The participants of the All-Russia Democratic Assembly which took place in Moscow on June 19, 2001, demanded that the forced return of the refugees to Chechnya should be prohibited.

According to Deputy Speaker of the State Duma Irina Khakamada, who participated at the meeting, the Yabloko and SPS factions of the State Duma will initiate the corresponding resolution of the lower chamber of the Russian parliament. As was noted by many participants of the Assembly, the requisite conditions for normal life should be created in Chechnya first, before the refugees from Chechnya start to return to their previous residences.

A declaration on this issue was the first joint declaration of the democratic forces which gathered at this forum.

During the meeting of the All-Russia Democratic Assembly. June 19, 2001.
Photo by Olga Schweitzer.

The first meeting led to the adoption of the “Memorandum on Mutual Understanding” which states the intention of the democrats to “aspire to constructive dialogue and minimisation of discord.”

It was also noted that the participants of the meeting insisted on “consolidation of civil society and the priority of human rights over state interests.” It was also decided to make the assembly a permanent body, and, as noted by Irina Khakamada, “a consultative platform for the exchange of opinions on all the key political and social issues of the country”. The minutes of the work of the All-Russia Democratic Assembly were adopted as the basis here.

The next meeting of the All-Russia Democratic Assembly is scheduled for September 2001. This meeting will discuss the judicial and housing-and-communal services reforms. The Chairman of the Yabloko Association Grigory Yavlinsky noted the urgency of these issues and also expressed an opinion that it would be logical to promote a “political decision” of these problems.

By unanimous decision, the second meeting of the All-Russia Democratic Assembly will be chaired by the representative of the “Memorial” Oleg Orlov. Furthermore, the participants of the All-Russia Democratic Assembly plan to discuss the problems of preserving the constitutional basis of Russia, the freedom of speech and independence of the mass media, military and land reforms, ecological security and ways of resolving the Chechen conflict.

According to the ex-president of the USSR Mikhail Gorbachev, who chaired the first meeting of the All-Russia Democratic Assembly, “despite acute discussions, most of the participants of the forum decided to stop maintaining a “tough opposition” to the authorities. Mikhail Gorbachev also noted that the democrats should “adopt constructive positions” when the authorities make constructive proposals.

Based on Interfax reports.

See also:

Information on the All-Russia Democratic Assembly

"Democratic coalition" section of the web-site