Russia condemns US crackdown on Occupy movement
December 14th, 2011 - 3:15 pm ICT by IANSMoscow, Dec 14 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Russia has accused the US of using “unjustified cruelty” against Occupy Wall Street protesters.
The Russian foreign ministry’s human rights envoy, Konstantin Dolgov, said most of the Occupy movement’s actions were “peaceful” and criticised the authorities for using undue violence against the protestors.
“As for the reaction of the authorities to these protest actions, including in the United States, we can point to the presence in it of elements of unjustified cruelty and in some cases of the disproportionate use of force,” Dolgov said in a statement Tuesday.
“News channels regularly show scenes of violent dispersions by police of camps and peaceful demonstrations,” he said.
The Occupy movement started Sep 17 in Zuccotti Park, located in New York City’s Wall Street financial district. It spread to over 70 major US cities, including Washington, where protestors set up encampments in two public squares near the White House.
There have been dozens of reports of police violence since the anti-greed movement began. In one particular incident, a police officer shot pepper spray at protesting students at the University of California in November.
Last week, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin had accused the US of backing anti-government protests in Moscow and other cities, and said that US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s comments on the elections the Russian Duma (parliament) had “given a signal” to the protestors.
–IANS/RIA Novosti
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