative impact on Russia's reputation for fulfilling its international human rights obligations and improving its investment climate."

Quote:Blimey, Clinton's charges based on recent events is stupendously hypocritical.

These days everything that comes out of her mouth is highly hypocritical.Can anyone take her seriously?How can she take herself seriously?

Another blimey!

The sheer hypocrisy in the opening para is simply staggering:

Click HERE for original article.

Quote:West lashes Russia over Khodorkovsky sentence
Dmitry Zaks
December 31, 2010 - 9:04PM

Russia was lashed Friday by Western criticism of a court decision to keep Kremlin critic and ex-tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky in jail until 2017 in a case watched as a barometer of the country's democratic progress.

The US State Department and the European Union led a chorus of international condemnation of the sentence delivered Thursday in the second trial of the Yukos oil company founder and his co-defendant Platon Lebedev.

A Moscow judge found the pair -- already in prison since 2003 on tax evasion charges -- guilty of money laundering and embezzlement and extended their jail stay for the six years sought by the prosecution.

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The case has been watched by Western governments and rights groups as a test of the country's commitment to the court independence and modernisation championed by President Dmitry Medvedev.

But disappointment echoed across international capitals following a decision that some officials said confirmed their worst fears about Russia.

Washington had been seeking to "reset" a relationship with Moscow that suffered several dark patches during the presidency of Medvedev's strongman predecessor Vladimir Putin.

But the State Department issued an unusually frank assessment of a trial which saw now-premier Putin declare on national television during the process that a "thief must be in prison".

"Simply put, the Russian government cannot nurture a modern economy without also developing an independent judiciary that serves as an instrument for furthering economic growth," said State Department spokesman Mark Toner.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel -- one of Europe's most regular visitors to Russia -- said she was "disappointed by the verdict against Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his tough sentence."

And Germany's Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger said the sentence "confirmed my worst fears" about Russia.

The European Union foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton said that "allegations" of irregularities in the court case "are a matter of serious concern and disappointment to us."

But Russia's most famous case since the Soviet era received far less attention in Moscow itself.

The government's official Rossiyskaya Gazeta daily mentioned the outcome in a brief article it placed at the bottom of page three while the only other paper to publish on New Year's Eve -- the Tvoi Den tabloid -- ran a few paragraphs on page four.

The state daily simply listed the charges against Khodorkovsky and inserted the headline: "Sentence Issued".

The brief mention ran a few inches bellow a large photograph of Khodorkovsky's arch-nemesis Putin smiling and toasting the New Year with a group of Russian reporters.

Putin's spokesman also refused to comment on the case Thursday evening as the government wrapped up its work ahead of a winter break festival that runs across the nation through January 10.

Khodorkovsky's supporters have accused the court of purposefully timing the trial so that it would end just as the country's was preparing to celebrates the country's most cherished holiday.

Russia goes on virtual shutdown for the first half of January as offices and stores close and news broadcasts are replaced with non-stop airings of beloved Soviet-era movies.

The sentencing was briefly reported on some of the late Thursday news broadcasts but had entirely vanished from state-controlled television by Friday morning.

Some Russian websites noted that state television appeared more concerned Thursday evening about the death in Saint Petersburg of Bobby Farrell, singer for the 1970s pop group Boney M.

My emphasis in bold:

Quote:Russia was lashed Friday by Western criticism of a court decision to keep Kremlin critic and ex-tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky in jail until 2017 in a case watched as a barometer of the country's democratic progress.

The "oligarchs" looted and stole the resources of Russia from ordinary Russian people during the Chicago Boyz decade of invasion, rape and plunder.

If anyone deserves to spend the rest of their lives in a contempoary Gulag Archipelago it is Khodorkovsky and his oligarch mates.

This case is not a "barometer of (Russia's) democratic progress".

Rather it demonstrates that the oligarchs were always raping and looting Mother Russia on behalf of foreign interests.

Khodorkovsky? Let him rot.

Jan Klimkowski Wrote:My emphasis in bold:



The "oligarchs" looted and stole the resources of Russia from ordinary Russian people during the Chicago Boyz decade of invasion, rape and plunder.

If anyone deserves to spend the rest of their lives in a contempoary Gulag Archipelago it is Khodorkovsky and his oligarch mates.

This case is not a "barometer of (Russia's) democratic progress".

Rather it demonstrates that the oligarchs were always raping and looting Mother Russia on behalf of foreign interests.

