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Council Of Europe Restores Russia's Voting Rights
STRASBOURG, Jan 25 (News Agencies) - The Council of Europe, which last year suspended Russia from one of its key bodies because of its human rights record in Chechnya, voted on Thursday to rescind the measure.
Eighty-eight members of the Council's parliamentary assembly voted to re-establish Russia's voting rights, with 20 "no" votes and 11 abstentions.
In April last year, the assembly, which comprises 291 members in all, voted to suspend Russia, the first time any member state had suffered such an indignity in the Council's 50-year history.
Thursday's vote returns full voting rights to the 18 Russian parliamentarians who sit in the pan-European body's assembly, despite continuing criticism of Russia's human rights record in its breakaway republic of Chechnya.
A group of 10 deputies had asked Monday that the Council continue to deny Russia the right to vote within the assembly.
But most parliamentarians followed the advice of the assembly's political, judicial and rules committees, which all said Russia should be given a new chance to prove its willingness to effect change in Chechnya.
Conservative Turkish deputy Abdullah Gul was one of those who opposed the move, calling upon his colleagues not to make "an historic mistake."
Russia poured troops into Chechnya in October 1999 to clamp down on separatist fighters it accused of waging attacks across the country.
Despite seizing control of the republic's capital, Grozny, and other key centers a year ago, pro-Moscow soldiers and administrators continue to be subject to daily separatist attacks.
Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a limited troop withdrawal from Chechnya.
Russia was admitted to the Council of Europe, often seen as Europe's conscience on human rights, and also as an antechamber for states seeking membership of the European Union, in 1996.
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