Kurultai deputies introduce new rules for holding rallies and pickets

In the parliament of Bashkortostan - Kurultai, a package of bills regulating new rules for holding rallies, demonstrations and pickets in the region has been prepared for the first reading. Deputies formulated general approaches to determining permitted and prohibited places for holding public events, prohibiting rallies near government buildings and strategic enterprises, as well as in dacha communities and children's playgrounds. The regional government must specify the list of permitted places after the package is adopted. Representatives of political parties mostly recognize the new rules as “anti-people” and predict that they can lead to a radicalized form of public protest.

Members of the Committee on Local Self-Government and Public Associations of the State Assembly of Bashkiria last Friday prepared for discussion in the first reading a package of bills regulating new approaches to holding public events in the region. Deputies of the Kurultai were asked to adopt amendments to the regional laws “On the procedure for filing a notification about holding a public event...” and “On the procedure for holding public events at transport infrastructure facilities...”, as well as a new local law - “On places of holding public events in the Republic of Bashkortostan”.

The new bill introduces the concepts of permitted (specially designated) and prohibited places for holding rallies, pickets and demonstrations, and also defines standards for the maximum occupancy of permitted sites. In the relevant committee, the package was adopted unanimously and without discussion - before that, the deputies spent an hour and a half animatedly discussing the speeches of the Minister of Economic Development of the Republic, Yevgeny Mavrin, who presented the forecast for the socio-economic development of Bashkiria until 2015, and the Deputy Minister of Finance, Rida Subkhankulova, who presented the draft budget for 2013.

From the bill, meanwhile, it follows that any public actions in Bashkiria, except for single pickets, must be agreed upon with the government of the republic or municipal authorities. The list of sites prohibited for protests included the territories of educational, health resort and medical institutions, social service organizations, as well as places within a radius of 100 meters from them. In addition, deputies propose to prohibit the holding of rallies in the local areas of apartment buildings and individual residential buildings, parking lots, children's and sports grounds, in recreational areas, on the territory of gardening, gardening and dacha non-profit associations. Public rallies near government buildings are possible at a distance of 50 meters from them; protesters are prohibited from approaching airports and train stations closer than 200 meters.

The list of specially designated places should be determined by the government of Bashkiria. However, restrictions already apply to them. Thus, one organizer of such an event is prohibited from gathering more than one hundred participants. At the same time, the draft prescribes a “standard for the maximum occupancy of specially designated places”: it stipulates that each protester must have at least 1 square meter of space. The standard will apply to both open areas for rallies and closed ones, unless it is an auditorium. If the action is held in a hall, standing participants are not allowed - the project limits the number of participants to the number of spectator seats.

Let us recall that in June of this year, on the eve of the second “March of Millions,” Russian President Vladimir Putin signed amendments tightening the rules for holding political mass events in Russia. They increased fines for violations during rallies (up to 300 thousand rubles for citizens, up to 1 million rubles for legal entities) and provided for the creation in the regions of places for rallies of up to 100 people without prior notice. At the same time, the constituent entities of the Russian Federation now have the right to determine the places prohibited for public events.

Chairman of the executive committee of the regional branch of United Russia, Albert Miftakhov, has no doubt that “the bill was prepared in full compliance with federal legislation,” and all amendments and proposals “are justified and designed to ensure public order.” “There are cases that protests lead, for example, to the suspension of airport operations or interfere with the normal operation of government facilities. In Western European countries, the regulations on holding rallies are even stricter,” he notes.

Secretary of the Republican Committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation Gennady Shabaev at the same time predicts that the amendments could lead “to the radicalization of public and political sentiment.” “The more restrictions, the more often people choose illegitimate forms of protest,” he notes. The Communists plan to achieve a revision of the project through their deputies of the Kurultai - the Communist Party faction includes six people against more than 110 United Russia members. Other parties are not represented in the Bashkortostan parliament.

Regional Yabloko leader Sergei Naumkin believes that the package contradicts “common sense.” “These are amendments against the people, in favor of business interests. If some commercial organization seizes a children's playground or sports ground, where else if not to protest there? — he is perplexed. “We would gladly take part in the discussion of this project, but in the Bashkir parliament we are uninvited guests.”

Natalia Fedorova

Those who disagree will be put in their place