Khodorkovsky? Let him rot.

I have to take issue, in part:
1 - He and one other who had to flee to the UK were the ONLY of those granted a 'license to rob' who broke the rules, laid down overtly by Putin [Godfather of the looting mafia], 'thou shall not get involved in politics'.
2 -The two who were destroyed / to be destroyed both are critical of Putin's political dictatorship!
3 - Not forgiving their greed nor robbery deeds, they did demonstrate IMHO some level of morality in their opposition to Putin, which was articulately stated in more progressive terms, I see as mitigating circumstances on their crimes,
4 - That Czar Putin still pulls the strings on the 'Judiciary" and could delay ther sentence until he could make a public speech in which his orders for the verdict were spelled out is by far the greater crime.
5 - He is not being tried nor convicted for his real crimes [as you stated correctly, and the 'silent' Oligarchs are still committing with impunity], ONLY is he tried and convicted for his political crime of criticizing the Godfather!
6 - So, not denying his crimes; those having committed the same exact crime - but letting Czar/Godfather Putin do as he wishes, unchallenged - are NOT so convicted.

Peter - I agree that Khodorkovsky was one of a couple of oligarchs who refused to cut a deal with Czar Putin during the counter coup (loosely) against foreign looting and plunder of Mother Russia.

Putin clearly represents Russian deep intelligence and political elements, and is able to use Russian criminal and gangster elements as his implausibly deniable footsoldiers. Putin is also able to reach some sort of "accomodation" with the western military-intelligence-multinational complex, and the links may go very deep.

Putin can be called a dictator.

To those of us with Eyes Wide Open, Putin can also be termed a modern political leader, acutely geopolitically aware, willing to say and do one thing in public whilst displaying ruthless amorality out of the public eye.

However, none of this diminishes the reality that Khodorkovsky is a crook.

As an example, his bank, Menetep, gained control of funds intended for the victims of Chernobyl and allegedly used them to fund the "purchase" of prime Russian assets for a fraction of their true value for private profit and exploitation.

My post above was not a defence of Putin.

It was a critique of Khodorkovsky and western hypocrisy in proclaiming that the treatment of its crooked capitalist son is a "barometer of (Russia's) democratic progress".

Khodorkovsky also became a philanthropist, whose efforts include the provision of internet-training centres for teachers, a forum for the discussion by journalists of reform and democracy, and the establishment of foundations which finance archaeological digs, cultural exchanges, summer camps for children and a boarding school for orphans.[12][13] Khodorkovsky's critics saw this as political posturing, in light of his funding of several political parties ahead of the elections for the State Duma to be held in late 2003.

He is openly critical of what he refers to as 'managed democracy' within Russia. Careful normally not to criticize the elected leadership, he says the military and security services exercise too much authority. He told The Times:
"It is the Singapore model, it is a term that people understand in Russia these days. It means that theoretically you have a free press, but in practice there is self-censorship. Theoretically you have courts; in practice the courts adopt decisions dictated from above. Theoretically there are civil rights enshrined in the constitution; in practice you are not able to exercise some of these rights."

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[While the kettle calling the pot black.......]

WikiLeaks: rule of law in Mikhail Khodorkovsky trial merely 'gloss'

US dismisses Russian efforts to show due process in tycoon's trial, whose verdict is due today, as 'lipstick on a political pig'

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Tom Parfitt in Moscow
The Guardian, Monday 27 December 2010
Article history

Leaked WikiLeaks cable about the trial of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, whose picture is brandished at a rally in Moscow, reaffirm US diplomats' view of Russia as a 'kleptocratic mafia state'. Photograph: Sergei Karpukhin/Reuters

The trial of Russian oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky shows the Kremlin preserves a "cynical system where political enemies are eliminated with impunity", US diplomats say in classified cables released by WikiLeaks today.

Attempts by the Russian government to demonstrate the rule of law is being respected during Khodorkovsky's prosecution are "lipstick on a political pig", says a communique to Washington from the US embassy in Moscow in December 2009.

Khodorkovsky, 47, an oil tycoon who was arrested in 2003 and sentenced to eight years in jail for fraud two years later, will appear in court in Moscow today to hear the verdict in his second trial on embezzlement charges. Supporters of the man once Russia's richest say the Kremlin ordered the prosecutions in revenge for his funding of opposition parties.

Khodorkovsky could get up to six more years in jail at the end of his current sentence in October next year, if convicted. His business partner, Platon Lebedev, faces the same punishment.

