USAID malediction is keep growing. Keep reading, countries like Russia are
following the footsteps of Eritrea
Putin agrees: USAID meddling in Russian politics
Published: 20 September, 2012, 14:54
Edited: 20 September, 2012, 17:35
President Vladimir Putin shares the opinion of the Foreign Ministry that
the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is engaged
in more than just humanitarian work in Russia.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich on Wednesday said Russia
decided to order the closure of the USAID office after concluding it
provided funds for non-government organizations that seek to *"influence
the political process, including elections at various levels and civil
society."*
President Putin has an *“identical position"* on the question of the US
agency’s political activities in Russia, presidential spokesman Dmitry
Peskov told reporters on Thursday.
The Moscow office of USAID has until October 1, 2012 to comply with the
Russian government’s request.
The decision, coming at the height of the US presidential election season,
has attracted heated criticism from both US Democrats and Republicans, who
are politicizing every new development in an effort to win the White House
in November.
In a telling article in *The Washington Post *on Thursday, USAID’s
humanitarian work – the organization has spent around $2.7 billion in
Russia over the last 20 years – was barely mentioned. Instead, the bulk of
the missive was devoted to vilifying the Russian President.
*“A clear condemnation of Putin’s actions is necessary out of principle and
to show support to those brave Russians who are fed up with authorities’
rampant corruption, abuses and heavy-handed tactics,” *wrote David J.
Kramer, president of Freedom House. *“The U.S. government should make clear
that support remains unchanged for Russian non-governmental organizations
(NGOs).”*
Aside from failing to mention that Putin enjoys high popularity ratings,
and that the protests are a marginal phenomenon at best, the author
chastised Russia over its new “foreign agents” law, which requires Russian
NGOs to disclose how they are using funds received from abroad.
Nowhere in the Washington Post article is it mentioned, however, that the
United States has had its own “foreign agents act” (FARA) since 1938.
According to the US Department of Justice website; *“FARA requires persons
acting as agents of foreign principals in a political or quasi-political
capacity to make periodic public disclosure of their relationship with the
foreign principal, as well as activities, receipts and disbursements in
support of those activities.Disclosure of the required information
facilitates evaluation by the government…in light of their function as
foreign agents.”*
Since Russia is not funding election monitoring organizations on the
territory of the United States, as USAID did with the Russian-based Golos,
there remained the nagging suspicion that Russian NGOs were being used as a
political tool to turn the screws on Russia’s political machinery.
This suspicion only increased following last year’s protests, which
President Putin blamed on US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Putin said Clinton *"gave them a signal, they heard this signal and started
active work."*
Now, diplomats are working overtime to smooth over the issue before it gets
out of hand.
*"Hopefully, a mutually acceptable formula (concerning the foreign funding
of NGOs) will be found during meetings of our foreign political
departments. I stand for equal representation,"* Russian Human Rights envoy
Vladimir Lukin told Interfax on Thursday.
Lukin then noted that* "USAID is a component of the US Department of State,
and the way the U.S. Department of State is represented in Russia and the
way the Russian Foreign Ministry is represented in the US is a matter of
agreements and negotiations between the countries at large." *
In an interview with RT, Sergey Markov, political analyst and member of the
Public Chamber, supported Lukin’s statement, while taking it a step further.
*“Structures like USAID should definitely function not only in Russia, but
similar Russian organizations should operate in the United States," *Markov
stressed. *“Our problem is not that the Americans allow us, but because the
Russian political elite underestimate the role of ‘soft power’ in today's
political environment.”*
The political analyst noted that as a result of this attitude, *“Russia
still hasn't created an organization similar to USAID that works abroad,”
lamenting that the “total budget of all comparable Russian bodies is less
than that of USAID.” *
Such an organization could and should actively work in the post-Soviet
space, he added.
Markov then took to task the notion, regularly recycled in the Western
media, that Russia has a totalitarian political system.
*“Russia's political system is…open and competitive and that makes it
possible to influence it via various political parties and non-governmental
organizations,” *Markov told RT. *“If the Russian political system was
really authoritarian, if it was some sort of dictatorship, there would be
no sense to even try to affect it, but since its open various forces are
constantly trying to manipulate it."*
Meanwhile, Russia says it has no plans to revise its decision to close the
US mission office as of October 1, Lukashevich told reporters.
*"Our position is that a decision has been made and that being a decision
made by a sovereign state, it must be fully implemented,"* the diplomat
said.
