West accused of hypocrisy about protests

MOSCOW, Oct. 31 (UPI) -- Russia's foreign minister criticized Western organizations for "double standards" in the way they characterize public protests in Russia and at home.

Sergei Lavrov's comments came after police in Portland, Ore., arrested 30 people for violating a curfew in the city's Occupy Wall Street protest, RIA Novosti reported Monday.

"While daring to ask us questions, our Western partners do not want to address their own problems, which they have plenty of," Lavrov said, referring to Western human rights organizations' criticism of "the violent way" in which protests are responded to in Russia.

"The way they treat protesters of the Occupy Wall Street action shows clearly that our colleagues in the West stick to double standards," Lavrov said.

Under Russian law protesters must receive permission from authorities to hold rallies, and authorities have the right to change the time, date and location of the protests.

If protesters gather in their originally planned location without proper permission, police are empowered to arrest the participants, RIA Novosti reported.