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DECEMBER 30, 2021 | The Jewish Home
The Week In News
Russia Dissolves Human Rts. Group
The Russian Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered the dissolution of Memorial International, the oldest human rights group in the country, over alleged violations of a law on foreign agents. But critics say the move is politically motivated and is retribution for the group’s efforts to shine a light on Soviet-era repression as Russian President Vladimir Putin cracks down on opposition groups and dissent. Memorial was founded in the late 1980s, not long before the fall of the Soviet Union, and is considered Russia’s preeminent human rights organization. “The real reason for Memorial’s closure is that the prosecutor’s office doesn’t like Memorial’s work rehabilitating the victims of Soviet terror,” Memorial International’s lawyer, Tatiana Glushkova, asserted. Agnès Callamard, secretary general of Amnesty International, denounced the ruling as heart-breaking. “Another blow to civil society in #Russia or what is left of it. Most likely it will not stop here. But if they have closed #Memorial, they cannot silence you or anyone else who stand for fundamental freedom and independent scrutiny,” she tweeted. Rachel Denber, deputy director of the Europe and Central Asian division of Human Rights Watch, noted, “Memorial had been doing the same work for 32 years. They haven’t changed. What’s changed, obviously, is the Russian gov. Question is, and how much more will it change? How far will repression go?” Denber said that for over 30 years Memorial worked to “commemorate
victims of Soviet repression, preserve truth about The Great Terror, & promote open debate.” During the Great Terror, also known as the Great Purge, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin waged a ruthless campaign to root out those perceived as disloyal or a threat. Hundreds of thousands of people were killed. The Kremlin in recent years has engaged in a broad crackdown on civil society. The Russian government has targeted human rights groups, activists, opposition figures, civil rights lawyers, and journalists with harassment and imprisonment. But in public, Putin, a former KGB operative, has endeavored to downplay Soviet crimes. In fact, in a June 2017 interview, the Russian leader complained that “excessively demonizing Stalin is a means to attack Soviet Union and Russia.”
Removing Tiananmen Massacre Memories
Two Hong Kong universities removed monuments commemorating the Tiananmen massacre on Thursday, just one day after another university did the same. The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) removed a Goddess of Democracy statue, and the Lingnan University removed a relief sculpture. One day earlier, Hong Kong University removed a famous statue commemorating the same event. “The University never authorized the display of the statue on its campus, and no organization has claimed responsibility for its maintenance and management,” CUHK said on Friday. The 8-meter-tall Pillar of Shame, which depicts 50 torn and twisted bodies piled on top of each other, was made by Danish sculptor Jens Galschioet to symbolize the lives
