Civil society groups will play a vital role in creating a fresh start between U.S. and Russian societies to match the “reset” in inter- governmental relations, President Barack Obama told Russian activists.
Real change “typically comes from the bottom-up,” said the former community organizer. “By mobilizing and organizing and changing people’s hearts and minds, you then change the political landscape.”
Sensitive to charges of external interference in the country’s internal affairs, Obama echoed Russian democrats’ own insistence that they had to pursue their own distinctive course to democratic reform.
“Liberating Russia from this corrupt bureaucracy is not Obama’s obligation, it is ours. This is our battle,” said one opposition leader.
“Not every model of organization or development or democracy may be easily transplantable from one country to the next,” Obama said. But he commended the Russian activists for pursuing such “universal” ideals and aspirations as….
…a vibrant civil society; the freedom of people to live as they choose, to speak their minds, to organize peacefully and to have a say in how they are governed; a free press to report the truth; confidence in the rule of law and the equal administration of justice; a government that’s accountable and transparent.
One such joint civil society initiative is the Russia-U.S. Joint Working Group on Investment and Institutional Integrity, which incorporates the Center for International Private Enterprise, a core institute of the National Endowment for Democracy. It presented recommendations to President Obama on cooperative efforts to strengthen governance, integrity and transparency in Russia. The Group’s report in both Russian and English, was presented by Elena Panfilova, head of Transparency International-Russia.
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