Statement by the SOVA Center on the participation of the ultra-right in the rally on Sakharov Avenue

On December 23, 2011, the SOVA Information and Analytical Center issued a statement regarding the participation of nationalists in the rally protest against electoral fraud on December 24, 2011 on Sakharov Avenue in Moscow.

We know that today the organizers of tomorrow's rally protesters against electoral fraud are discussing the list of speakers at the rally and that one of the contentious issues remains the participation nationalists on this list.

The SOVA Center is not a co-organizer of the rally, but considers need to express their point of view on what is happening.

Undoubtedly, nationalism, in this case - Russian nationalism is one of the essential trends in socio-political life, and therefore, we, being opponents of the nationalists, do not consider it impossible in principle their speech at the rally. But it is surprising that the organizers seem to dwell on this in their discussions.

Whatever beliefs do not deprive a person of his rights, but this does not mean that there can be no criteria at all for participation in in general, including speeches from the podium of this civil rally. It is the development criteria is necessary in this case.

We believe that the criterion for cutting off certain activists there should be such actions as involvement in an ideologically motivated violence, calls for this kind of violence, as well as calls in ethnic discrimination.

We understand that these criteria do not seem very strict. For example, one might wonder if all violence is so categorically unacceptable. And how radical and systematic should be the calls for discrimination, so that it should already be taken into account. People don't ideal, including politicians. And in order not to drown in these interesting disputes, we propose that violence in the form of killing, serious beatings, etc., and discriminatory calls to be considered unacceptable, if they were made publicly, systematically and in a sufficiently intelligible form.

For example, the ex-leader of the DPNI, Alexander Belov, was convicted in his time not for calling the government building a "Torah scroll", but for that incited the crowd to chant "Death to the occupiers" in a very specific context. So, Belov and politicians like him should not be among speakers on Sakharov Avenue.

We can only hope that the rally organizers will not include so radical nationalists on the lineup.