アメリカ民主主義さんの おぼえた日記 - 2020年7月12日(日)

＜BBCニュース7月12日＞
Russia far east protest over Khabarovsk governor's arrest
ロシア極東でハバロフスク知事の逮捕に抗議

◎要旨
人口60万人の極東ロシアのハバロフスクで、5000人から4万人の住民が、フルーガル知事の逮捕のデモを街頭で行い、反プーチンを連呼した。フルガル氏は2年前の選挙でプーチン派の候補者を破って当選した。彼が政治家になる前の2004年から5年の2件の殺人と1件の殺人未遂で拘禁された。
プーチン氏は先週の承認された憲法改正投票の後、反対派の弾圧を行っている。

Thousands of people have taken part in protests in Russia's far east over the arrest of a regional leader.

They marched to the regional government in Khabarovsk shouting slogans against President Vladimir Putin.

Khabarovsk governor Sergei Furgal was detained on Thursday, accused of having ordered the killing of several business people 15 years ago.

Mr Furgal defeated the candidate of Mr Putin's United Russia party in elections two years ago.

His party, the ultra-nationalist Liberal Democrat Party of Russia, is usually seen as loyal to the Kremlin.

But correspondents say Mr Furgal's victory was seen as a blow to United Russia's grip on power in the regions, and he is a popular figure in the far east.

Estimates by regional media and opposition put the number of demonstrators at between 5,000 and 40,000, in a city of about 600,000 inhabitants.

Opposition leader Alexei Navalny's regional office described the rally, which lasted nearly four hours, as "an absolute record for our region and a unique show of unity in society".

Video footage showed protesters shouting slogans such as "Freedom!", "Putin is a thief" and "Putin, resign".

Several other towns in the region held smaller protests. Police did not intervene or make any arrests.

Anger at Moscow's 'political' move
Thousands took to the streets of Khabarovsk in what locals are calling the biggest protest they've seen in decades.

They're angry at the arrest of Sergei Furgal and from their chants - against Moscow, and against Vladimir Putin himself - they believe the move is political.

In 2018, Mr Furgal beat the Kremlin's chosen candidate for governor by a landslide. He's proved popular locally, cutting the number of civil servants and putting the governor's yacht up for sale.

Now he's facing a murder charge, from his pre-political days in the murky world of metals trading. Mr Furgal's supporters want to know why the authorities waited until now, though, 15 years later to arrest him.

The protests were not authorised and in Khabarovsk the meeting point had been taped-off overnight, supposedly for Covid 19 disinfection. But the crowds marched in any case, and the police - on this occasion - didn't intervene.

Mr Furgal was arrested by masked law enforcement officers on 9 July and brought to Moscow. A day later he was remanded in custody for two months ahead of his trial.

He is accused of organising two murders and one attempted murder of businessmen in 2004-05, and could face life imprisonment.

The arrest comes amid fears of a crackdown on opposition following last week's vote to approve constitutional reforms that will allow Mr Putin the option of seeking two more terms in office.

On Tuesday, Russian space agency official and former journalist Ivan Safranov was charged with treason, following accusations that he had passed official secrets to a Nato country.

★語句
detain　拘留する　
remand 送還する
treason　裏切り

◎私見
withコロナの時代は世の中も大きく変えている。リモートワークが急速に発達し、そのおかげで地方移住が進んでいるそうだ。（7月11日　日経夕刊1面など）。これまでは、共働きの増加で職住接近・都心一極集中から、郊外や地方の一軒家の需要が増えたとも聞く。
これまで、「地方創生」を叫びながらも掛け声倒れで終わっており、最近の担当大臣を見る限り、やる気があるのかといいたくなる陣容だ。（ちなみに、現職は国会答弁ができない北村誠吾氏）このチャンスをシンゾー君が活かすことは期待できないが、今後の日本の健全な発展のためには、働く人たちの地方の移住が重要だと考える。