"German-Russian Exchange" condemns blames of Russian NGOs in connection with "spy scandal"

The public organization "German-Russian Exchange" has made a statement condemning the accusations of Russian non-government organizations (NGOs) in connections with foreign secret services.

On January 22, Russian TV Channel "Rossiya" broadcast a program in which employees of the British embassy in Moscow were accused of espionage. The fact that one of the accused employees of the embassy, upon the mission of the Global Opportunities Foundation under the British Foreign Ministry, was also responsible for assisting Russian non-government organizations (NGOs), was linked in that TV program with a suspicion that Russian NGOs were spying for foreign states, runs the petition handed over to the "Caucasian Knot" from Berlin.

The aim of this unproven blame, in the opinion of the "German-Russian Exchange", is in discrediting the activity of major Russian NGOs which enjoy a high reputation, and placing the international cooperation of civil society organizations under a general suspicion of espionage.

The authors of the document consider as demagogy the blames addressed to NGOs, which were made over Russian TV and repeated by other mass media and state officials. They draw attention to the action of solidarity with Russian public organizations at web-portal www.hro.org, where one may put an on-line signature in support of the NGOs.

"I agree with the statement of our German colleagues and I think that the "spy scandal" which arose several weeks after the adoption of the law which toughens control over public organizations is aimed at justifying the importance of the law, stated Hanno Gundert, executive director of St-Petersburg regional public organization "German-Russian Exchange", to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.