"We will continue to expose all the lies of Russian propaganda": The Prosecutor General's Office has declared the Batani Foundation for the Protection of Indigenous Peoples' Rights "undesirable."
Prosecutors believe that the Batani Foundation is preparing for "anti-Russian speeches at international events" and regularly publishes on the foundation's website "materials about alleged violations of the freedom of small ethnic groups, including in the context of the SVO."
"The designation as 'undesirable' didn't come as a surprise to us," Pavel Sulyandziga, chairman of the Batani Foundation, commented in a conversation with NeMoskva. "In my opinion, any normal person or organization that even simply speaks the truth about what's happening in Russia is always likely to be added to various enemy lists."
The Batani Foundation was established in Russia back in 2004. In 2015, the Ministry of Justice designated it a "foreign agent" and liquidated it in 2017. In 2018, Batani was refounded, this time in the United States and internationally. The organization works to protect the rights of indigenous peoples and their integration into the global community.
"Designating us as 'undesirable' won't affect our work in any way. We won't shut up. And I think the Russian government will still try to put a spoke in our wheel—it's worried that we continue to expose all the lies of Russian propaganda at UN venues," says Sulyandziga. "Russia has been kicked out of many global forums, but UN platforms for indigenous peoples are still accessible—and the Russian government brings in costumed representatives of indigenous peoples who work in government agencies and who proclaim to the world that they live a paradise in Russia."
Pavel assures that many ethnic activists from around the world and UN agencies already have a good understanding of the true attitude toward indigenous peoples in Russia, thanks in part to the efforts of Batan staff.
"The only problem is that now the Russian authorities will try to link people from Russia they don't like to Batani; they've done this many times before," Sulyandziga reasons. "But we will continue to do our important work—because Russia continues to lie internationally. So much so that they come to forums in Africa and Latin America and claim that Russia is a country fighting colonialism, helping the oppressed and the poor... But the Russian government isn't fighting colonialism. It's a natural colonizer."
