MOSCOW, December 30. /ITAR-TASS/. Russian political parties have offered first reactions to the tragic developments in the southern city of Volgograd where a minimum of 31 people have died in two terrorist acts since Sunday afternoon.
Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) plans to react to the situation in the wake of terrorist acts in Volgograd in the toughest possible way, MP Vadim Solovyov, a deputy chairman of the parliamentary committee for constitutional legislation and state construction told Itar-Tass.
“A statement putting forward tough questions will be issued by the CPRF and we’ll demand a parliamentary investigation,” he said.
Solovyov also believes it is high time to demand a revoking of moratorium on death penalties. “Toying at democracy brings evil to a huge number of peaceful civilians who don’t have anything to do with the situation,” Solovyov said. “Also, it’s important to mull a greater responsibility for organizers of and accomplices in terrorism-related crimes, as well as for the people who know about terrorist acts being plotted but don’t report on them.”
Besides, Solovyov underlined a need for “inviting the law enforcement officials to address the Duma as part of the ‘government hour’ and to tell us about what’s happening in the country and what measures should be taken for the solution of this problem and for the strengthening of law enforcement organizations.”
Solovyov voiced the apprehensions that the situation might get out of control very soon, since the terrorists were fighting against “the unprotected sections of the population — the elderly, children and students — now, not against the government.
Liberal Democratic Party of Russia proposes to introduce criminal responsibility for the members of terrorists’ families and to tighten up punishments for the accomplices of terrorism, MP Igor Lebedev, a deputy speaker of the State Duma said.
He indicated however that the LDPR faction in the Duma was against the proposals to hold a parliamentary inquiry into the terrorist acts.
“We’re legislators and we shouldn’t interfere,” Lebedev said. “On the contrary, it’s important now to give the law enforcers full freedom of action in these circumstances so that they could investigate and, what’s most importantly, prevent the terrorist acts.”
He recalled Russia’s role of a country that was to receive the 22nd Winter Olympic Games in Sochi. “I don’t rule out that these terrorist acts in Volgograd are meant at destabilizing the situation in this country on the eve of that grandiose event,” Lebedev said.
Simultaneously, he expressed the LDPR leadership’s opinion on the importance of tightening the punishments for the relatives and accomplices of terrorists.
“We’ve come up more than once with proposals to introduce the harshest possible measures against the terrorists’ relatives,” Lebedev said. “Also, there’s a need to make the punishments for their accomplices and for everyone involved in the organization of terrorist acts really tough.