While US officials have already publicly criticised the trial, which began in March last year, the baldness of the language in the secret cables is striking.

Writing to Washington in December last year, a political officer in the US embassy in Moscow noted that one international legal expert believes the trial judge is trying to give Khodorkovsky's defence lawyers a chance. However, in a withering assessment, the officer adds: "The fact that legal procedures are apparently being meticulously followed in a case whose motivation is clearly political may appear paradoxical.

"It shows the effort that the GOR [government of Russia] is willing to expend in order to save face, in this case by applying a superficial rule-of-law gloss to a cynical system where political enemies are eliminated with impunity."

The diplomat's assessment reaffirms those made in US cables released earlier by WikiLeaks, in which Russia is described as a kleptocratic "mafia state" in which officials, oligarchs and organised crime are inextricably linked.

It refers obliquely to a meeting in 2000 when Vladimir Putin, then still president, met Khodorkovksy and 20 other oligarchs and reportedly warned them to stay out of politics in return for their businesses being left in peace.

"There is a widespread understanding," writes the diplomat, "that Khodorkovsky violated the tacit rules of the game: if you keep out of politics, you can line your pockets as much as you desire."

The officer adds: "It is not lost on either elite or mainstream Russians that the GOR has applied a double standard to the illegal activities of 1990s oligarchs; if it were otherwise, virtually every other oligarch would be on trial alongside Khodorkovsky and Lebedev." At his annual TV question and answer session earlier this month, Putin, now prime minister, brushed off criticism off the trial. Russia had "one of the most humane court systems in the world". He added: "It is my conviction that a thief should be in jail."

Khodorkovsky's Yukos oil company was confiscated and sold to state-controlled firms after his conviction. He fired back on Friday in a letter to Putin published in a Russian newspaper. He pitied Putin, a "not-young person, so upbeat and so alone before a boundless and remorseless country". The premier, said Khodorkovsky, was helmsman of a galley which "sails right over people's destinies" and "over which, more and more, the citizens of Russia seem to see a black pirate flag flying".

Khodorkovksy also mocked Putin's recent television appearances with his new dog, Buffy. "Love of dogs is the only sincere, good feeling that pierces through the icy armour shell of the 'national symbol' of the beginning of the 2000s," he wrote. "A love of dogs has become a substitute for a love of people."

The verdict in Khodorkovsky's trial was due on 15 December but a note pinned on the door of Moscow's Khamovnichesky court that morning said it had been delayed until tomorrow. Some analysts believe the delay was deliberate, in order to deflect media attention over the holiday period.

Khodorkovsky and Lebedev are accused of embezzling the entire crude oil production of Yukos over a six-year period.

A source close to Khodorkovsky predicted he "would likely remain in prison as long as the Putin administration is in power,", according to the US cables released today. Putin is widely expected to return as president in 2012 and could serve two more terms, until 2024.

Peter - again, I have little or no respect for capitalist philanthropists.

Philanthropy and charitable giving is primarily a tax dodge by the rich, and secondly enables them to bask in the adoration of their serfs, who are expected to be truly grateful.

Fuck the Bill and Melissa Gates Foundation. Fuck the Soros Foundation. In fact, fuck pretty much every private foundation.

We also know that the supposed charitable actions of many foundations are often cover for deep political operations.

"Philanthropy" using wealth stolen from the masses is not, imo, a noble act.

Jan Klimkowski Wrote:Peter - again, I have little or no respect for capitalist philanthropists.

Philanthropy and charitable giving is primarily a tax dodge by the rich, and secondly enables them to bask in the adoration of their serfs, who are expected to be truly grateful.

Fuck the Bill and Melissa Gates Foundation. Fuck the Soros Foundation. In fact, fuck pretty much every private foundation.

We also know that the supposed charitable actions of many foundations are often cover for deep political operations.

"Philanthropy" using wealth stolen from the masses is not, imo, a noble act.

Jan, I'm NOT trying to make a 'defense' for him; but only point out he is being targeted for other reasons. For the 'reasons' presented a very large % of anyone above middle class in Russia should be with him in his cell.

Peter Lemkin Wrote:Jan, I'm NOT trying to make a 'defense' for him; but only point out he is being targeted for other reasons. For the 'reasons' presented a very large % of anyone above middle class in Russia should be with him in his cell.

Peter - pax and respect.

Šťastný nový rok! :rockandroll: