Ponomaryov likes idea of Russian-U.S. fund to help human rights movement

(Interfax – MOSCOW, May 8, 2013) Lev Ponomaryov, executive director of the movement For Human Rights, said human rights activists who have recently met with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry proposed the creation of a Russian-U.S. fund to help the human rights movement.

“I made a proposal to create a Russian-U.S. fund to support the human rights movement on a parity basis,’ Ponomaryov told a press conference in the Interfax central office on Wednesday.

“The people in charge of the Russian part of the fund could be representatives of state-run human rights structures, including the human rights ombudsman and the presidential human rights council. Speaking about personalities, these people are currently Lukin and Fedotov,” he said.

Both Russian and U.S. NGOs could receive funding from such a fund on equal terms, he said. “I believe the probability of my proposal being heard is low,” Ponomaryov said.

Ponomaryov also said the U.S. secretary of state used soft words when talking about the Russian law on NGOs and the problems of the human rights movement in the meeting. “The wording was soft: ‘We sympathize with you, you are at the frontline of the fight for democracy, we will not abandon you.’ However, I should say it’s very soft wording. Of course, it’s our problems,” Ponomaryov said.