DUBAI, Nov 21, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Interpol named South Korea’s Kim Jong-yang
as its new president on Wednesday, in a blow to Russia which denounced
“unprecedented pressure” against its own candidate to lead the global
policing body.
There had been growing Western calls for Interpol to reject Alexander
Prokopchuk — a Russian interior ministry official and current Interpol vice
president — over fears Moscow could abuse the role to target political
opponents.
US-backed Kim, Interpol’s acting president, was picked at a meeting of
delegates from member nations in Dubai to replace Meng Hongwei, who went
missing in his native China in September.
Beijing later said Meng resigned after being charged with accepting bribes.
The Kremlin expressed dismay that Prokopchuk, who had been seen as the
frontrunner, was beaten.
“The election took place in the atmosphere of unprecedented pressure and
interference in these elections,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told
reporters.
On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo threw his weight behind Kim,
who will serve out Meng’s term until 2020. “We encourage all nations and
organisations that are part of Interpol and that respect the rule of law to
choose a leader with integrity. We believe Mr. Kim will be just that,” Pompeo
told reporters.
Critics have raised concerns over Russia’s previous applications for
Interpol “Red Notices”, or international arrest warrants, to target those who
have fallen foul of the Kremlin.
British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt welcomed the vote’s “excellent”
outcome.
“Very important news for rule of law internationally and encouraging that
in a secret ballot this was so widely recognised,” he wrote on Twitter.
Interpol’s president chairs its General Assembly while day-to-day
operations are handled by the organisation’s secretary general Juergen Stock.
In remarks posted on Interpol’s official Twitter account, Kim said after
his election: “Our world is now facing unprecedented changes which present
huge challenges to public security and safety.
“To overcome them, we need a clear vision: we need to build a bridge to the
future.”
– ‘Political persecution’ –
In an open letter this week, a bipartisan group of US senators said
choosing Prokopchuk would be like “putting a fox in charge of a henhouse”.
“Russia routinely abuses Interpol for the purpose of settling scores and
harassing political opponents, dissidents and journalists,” they wrote.
Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed the US senators’
letter as a “vivid example” of an attempt to interfere in the vote.
Anti-Kremlin figures had also raised concerns, including Alexei Navalny,
the Russian opposition leader who has been repeatedly jailed by authorities.
The controversy comes amid security concerns over accusations of Russian
agents attempting to poison an ex-spy in Britain and trying to hack the
network of the global chemical weapons watchdog. Ukraine, deeply at odds with
Moscow over its annexation of Crimea and support for separatists, threatened
to pull out of Interpol if Prokopchuk prevailed. Lithuania also said it would
consider withdrawing from the network.
The Ukrainian foreign ministry welcomed Kim’s selection, saying it had
campaigned not to allow Moscow to use Interpol to help Russian special
services on foreign soil.
“This battle is won,” Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov tweeted.
Two foes of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who have been targeted by
international arrest warrants sought by Moscow, said Tuesday they were
launching a bid to get Russia suspended from Interpol for abusing the agency.
The legal challenge was announced by financier Bill Browder, named in
multiple Interpol warrants, and Mikhail Khodorkovsky — a former oil baron
who spent 10 years in a Russian jail and now lives in exile in London.
“The Interpol constitution has very specific rules which forbid countries
who are serial abusers from using the system,” Browder told reporters.
Briefly arrested in Spain this year under a Moscow-issued Red Notice,
Browder said the Russian candidacy was an attempt by Putin to “expand his
criminal tentacles to every corner of the globe”.
Multilingual Prokopchuk worked in tax enforcement before starting as a
Russian representative at Interpol in 2006, according to the interior
ministry.