mospat.ru

Concluding press conference of the World Russian People’s Council

6.04.2006 · Архив 2005-2009, События  

The World Russian People’s Council completed its work on 6 April 2006. A concluding press conference took place in the conference hall of the ‘Danilovskaya’ hotel. Taking part in it were the WRPC deputy head and Chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, the WRPC deputy head and chairman of the Russian Union of Writers V.Ganichev, member of the WRPC Presidium N.Zhukova, member of the WRPC Bureau and the DECR MP deputy chairman Rev. Vsevolod Chaplin and the WRPC executive secretary O.Yefimov.

The journalists asked Metropolitan Kirill to comment on the Declaration on Human Rights and Dignity adopted by the Council. He underscored that the ideas underlying the document call up an idea of a great German philosopher Emmanuel Kant about the moral imperative in human heart. Those who hastened to sharply criticize the Declaration and Metropolitan Kirill’s report at the WRPC opening session before reading them ignore this fact. ‘Kant’s moral imperative by which human beings should be guided does not provoke critical remarks of the traditionalists or liberals, but when the same thought is expressed by an Orthodox hierarch at the World Russian People’s Council, it is perceived as a challenge to liberal thought and political correctness’.

The Declaration with its underlying idea conforms to the European cultural and spiritual traditions, the DECR Chairman noted. ‘No country and no people had endured what our people had in the 20th century. After many years of the lack of freedom, after an awesome experiment carried out on our people, we have become free and conscious of many lies in our country, and we are sharing philosophical conclusion from our tragic experience with our people and with the entire world. We formulate an idea of human rights and freedoms proceeding from our history, but in the cultural and spiritual space of European civilization’.

Metropolitan Kirill stated that the documents of the World Russian People’s Council have become an important contribution to public discussion and that the Council’s decisions are exerting a positive influence on the situation in the country. Many provisions of the documents adopted by the WRPC members have been reflected in the programs of many political and public organizations. ‘The Council has never claimed to be quoted or referred to, but we consider the Council’s ideas implicitly present in the party programs or in political statements of various organizations as a positive phenomenon’, he said and noted that the topics raised by the Council even in the beginning of its work thirteen years ago, are widely discussed now by different public movements and organizations’.

At the same time Metropolitan Kirill warned against a temptation of triumphalism. ‘Our assessment of our contribution into public life is modest. We do not want people to talk much about the Council; our main task is to bring its ideas to public consciousness and make them strong in our society’.

As far as Russian civilization is concerned, Metropolitan Kirill noted that this term implied not only an ethnic community, but also multinational and multicultural civilization shaped by the Russian people. ‘I hope that the statements and decisions of the World Russian People’s Council would promote respect for all people, all cultures, all religions and all languages in our country. We are a multinational community; this is a characteristic feature of our country and our life. Any action aimed at the ousting of a certain nation from this civilization, at weakening its influence or casting doubt on its historical contribution has no future as that does not conform with the very nature of our public life’.

Metropolitan Kirill reminded the audience that the WRPC had focused its attention on the theme of xenophobia and nationalistic radicalism. ‘There are many cultures in Russian civilization; it is capable of preserving many ethnoses in one space. Nationalistic radicalism can destroy the great Russian world built by heroic efforts of our pious predecessors’, the Metropolitan said.

He also spoke about a danger of moral relativism: ‘Any crime has a moral, or, to be precise, an immoral basis. Crimes, including those committed on ethnic grounds, are always connected with the decline of morality in society. If we set human instincts free and do not curb dark passions, why are we surprised to see how the liberated dark human instincts turn against people of other nationality, faith or culture? It is impossible to have a local hearth of well being. If morality is cancelled, it is impossible to have moral requirements observed in the interethnic relations. If we scoff at our sacred places, as was the case in Moscow and other cities of the world, how can we make people respect another nations and not mock at their national feelings? The 10th WRPC reminds people by its decisions that it is impossible to build a society of free human persons without caring for morality. Law would not work without moral basis, – Metropolitan Kirill stated and illustrated his words by the situation in South Africa, where citizens protested against the laws of apartheid as they ran contrary to their moral convictions.

Metropolitan Kirill expressed his concern over the biased coverage of the developments in Russia as it can shape a distorted image of Russia in the world. ‘Those who are talking about anti-Semitism and xenophobia in Russia should remember that it was Russian soldier who had freed the world from Fascism. Millions of our soldiers of different nationalities had sacrificed their lives for the salvation of their Motherland and the liberation of Europe. That was also the price paid for the salvation of the Jewish people from annihilation. Accusations of the Russian people in fascism and anti-Semitism insult the memory of our fallen soldiers and cast a slur on the exploit of people who won the war. I would like the world to understand Russia. We must do anything possible to prevent the evil forces from distorting the image of Russia’, Metropolitan Kirill said and expressed his hope that the journalists writing about Russia would overcome a Western tendency to take heed of the biased sources of information that are hostile to Russia.

The journalists asked the WRPC deputy head V.Ganichev to tell them about the ‘Good People on the Good Earth’ movement, which congress took place in the framework of the Council with over 500 participants. He described the main principle of the movement as doing good and helping the needy.

V.Ganichev remarked that over 1500 people from many regions of Russia and from abroad attended the opening of the World Russian People’s Council. About 2.500 WRPC members attended plenary sessions and committees. Over 150 statements and reports were presented; the Council Bureau received about 1.500 comments and proposals.

Regarding the reaction of certain human rights activists to the WRPC decisions, Metropolitan Kirill noted that representatives of many human rights organizations participated in the Council. The WRPC decisions speak clearly about the directions of the human rights activities that the Council welcomes.

Metropolitan Kirill thinks that negative reaction of some human rights activists to the first day of the Council’s work can be explained by misunderstanding of the discussion within the WRPC. It is also possible that some people become excited because the Church is stepping into the field in which only a limited circle of people and organizations used to work. ‘It so happened that human rights activity in our country was monopolized by people who share certain views on the world, man, society and the state. I think that certain failures of this movement can be partly explained by the fact that broad masses and the public have perceived this activity as not conforming to their convictions and views. I believe that the human rights activity in protecting human rights and dignity can have good prospects only if the absolute majority of people accept it. However, if people link it with a political stand of some small and sometimes marginal groups, then it is doomed to failure’.

According to Metropolitan Kirill, an undoubted achievement of the present Council consists in that its participants managed to formulate the problems of human rights and freedoms in terms easily understood and close to the absolute majority of people in Russia. ‘We may possibly open a new epoch in the formation of the lawful state in which human dignity is respected’, Metropolitan Kirill said.

The DECR MP Chairman also remarked that neither the West, nor Russia call in question the value of human rights. Our country, however, proceeds from its historical experience and lays emphasis on the moral component of the problem. ‘Harmonious combination of the concept of human rights and an idea of moral responsibility would enable us to build a really universal system of values that would include Western philosophical thought and traditions of Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Judaism – the great religions that have shaped the current models of civilization. We need such a system of human rights that could really become a meeting-point of different models of civilizations. Then there would be no need to level cultural differences between civilizations in the process of globalization and globalization would not bring a threat of unification. Thus we shall preserve the diversity and beauty of God’s world’, Metropolitan Kirill said.