Russia dismisses intl tribunal ruling on Greenpeace"s Arctic Sunrise ship and crew

Russia dismisses intl tribunal ruling on Greenpeace"s Arctic Sunrise ship and crew
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Published time: November 23, 2013 18:06

Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise (RIA Novosti / Sergey Eshenko)

Russia is not going to comply with a maritime tribunal’s ruling to release the Greenpeace vessel as the issue does not fall within its jurisdiction, said a Kremlin official, accusing the activists of using ‘unsuitable means’ for implementing their idea.

“We have no plans to participate in the process”, Sergey Ivanov, the head of the Russian Presidential administration told journalists in St. Petersburg on Saturday. According to a 1982 convention Russia can ignore the findings of the Tribunal on the Law for the Sea if it concerns Russia’s sovereign rights and jurisdiction.

Ivanov was referring to the Friday’s ruling of the tribunal in Hamburg that ordered Russia to allow the Greenpeace Arctic Sunrise vessel and the 30 activists who were onboard to leave the country for a bond of €3.6 million (about $ 5 million).

The vessel is currently moored in the Russian port of Murmansk while the international maritime court still has to rule on the legality of Russia seizing the ship.

Ivanov reaffirmed Russia’s dismissal of the ruling adding that the “question will be solved in a judicial, not political manner, [and] based on Russian legislation, not someone’s political wishes.”

“There’s a legal procedure and we’re observing it strictly,” he said adding that he believes the activists will leave Russia as soon as all legal issues are completed.

Ivanov noted that their ‘noble idea’ was implemented using ‘unsuitable means’ and described the actions of the activists who he called ‘environmentalists or pseudo environmentalists’ as ‘PR for profit.’

Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking at the Russian literary meeting in Moscow on Thursday said that the actions of the Greenpeace environmentalists threatened the lives of those who worked on the oil rig.

“When [somebody] is climbing on the platform, [they] are creating an emergency situation, the operator [of the rig] could have made more than one error. They are distracted from the ongoing work. Among other things, there were divers underwater and their life was in danger,” said Putin.

Thirty Arctic Sunrise activists including two journalists were detained after they scaled the Prirazlomnaya oil platform in the Pechora Sea in September in order to stop its operations.  Twenty nine of them have been released on bail, however they face jail terms of up to seven years if found guilty of hooliganism and cannot leave Russia till the court proceedings are over.

The detention of the Arctic Thirty has sparked sharp criticism from the group’s supporters and human rights organizations.

RT – News

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Burma, S.Africa...Britain? Intl press freedom team dispatched to UK for first time

Burma, S.Africa...Britain? Intl press freedom team dispatched to UK for first time
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Published time: November 10, 2013 19:24

A picture shows the offices of the Guardian newspaper in central London (AFP Photo/Andrew Cowie)

An ‘unprecedented’ international mission is to enter the UK in January amid increasing concern over the country’s press freedom laws. The global community is becoming unsettled by the idea of a Royal Charter to restrict press freedom.

The World Association of Newspaper and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) represents over 100 countries and 18,000 organizations, and is known for its press freedom campaigns in countries such as Burma, South Africa, and Mexico.

While typically examining the press restrictions in still-developing countries, the association is now expressing serious concern over Britain’s reputation, saying that it is sending the mission “in response to recent actions by the British government.”

The visit will mark the first time such an organization has visited the UK. The delegation will meet the government and opposition figures as well as media representatives.

“A press freedom mission to the United Kingdom is unprecedented and we cannot underestimate our concern for what is happening,” said Vincent Peyrègne, CEO of the Paris-based organization in a statement published on their website.

“It is rather difficult for the United Kingdom to lecture Sri Lanka and others about their press freedom record, when its own actions result in such widespread international condemnation,” he added.

Press freedom is to be a subject high on the agenda in the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Sri Lanka which UK Prime Minister David Cameron will attend this week.

The mission is responding to actions regarded as divergent to press freedom guarantees – specifically the Royal Charter and associated legislation, but also in response to NSA leak discussions.

Since June, when NSA surveillance activities were first revealed, there has been increasing concern over whether it would cause state-sponsored press regulation and a crackdown on reporting political scandals.

“The mission is a direct response to recent actions widely seen as contrary to press freedom guarantees… and…will also include discussion of the criticism of The Guardian for its coverage of the revelations from former US National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden,” WAN-IFRA stated.

The crackdown on Guardian leaks has overshadowed restrictions placed on other papers in recent months. Alan Rusbridger, the editor of the Guardian, is to be questioned by British lawmakers next month over the publishing of intelligence files leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, after UK spy chiefs warned that it had damaged national security.

Cameron has said that if The Guardian cannot be trusted to protect issues of national security then the government will be forced to issue a ‘D notice’ to force them not to publish any further intelligence revelations.

British media is currently mourning the legal plans which it says will “mark the end to 300 years of a free press” through politicians “having a say in what can be printed,” as it was denounced in tabloid the Daily Mirror.

The Royal Charter was devised with the intention of establishing a landmark new system of press regulation, causing an uproar among politicians, journalists and media personalities alike. Some have been avid defenders, and others say that it will amount to censorship. The charter itself was sealed by the Queen at Buckingham Palace on October 30, after an application to prevent the charter getting the royal seal of approval was dismissed.

Discussions of the Royal Charter emerged after a widespread practice of phone-hacking was revealed by several large newspapers and media companies. Among the targets were Royal Family members and relatives of the 7/7 bombings.

The Leveson Inquiry was set up in November 2012 to examine how the press had ‘wreaked havoc with the lives of innocent people’.

RT – News

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