Alexei Venediktov, chief editor of Radio Echo, Moscow
© www.rg.ruChechen leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, otherwise known as Imam Ramzan.
Less than an hour later, Kadyrov posted on Twitter that that Echo's editor-in-chief, Aleksei Venediktov, had insulted Muslims and said, "There are those who will bring Venediktov to account."
"Venediktov has long ago converted Echo of Moscow into the main anti-Islamic horn," Kadyrov wrote next to his own portrait, which shows him pointing at the sky, muscles bulging, and rings on his fingers. If authorities did not restrict the radio that "incites animosity and hatred among people and nations," Kadyrov went on, "There will be people to make Venediktov responsible." A dangerous statement in the country where a number of journalists, including Anna Politkovskaya and Natalya Estemirova, have been assassinated by Chechen nationals.
Comment: In an interview in 2010, Venediktov stated:
"...we are rigorously law abiding. We take great care to insure that we don't infringe the outer aspects of the law. ...[I]n the eyes of the authorities we are a showcase for the West, demonstrating that Russia has free speech. And of course we exploit our position. ...[W]e have become a genuine source of information for people who make decisions. [...] The presidential administration and the White House bureaucracy [in Moscow] listen to our forum and look out for what happens in it. [On the topic of data] I have independent sources, which may coincide with what the Kremlin has to say, or may not. They check out our data - it's a kind of model for self-correction. I also think this may be what allows Ekho Moskvy to exist in the form it does.Nice self-propaganda, but at least he reveals his true allegiances: the West, i.e., the Anglo-Zionist empire, i.e., not Russia.
"Our job is to clarify what rights people have. (Question: Do you feel like the last bastion of free speech?) No. I feel like a professional. It seems to me that we are doing a professional job and we don't think in terms of free speech. We could see the threat. People started censoring themselves because no one wanted to end up on the streets...we didn't change our tone. Eighty-three percent of our listeners have been through higher education, [are] independent people; can't be forced to merge with the crowd...with a strong sense of self-esteem...are individualists. [...] We don't have a messianic mission - our job is to inform and entertain. [...] (Regarding self-censorship) It's fear. The new generation see it as the norm of course. ...they understand that one shouldn't allow oneself to do it, but they don't think why. This shouldn't be happening."
That is not the first death threat Venediktov has received in his 25 years at Echo. One morning in 2009, the radio's editor opened the door of his apartment and saw a block of wood with an ax sticking out of it. Since then, Venediktov does not walk around without security. But who can protect Echo's more than 100 employees?
Comment: Good job, Nemtsova! Just like Netanyahu hijacked the Paris attacks for his own purposes, now you're doing the same to ramp up the fear in Russia.
One of Russia's most shameful statistics is the number of journalists assassinated for their work. The Anatomy of Injustice, a report from the Committee to Project Journalist, described the unsolved slayings of 17 journalists in Russia since 2000. They were killed, the CPJ said, because of their work.
Comment: This should read: "Committee to Protect Journalists"
Venediktov and his reporters responded to Kadyrov's threat by donning white T-shirts with "Je suis Charlie," and said that Echo's reporting was balanced, professional and representative for various religious and political groups.
But clearly, balanced and professional were not the approach the Chechen leader had been using lately. Kadyrov began his Friday morning by tweeting a picture of himself in a black uniform speaking before a group of Muslims. In the caption, Kadyrov declared the former boss of Yukos Oil Company his "personal enemy" and "enemy of all Muslims" for calling on media to publish cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. Kadyrov said that in Europe, where Khodorkovsky currently lives, there would be people able to call the oilman to account.
Comment: What exactly did Kadyrov say about Khodorkovsky (a ruthless criminal, mind you, whom Venediktov supports)?
"After the bloody crime in Paris he must have imagined he is more French than the president of France or the prime minister of that country. At a time when the French authorities are busy with the investigation and with taking measures that would prevent a further surge of tensions Khodorkovsky has urged all media to follow in the footsteps of the Paris magazine and to go on publishing caricatures," Kadyrov says on his page in the social network Instagram.Some threat, huh? Law-abiding Swiss citizens! Kadyrov is big on talk, but there's no reason to read his statement as a serious threat on Echo. And there's no reason to trust Nemtsova to report accurately on what he said. A full translation isn't available in English at this point, but here's a rough translation of what he said. It's a pretty vague 'threat', don't you think?
