World
leaders have condemned the killing of Russian top opposition politician Boris
Nemtsov, who was gunned down by unknown assailants in Moscow overnight. Putin
says he will personally oversee a probe into the murder.
Deutsche Welle, 28 Feb 2015
Flowers at the site where Nemtsov was shot |
German
Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday she was "shocked by the devious
murder" of outspoken opposition leader Boris Nemtsov and called on Russian
President Vladimir Putin to "ensure that the murder is investigated and
the perpetrators brought to justice."
Nemtsov was
fatally shot by assailants driving a white car near the Kremlin in central
Moscow late on Friday. He was walking with a Ukrainian woman when he was shot.
The 55-year-old former Russian deputy prime minister is the most prominent
opposition figure killed during Putin's 15-year rule, and his death has sparked
an international outcry.
Chancellor
Merkel's spokesman said she paid tribute to the "courage of the former
deputy prime minister, who has repeatedly voiced criticism of the government's
policies."
French
President Francois Hollande also condemned the "hateful murder" and
described Nemtsov as "a courageous and tireless defender of democracy who
was committed to the fight against corruption."
US
President Barack Obama, who had met Nemtsov on a visit to Moscow in 2009, said
Russians had lost "one of the most dedicated and eloquent defenders of
their rights."
Murder a
'provocation'
Vocal government critic Boris Nemtsov |
By Saturday
morning there was a mounting pile of flowers at the spot where Nemtsov was
gunned down on Moscow's Bolshoi Moskvoretsky bridge.
Putin said
he had taken the investigation into the death under personal control. The
Russian president's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said the murder bore "the
hallmarks of a contract killing" and could have been a
"provocation," considering that Nemtsov was planning to lead a big
protest organized by the opposition in Moscow on Sunday.
The last
Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, quoted by Interfax, also said the killing could
have been a provocation, aimed at "destabilizing the situation in the
country, at heightening confrontation" with the West.
'A bridge
between Ukraine and Russia'
Actvists
said they would cancel Sunday's planned opposition demonstration, and would instead
hold a memorial march for Nemtsov in the city center.
The march
had aimed to protest against the conflict in eastern Ukraine, where fighting
between pro-Russian separatists and Kyiv forces has claimed more than 5,600
lives.
Nemtsov
frequently attacked Russia's policy on Ukraine and was working on a report
about Russia's alleged involvement in the separatist rebellion.
Ukrainian
President Petro Poroshenko called Nemtsov a "bridge between Ukraine and
Russia."
"The
murderers' shot has destroyed it. I think it is not by accident," he said.
Dangerous
climate
Nemtsov,
who leaves behind four children and an elderly mother, was also a vocal critic
of corruption within the Russian government. Some opposition figures have
argued his murder is a clear demonstration of the problems facing dissidents in
Putin's Russia.
In Putin's atmosphere of hatred & violence, abroad & in Russia, bloodshed is the prerequisite to show loyalty, that you are on the team.
— Garry Kasparov (@Kasparov63) February 27, 2015
Nemtsov
began his political career as the governor of Nizhny Novgorod in central Russia
and rose to the position of deputy prime minister in the 1990s under Boris
Yeltsin, Russia's first democratically elected president.
Nemtsov
became a part of the opposition after Putin came to power in 2000, but groups
critical of Putin have largely been sidelined since he returned to the
presidency after four years as prime minister under Dmitry Medvedev.
nm/kms (Reuters, dpa, AFP, AP)
Related Articles:
Mourners in Moscow pay respects to murdered Kremlin critic Nemtsov - New
Moscow marches in memory of murdered Nemtsov
Russia opposition leader Boris Nemtsov dies of multiple bullet wounds
Mourners in Moscow pay respects to murdered Kremlin critic Nemtsov - New
Moscow marches in memory of murdered Nemtsov
Russia opposition leader Boris Nemtsov dies of multiple bullet wounds
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.