On September 8, 2011, the members of the Commission on Harmonization of Inter-Ethnic and Inter-Confessional Relations at the Council for Cooperation with Religious Associations under the Russian President visited St.Petersburg.
On September 8, 2011, the members of the Commission on Harmonization of Inter-Ethnic and Inter-Confessional Relations at the Council for Cooperation with Religious Associations under the Russian President visited St.Petersburg.
The Commission, headed by Arch-priest Vsevolod Chaplin, included the representatives of the Armenian Apostolic and Roman Catholic churches, Buddhist Traditional Sangha of Russia in Moscow, Coordination Center of Muslims of North Caucasus Federal District, Russian Union of Evangelical Christians, and Federation of Jewish Communities in Russia. The secretary of the Commission is S.A.Melnikov, Assistant of Russian President Administration for Domestic Policy.
During the visit, the Commission members met in Smolny with A.V.Prokhorenko, Member of St.Petersburg Government, Chairman of St.Petersburg Committee for External Relations; took part in a solemn mourning ceremony at Piskarevskoe Memorial Cemetery, marking the 70th anniversary of the beginning of Leningrad Siege; and laid flowers at the monument to Motherland. The main event was a joint meeting that was held in Smolny by the Commission and St.Petersburg Advisory Council on the implementation of state policy concerning nationalities at St.Petersburg Government.
The participants discussed the issues of prevention of ethnic and religious conflicts and the role of Russian religious organizations in the maintenance of ethnic harmony in the country. The views were exchanged on what could be the basis for strengthening the civil unity of contemporary Russian society; the information was shared on the existing institutional and other mechanisms to prevent conflicts and ensure the security and stability in Russia and St.Petersburg.
During the discussion, certain mechanisms to solve the problems of ethnic and religious relations were proposed. In particular, I.S.Rimmer, Deputy of St.Petersburg Legislative Assembly for Relations with Religious Organizations, mentioned the need of “explicit diagnosis” and public recognition of the problems that exist in the society.
A number of leaders of religious confessions and national and cultural associations spoke of the necessity to develop the concept or a law concerning the policy on nationalities, which should clearly state the conceptual apparatus, duties, and responsibilities in this area.
All the participants agreed that the most important aspect of inter-ethnic relations is the migration process. E.V.Dunayeva, Head of Federal Migration Service of Russia over St.Petersburg and Leningrad Region, told about the mechanisms provided in St.Petersburg to solve the problems of migrants, such as the “hot phone lines” or commercial apartment blocks, where a migrant would feel as “an equal among the equals”.
Shafig-Hadji Pshikhachev, Plenipotentiary Representative of the Coordination Council of Muslims of North Caucasus Federal District, specified the importance for the clergy to sermon among the believers not only about the tenets, but also about the religious norms of behaviour governing the domestic relations of a person (in family, with neighbours, etc.), so that these rules would be shared by all believers. He also pointed out the absolute necessity of Russian language skills for migrant workers willing to be employed in Russian Federation.
Arch-priest Vsevolod Chaplin said that the conflicts are often fueled by the Internet, mass media, and social networks. He drew attention of the meeting on the issue of anonymity on the Internet: “This kind of anonymity is morally shameful, and often hides crime, hatred, irresponsibility behind inself. Attitude to anonymity on the Internet must be seriously considered – if not at the level of legislative proposals, then at least at the level of moral evaluation. Any self-respecting individual should consider ignoring the communications with the anonyms as a norm”.
In conclusion, A.V.Prokhorenko, Member of St.Petersburg Government, Chairman of St.Petersburg Committee for External Relations, warned against “turning out the domestic conflicts into the ideology” because it could facilitate the involvement in the conflict of large groups of people united by ethnic, ideological, or other grounds.
The speakers were unanimous that St.Petersburg traditionally maintained a stable inter-ethnic and inter-confessional situation and expressed their hope that St.Petersburg Government would continue to invest all necessary efforts to preserve and strengthen the peace and harmony in the city.
News source: St.Petersburg Committee for External Relations