The Chechen leader believes that by making such calls Khodorkovsky has positioned himself as "an enemy of all Muslims of the world."
"This means he is my personal enemy, too. I am certain that in Switzerland, a country he loves so much, there will be thousands of law-abiding citizens who will bring this ex-convict to account. Apparently, that will be done in a harsh and explicit way," Kadyrov said.
"After the Paris events of our domestic liberals zealous, trying to please his Western backers. Yes, Head of Radio "Echo of Moscow" Alexei Venediktov conducts a poll on whether to draw cartoons of the Prophet (pbuh). The question itself is provocative. This desire to offend Muslims in Russia and around the world, cause hostility between nations, to sow chaos and disorder. If someone took the opportunity to throw a stone in the direction of "Echo" is immediately credited with Muslims. Muslims in Russia has long been seen that Venedictov turned "Echo of Moscow" in the main mouthpiece of anti-Islamic. This can be seen, heard or read materials of any day. On this topic specializes whole brigade of authors who have no links with Russia, "- wrote Kadyrov.
In his opinion, "in Venediktova no family or religious values. But it does not give him the right to indefinitely sling mud and insult tens of millions of Muslims. "
"I firmly believe that the government should call to order radio incite animosity and hatred between peoples and nations. Otherwise, there will be those who will call to account Venediktova. Today in Russia there are many problems to overcome which, more than ever, we need unity and solidarity of the peoples. A Venedictov need distemper need any spark to chase people in the area. We hope that these efforts will not go unnoticed and demand governments. Otherwise, the Muslims of Russia, which does not care about the fate of his homeland, will not endlessly tolerate the antics Venediktova and companies ", - concluded the head of Chechnya.
Last month, also on Twitter, Kadyrov promised to burn the houses of the families of terrorists without any investigation. At his annual press conference, Putin was asked what he thought of these calls for violence. "Nobody, including the leader of Chechnya, has the right to engage in extrajudicial reprisals," Putin said about his loyal appointee, Kadyrov, also known in Chechnya as Imam Ramzan.
Cartoons mocking religious symbols are nothing unusual for Russia, where anti-religious propaganda was official policy in the Soviet Union for decades. Magazines and newspapers regularly published caricatures of Jehovah, Jesus Christ, and Allah. But things have changed in the past two decades in Russia, a country with about 20 million Muslims.
The calls to re-publish cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad split the Russian journalistic community. Dmitry Muratov, editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta, one of the few independent newspapers left in Russia, wrote: "I have doubts that this decision (to republish) would be ethically correct. It looks like a collective punishment: a group of murderers committed a terrorist attack and we try millions of believers. I think one of the terrorists' agendas is to provoke a fateful conflict, a collision of different beliefs." Nevertheless, Novaya Gazeta republished the last cover of Charlie Hebdo featuring a generic Muslim passionately kissing on the lips a man with a pencil behind his ear.
Kadyrov and other North Caucuses leaders threatening journalists in Russia should realize that they live in civic society and obey the law and "if they don't like that, they should go live in a monastery or leave for a religious state," a prominent Russian journalist, Ksenia Sobchak, said on Echo of Moscow. Meanwhile, crowds of Russians came out on a freezing day to put flowers and express their support and respect for the 12 victims of Wednesday's terrorist attack. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he would travel to Paris to join an anti-terror march on Sunday.
That's quite a rich article, although I can't say that any part of it agrees with me. I am not sure if this indigestion is caused more by your dislike of Russians or your hatred of Muslims, both of which combine in your treatment of Mr. Dmitry Muratov at Novaya Gazeta. He should be admired for respecting the faith of others, no matter what his personal feelings are on faith.
Ahh, I know what's causing my discomfort...it's your attempt to demonize Russia with "the unsolved slayings of 17 journalists in Russia since 2000". A quick check on the net [Link] suggests that Russia is a safe place to be a journalist when compared to over 720 missing or killed around the world in that time. This cheap manipulation of your audience keeps coming back up my throat and I fear that I shall have to regurgitate the entire lot.