3 Challenges
Russia
52. The British Council has had difficulties
with its operations in Russia for a number of years. Five years
ago Russian police raided the Council's offices, claiming it was
involved in illegal commercial activity on which no tax was paid.
The Council was operating in Russia under a cultural agreement
signed when it first entered the country in 1994. The Russian
Government had indicated that it no longer considered the agreement
to be an adequate framework, but the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
had repeatedly assured the British Council that it would be able
to negotiate its tax status with the tax authorities as soon as
a new Cultural Centres Agreement was signed. The last assurance
had been made in May 2004, but the Russian authorities carried
out the raid nonetheless.[67]
53. In 2005, the Council settled all outstanding
tax claims, totalling £1.4 million, and registered itself
as a regular tax payer. The case was formally closed in December
2005, but the investigation was reopened the following month,
coinciding with a public attack by the Federal Security Service
(FSB) on British diplomats allegedly involved in espionage and
financing of NGOs in Russia.[68]
Those
tax disputes have now been settled in St Petersburg with a final
settlement of approximately £7,000 of tax payable by the
British Council, which is roughly 99.5% less than the original
tax demand. The Council hopes that the case in Moscow will be
settled shortly.[69]
54. In December 2006 the Council informed us
that it was closing down all language teaching in Moscow. This
was due to the imposition of a licence requirement, which it had
previously been told it did not need. The Council later also discontinued
teaching in St Petersburg and in June 2007, the Russian authorities
demanded that the Council vacate one of its offices in Ekaterinburg.[70]
55. In December 2007 the Russian Foreign Minister
made comments linking the UK Government's measures following the
Litvenenko murder to Russia's treatment of the British Council.
In the same month the Council decided that due to difficulties
with its relations with Russia it would transfer nine regional
centres and the Moscow Library to local partners. Then
in January 2008, the Council took the decision to suspend all
operations in St Petersburg and Ekaterinburg. Its 2007-08 report
said that its staff had been "subject to intimidation and
undue pressure from the Russian government" and that it had
taken the decision "out of a duty of care".[71]
56. In its submission to our 2007 inquiry into
'Global Security: Russia', the Council said that it was "continuing
to seek agreement on a new Cultural Centres Agreement, working
closely with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to achieve this".
In October 2008, Lord Kinnock told us that the Council had adopted
a pragmatic approach, but that progress was slow.[72]
In April 2009, the Government stated that there had been
"no change in the situation on the Cultural Centres Agreement".
In November 2009 Mr Davidson reported to us that he had no information
about when it would be possible to obtain a Cultural Centres Agreement,
which would allow the British Council to reopen in St Petersburg.[73]
The Council states that it continues to undertake important
cultural work from its Moscow office, and Mr Davidson noted that
the atmosphere for cultural relationships with Russia had improved
over the past 18 months.[74]
By means of illustration, he noted the support the Council gave
in arranging a major exhibition of JMW Turner's work in Moscow
which ran from November 2008 to February 2009. It received over
100,000 visitors and was named the "Exhibition of the Year"
by Russian critics. [75].
57. We conclude that the lack
of progress towards a Cultural Centres Agreement in Russia is
regrettable, and recommend that the Government and the British
Council continue to seek a resolution to this long-standing issue.
We further conclude that the Council's success in pursuing alternative
activities in Russia is to be welcomed and recommend that it is
given a high priority.
Iran
58. The Council suspended its operations in Tehran
on 31 January 2009. In a statement to the BBC the Chief Executive
said: "the safety and well being of staff were the British
Council's prime consideration and the organisation has had no
choice but to suspend all cultural relations activities until
such a time that operations can be resumed with employees able
to conduct their work without fear of intimidation or harassment".
He added that the British Council was looking for the opportunity
to discuss with the Iranian authorities an agreement that would
allow the Council to resume work in Iran sometime in the future.[76]
Martin Davidson expressed regret that "one of the saddest
things of all" was that the opportunities for young people
in Iran to develop links and connections with other parts of the
world, have been closed down.[77]
Mr Davidson told us, "we stand ready when it becomes possible
for us to get back to work in Iran, but I have to say I'm not
sanguine about that being very soon".[78]
59. We recommend that the FCO
take all steps necessary to support the British Council in its
efforts to resume its important work in Iran.
Zimbabwe
60. The British Council has operated in Zimbabwe
since that country's independence. In October 2008, Martin Davidson
told us that the Council remained committed to its work in Zimbabwe.
He noted that in current circumstances the Council is unable to
expand its operations there, but that it was poised to do so as
soon as the political situation improved. Future plans include
working with the diaspora communities in the UK and South Africa,
looking at ways in which they might be encouraged to return to
Zimbabwe, and continuing to work with young professionals within
the country.[79] The
number of young people going through the two offices in Harare
and Bulawayo has risen to 60,000 over the year.[80]
Furthermore, the Council cited the example of a conference it
arranged with the Royal Commonwealth Society in Johannesburg in
2009, which was attended by representatives of Commonwealth organisations,
including civil society, local government, human rights organisations
and higher education. The conference had considered ways of engaging
the Zimbabwean diaspora in the reconstruction of the country.
This has led to a more serious Commonwealth focus on Zimbabwe.
The organisations represented at the conference are individually
working with their Zimbabwean counterparts.[81]
61. We recommend that the FCO
support the British Council's efforts to re-establish itself in
Zimbabwe.
67 Foreign Affairs Committee, Eighth Report of Session
2005-06, Public Diplomacy, HC 903, para 92 Back
68
'Russia reopens probe of British Council', Financial Times,
24 January 2006 Back
69
Q 29 Back
70
'British Council ordered out', The Guardian, 15 June 2007 Back
71
British Council, Annual Report 2007-08, p.15 Back
72
Foreign Affairs Committee, Second Report of Session 2008-09, Foreign
and Commonwealth Office Annual Report 2007-08, HC 195, Q 88 Back
73
Q 29 Back
74
Q 29 Back
75
Foreign Affairs Committee, Second Report of Session 2008-09, Foreign
and Commonwealth Office Annual Report 2007-08, HC 195, p.
71 and DR 351 Back
76
'British Council statement on Iran', BBC News, 4 February
2009 Back
77
Q 32 Back
78
Q 30 Back
79
Foreign Affairs Committee, Second Report of Session 2008-09, Foreign
and Commonwealth Office Annual Report 2007-08, HC 195, Q 92 Back
80
Q 33 Back
81
Ev 15 Back
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