We have been assured by our American colleagues that the request will be
fulfilled, he added.
http://rt.com/politics/putin-usaid-russia-washington-moscow-557/
USAID tried to sway elections: Russia
*RUSSIA says it decided to end the US Agency for International
Development's two decades of work because the agency was using its money to
influence elections. *
The US State Department announced on Tuesday that Russia has demanded USAID
leave the country, a culmination of years of resentment over what Moscow
sees as American interference aimed at undermining President Vladimir
Putin's hold on power.
"We are talking about attempts through the issuing of grants to affect the
course of political processes, including elections on various levels, and
institutions of civil society," Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander
Lukashevich said on Wednesday.
Nearly 60 per cent of the aid agency's $50 million annual budget this year
has been allocated for the promotion of democracy and civil society in
Russia.
Some of the money has gone to support Russia's only independent election
monitoring group, Golos, which fielded thousands of observers in last
winter's elections and compiled reports of widespread vote fraud in support
of Putin's party.
Putin had accused Western governments of trying to influence the December
parliamentary vote through their grant recipients.
The US State Department denied that it was trying to affect the outcome of
elections.
"We completely reject the notion that our support for civil society,
democracy, human rights in any way interferes with elections, whether in
Russia or anywhere else in the world," spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told
reporters in Washington.
Grigory Melkonyants, the deputy director of Golos, said the expulsion of
USAID was a logical extension of a Kremlin crackdown on dissent since Putin
returned to the presidency in May.
The Foreign Ministry has imposed an October 1 deadline for the aid agency
to end its activities in Russia, but US officials say they will wind down
programs in an orderly fashion.
They are scrambling to find new ways of getting money to the Russian
organisations that have received USAID funds.
Read more:
http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/world/usaid-tried-to-sway-elections-russia/story-e6frfkui-1226477942450#ixzz28AMq3ha4
ALBA Expels USAID from Member Countries
*Resolution from the Political Council of the Bolivarian Alliance for the
Peoples of Our America (ALBA) for the immediate withdrawal of USAID from
member countries of the alliance.*
On behalf of the Chancellors of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of
Our America, gathered in Rio de Janeiro, Federal Republic of Brazil, on
June 21st 2012.
Given the open interference of the United States Agency for International
Development (USAID) in the internal politics of the ALBA countries, under
the excuse of “planning and administering economic and humanitarian
assistance for the whole world outside of the United States,” financing
non-governmental organizations and actions and projects designed to
destabilise the legitimate governments which do not share their common
interests.
Knowing the evidence brought to light by the declassified documents of the
North American State Department in which the financing of organisations and
political parties in opposition to ALBA countries is made evident, in a
clear and shameless interference in the internal political processes of
each nation.
Given that this intervention of a foreign country in the internal politics
of a country is contrary to the internal legislation of each nation.
On the understanding that in the majority of ALBA countries, USAID, through
its different organisations and disguises, acts in an illegal manner with
impunity, without possessing a legal framework to support this action, and
illegally financing the media, political leaders and non-governmental
organisations, amongst others.
On the understanding that through these financing programmes they are
supporting NGOs which promote all kind of fundamentalism in order to
conspire and limit the legal authority of our states, and in many cases,
widely loot our natural resources on territory which they claim to control
at their own free will.
Conscious of the fact that our countries do not need any kind of external
financing for the maintenance of our democracies, which are consolidated
through the will of the Latin American and Caribbean people, in the same
way that we do not need organisations in the charge of foreign powers
which, in practice, usurp and weaken the presence of state organisms and
prevent them from developing the role that corresponds to them in the
economic and social arena of our populations.
*We resolve to:*
Request that the heads of state and the government of the states who are
members of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America,
immediately expel USAID and its delegates or representatives from their
countries, due to the fact that we consider their presence and actions to
constitute an interference which threatens the sovereignty and stability of
our nations.
*In the city of Rio de Janeiro, Federal Republic of Brazil, June 21st 2012.*
*Signed by:*
The government of the Pluri-national state of Bolivia.
The government of the Republic of Cuba.
The government of the Republic of Ecuador.
The government of the Commonwealth of Dominica.
The government of the Republic of Nicaragua.
The government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
*Translated by Rachael Boothroyd for Venezuelanalysis*
Received on Wed Oct 03 2012 - 13:32:52 EDT
