The opposition rallies against Vladimir Putin
The Presidium of the People's Democratic Union (NDS) will adopt an anti-crisis plan proposed by the movement's leader, Mikhail Kasyanov, on February 25. Like the Solidarity movement, the ex-premier calls for the resignation of the Putin Government and an early parliamentary election in December this year.
Mikhail Kasyanov and his supporters set out the demands of the NDS to the country's leadership in the so-called anti-crisis plan. The ultimatum, to be confirmed by the movement's presidium, contains nine points. In particular, the NDS wants cancelled all the amendments to the party and electoral legislation and the laws on non-governmental associations and non-commercial organisations passed after the Beslan tragedy of September 1, 2004: to simplify the registration of political parties and to restore the popular elections of governors.
Simultaneously the Central Election Commission and "other election commissions" should be disbanded. Furthermore, the NDS leader wants to see the heads of the government and government-controlled TV channels and the "FSB and other special services agents on the channels" to be sacked because they are engaged in censorship. In the ex-premier's opinion, the editorial policy of government channels should be laid down by dedicated public councils. All the federal judges, according to the NDS, should "temporarily" be replaced by the judges "recommended by the legal community and human rights organisations." The law on extremism should be rewritten because "the authorities use it as a pretence to harass dissent."
The main demand of the NDS is "resignation of the Government and early parliamentary elections in December 2009." Thereafter, Mr Kasyanov explained to Kommersant, "a public committee" should form an interim government, which in the six months preceding the elections would "restore the constitutional system" and "implement a plan of urgent anti-crisis measures."
The NDS leader said it does not matter who heads the Government. The NDS is not calling for Dmitry Medvedev's resignation "at this stage" because "there must be a state official to transform public demand into law": "if we had a parliament with the real support of the public, the President would no longer wield as much power as today and perhaps this would make an early presidential election unnecessary." Mr Kasyanov does not yet lay out the economic anti-crisis measures stressing that the political leadership propositions should be implemented first.
The Solidarity opposition movement recently unveiled its anti-crisis plan, which is similar to that of the NDS on key issues. However, opposition supporters are unclear when asked how they will seek to implement their plans. The NDS, which expressed a readiness to cooperate with the United Civil Front and Solidarity, says that "it will do everything possible to organise public pressure on the authorities."
By Maria-Louise Tirmaste