Medvedev makes region heads responsible for combating interethnic enmity

At today's sitting of the State Council the Russian President Dmitri Medvedev called his law enforcement bodies to immediately suppress any attempts of inciting ethnic enmity and riots. He also opposed the idea of setting up the Ministry for National Policy, but demanded from heads of Russian regions to "start working" towards counteracting the interethnic enmity.

Today Mr Medvedev has changed the agenda of the sitting of the State Council: instead of earlier announced issues of support of families, motherhood and childhood, the participants in the sitting, which was broadcast live on air by the "Rossiya-24" TV Channel, discussed the problems of combating xenophobia.

"(It's necessary) without any delay to suppress every attempt to kindle interethnic hatred and provoke riots," said Medvedev.

"They must be suppressed toughly; without any ceremonies," the president said and added that "criminals have no nationality", the "Interfax" reports.

President Medvedev has demanded from regional leaders to be engaged more effectively in the interethnic policy in localities. "I understand from speeches of some colleagues that for them the interethnic policy is just an abstraction," the "Prime-TASS" quotes him as saying.

"I'm drawing your attention to the fact: responsibility for civil peace and accord is not on the FSB and militia, but on the regions, because clashes, crimes and murders are committed in your regions," said Medvedev.

"Proposals are always moved to set up a new structure, another ministry, a sort of the Ministry for Nationalities," Mr Medvedev said at the sitting of the State Council. However, as he said, such structures have never been effective. "Therefore, I'd like to tell you that we are not going to create new structures, multiply bureaucrats with their cars with flashing lights and offices. You should get to work yourselves," said the president ass quoted by the "Vesti.Ru".

The offer to hold a sitting of the Presidium of the State Council on the issues of interethnic relations was moved by Rustem Khamitov, head of Bashkortostan, who invited to hold such sitting in his multi-ethnic republic. Dmitri Medvedev has supported the idea to hold such sitting of the Presidium of the State Council, which has been already prepared, and instructed his administration to decide when and where to organize it. "The topic is so multi-faceted, often unpopular, that it needs to be addressed regularly," said the country's leader.