Medvedev orders crackdown on extremism

MOSCOW. February 26. KAZINFORM President Dmitry Medvedev ordered a crackdown on Wednesday on extremist groups which he said were trying to exploit Russia's economic crisis by sowing instability.

Russian officials traditionally mean racist groups and radical religious and political organizations when speaking about "extremism." "Extremist actions are especially dangerous in the current conditions," Russian news agencies quoted Medvedev as telling a meeting with top prosecutors. "In many instances they are directly linked to attempts to destabilise ... our society. You have the right to ask courts to liquidate relevant public and religious organizations and suspend their activities pending a court decision," Interfax news agency quoted him as saying. Medvedev said this month racist attacks were on the rise and were a threat to national security in Russia, whose economy has been hit hard by the global economic slowdown and the fall in the price of oil and other commodities; Kazinform cites Today's Zaman. But human rights activists and some opposition groups accuse the Kremlin of using tough new legislation on extremism as a pretext to clamp down on legitimate forms of dissent.