Deputy Head of the YABLOKO party Sergei Mitrokhin, deputies from the CPRF, representatives of the collation "Za Pravo Vibora"("For the Right to Choose") and ecological organisations "Ecozaschita" ('Ecological Protection") and "Khraniteli Radugi" ("Rainbow Keepers") and human rights activists will participate in the action.

Civil rights and liberties have been consistently curbed by the authorities. First there was an attempt to virtually ban all meetings and marches, and now referenda - all this represents steps towards tough authoritarian rule.

The adoption of such decisions implies the desire of the authorities to completely "abolish" public opinion and place a barrier between the authorities and the public. The authorities fear inevitable public discontent.

The state that must serve the interests of the citizens was transformed into a bureaucratic machinery that oppresses society. This machinery has already eliminated the discontented mass media a federal level, an independent parliament and free elections. Now it is trying to remove the last obstacle in its way - the citizens' right to free will.

The protest action will take place by the building of the State Duma on Wednesday, June 2, 2004, at 9-45 a.m.

The authorities were notified of the protest action.

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