The authors of the letter to the president were the representatives of four environmental organizations: the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF Russia), Russian green league, the Socio-Ecological Union and the Center for Wildlife Conservation. According to the report on the website of the movement "For Human Rights", environmentalists demand "be excluded from" political activity "protect the constitutional rights of citizens and ensure unambiguous interpretation of this concept."
"The law allows you to arbitrarily interpret the term" political activity. "Almost any activity of non-profit organizations associated with the formation of public opinion, "- said in a letter to the president. One of the authors of the letter, the Director of Conservation Policy of WWF-Russia Yevgeny Shvarts is convinced that "the activities of organizations that protect nature, to protect the rights of citizens guaranteed by the Constitution of our country, even while criticizing the activities of the state, can not be regarded as political, and themselves organization recognized by foreign agents. "According to him, the wording of the law "allow to treat it as beneficial to those who interfere with the activities of these organizations. We are already seeing examples of the strategic use of the law. "
In the example of activists led two cases. In the first - with the Kaliningrad organization "Ecodefence - Women's council "- environmentalists charged that they" urge Russia to fulfill orders of the president "to accede to the Aarhus Convention (which the UN Convention" On Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters relating to the environment ") . "The paradox is that ratify the Convention requested the President of the Russian Federation as early as 2011 (the authors of the letter obviously mean Dmitry Medvedev. -" NO "), following the meeting of the Presidium of the State Council. That is not "Ecodefence" compels the country to accede to the Convention, and the President "- the authors of the letter.
In the second case - the Saratov association with a "Partnership for Development" - NGO announced inoagentom, "referring to the conspiracy theory 90s", known as "Plan Dulles." During the process, the refusal to register the organization as a foreign agent in the court acted Lecturer, Department of Theoretical and Applied Political SGYUA Victor Kupin. According to him, the organization "is anti-state in nature and aimed at destabilizing the political situation in the region." "The first steps begin with the funding, and then beginning to be realized," Dulles Plan "developed after the war. It's a common practice of the United States, "- said Kupin.
Among other environmental NGOs, which announced foreign agents because of "political activity" - Amur Oblast Organization "AmurSoES" Chelyabinsk Charity Fund "For the Nature", Khabarovsk charitable organization "Green House", St. Petersburg organization "Green World" Irkutsk "Baikal Environmental Wave "and others.
Initiative should have on environmental law and to clarify wording, because "free interpretation generate arbitrary application of the law," said "NO" the coordinator of the WWF environmental law Catherine Khmeleva.
"Indeed, the current NGO law is unclear decrypts the notion of political activity, relating to her influence on public policy and public opinion. However, any non-profit organization trying to raise awareness and as a consequence affect the public opinion, "- said" NO "the executive director of the Russian movement" For Human Rights "Lev Ponomarev.
Recall that in November 2012, an amendment to the law "On noncommercial organizations". Introduced a new legal status for Russian NGOs - "foreign agent." Those considered to be a non-profit organization receiving the funds and other property from foreign sources, as well as participating "including the interests of foreign sources in the political activities carried out on the territory of Russia."
