Льыоравэтльан - Civil Society and Indigenous Peoples

Plenary meeting of Krasnoyarsk Krai Civil Assembly took place on January 1, 2009. Members of the Civil Assembly's Council, representatives of various public associations of Krasnoyarsk Krai – members of Public chambers of the Assembly discussed the Assembly's Report on the state of the civil society of Krasnoyarsk Krai in 2008. V. Kuzubov, senior deputy governor of Krasnoyarsk Krai; V. Semenov, senior deputy chairman of Krasnoyarsk Krai Legislative Assembly, deputy; S. Shakhmatov and N. Fokin, Krasnoyarsk Krai Legislative Assembly's deputies also took part in the meeting.
V. Vasilyev, chairman of the Civil Assembly's Council of Krasnoyarsk Krai, member of Public Chamber of the Russian Federation, addressed the meeting with the report. The main aim of the report was to analyze and evaluate the state of the civil society on the territory of Krasnoyarsk Krai, its general trends, most important problems in the society and to inform state and local authorities of Krai, public associations and organizations, and population of it. It was noted in the report that a wide range of unsettled socio-economic problems forces Krai indigenous communities to establish various public organizations to defend their rights to decent life, original habitat, language, customs, lifestyle, and culture. Indigenous communities are dissatisfied with infraction of the law of the traditional land use territories of small-numbered indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia and Far East of the Russian Federation in relation to assignment of water bodies and land to them to get a living. Problem of nature conservation during commercial development of northern territories, including expected building of Evenk powerplant, also causes alarm.
There are more than 20 public associations of small indigenous peoples (6 regional and interregional associations and 15 local public organizations) in Krasnoyarsk Krai on November 17, 2008. They are active and successful in cooperation with power structures although they lack coordination and proper control of their decisions implementation.
At the end of his report V. Vasilyev hoped that upstart Public Chamber of small-numbered indigenous peoples will make public associations more influential in solution of stated problems.
Elena Nechushkina,
Director of Informational Legal Center of Indigenous Peoples of Krasnoyarsk Krai