Police calls ecological youth organizations “extreme”

- Taking into account Murmansk’s geographic location, with borders to Norway and Finland, and foreign countries’ increased international interest towards the Arctic – especially the development of the Shtokman field, it is possible that radical ecological organizations can destabilize the criminogenic situation.

This was said by Police Captain Viktor Zobachev, acting Head of the Murmansk Police’s Center for Counter-Extremism at a press conference in Murmansk last week, web site B-port.com reports.

According to Zobachev, since the beginning of the year, the center for counter-extremism has put a stopper for 18 cases of extremist character. 32 people have been brought to administrative responsibility and 57 leaders and activists have been identified. Two youth organizations of extreme nationalistic character have been uncovered.

Radio Svoboda in an interview asked Zobachev why ecological youth organizations been put on the same list as skinheads and fascists.

- Some of the actions where the Murmansk ecological organization “Nature and youth” has been involved, have been of the provocative type, Zobachev replied. – Two of four unauthorized demonstrations the last half year were conducted by representatives from this ecological organization.

Zobachev says there is no problem to getting permits for legal demonstrations, but the ecological activists only want to provoke the police and get public attention by organizing illegal demonstrations.

On the organization’s web page, “Nature and Youth” denies all accusations form the police and express concern that the police are so interested in an open and officially registered organization. The organization also remarks that the police’s actions contradict President Dmitry Medvedev’s declaration about the important role of the civilian society.