Events

I was delighted to be asked to speak at the first of a series of lectures on EU External Relations at the University of Kent recently.
 
The key speaker was Ambassador Vladimir Rakhmanin, Deputy Secretary-General of the Energy Charter, and former Head of Protocol to President Putin. So I guessed I might have a tough act to follow. I was right.

Gene Basler and Gary Cartwright discuss Europe's handling of chemical weapons  and other ordnance from wars of the last 100 years, including World Wars I, II and more recent European conflicts.

It is becoming something of a tradition to mount peaceful protests outside Russian government buildings on the 31st of the month. Articles 31 of the Russian constitution gives citizens the right of assembly for the purpose of protest, however in reality this right is often denied to the people.
 
In Moscow and St Petersburg this week, protests ended in bloodshed, with a number of protesters facing prison.
 

I was delighted to meet Elena Zhemkova, Executive Director of the 2009 Sakharov prize winning MEMORIAL, in the European Parliament recently.
 
She was there to draw attention to the plight of Mikhail Khordokovsky, who is currently languishing in a Russian jail on charges that appear to be somewhat suspect. His main "crime", of course, was to fund opposition parties standing against Vladimir Putin.
 
I was particularly proud to be asked to inscribe a copy of "Putin's Legacy" for the Memorial library in Russia.
 

The Belgian life=style magazine, Up-Front, has reported on our ongoing project "Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Expression".
 
The article can be found here:
http://www.upfront-live.com/

The team behind Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Expression is proud to announce that Jeremy Menuhin, the esteemed classical pianist, has joined us as our Honorary Patron.
 
 

European Parliament, Brussels, Feb 18th–19th 2009

A series of exciting events bringing together politics and high culture in a magnificent setting

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