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Vershbow
denounced human rights abuses against the Chechens
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MOSCOW,
February 29 (IslamOnlin.net & News Agencies) - The running
fighting in Chechnya against the Russian army is far from being
designated as international terrorism, but it is a conflict has a
historical nature, the U.S. ambassador to Russia said.
In
an interview with the London-based Al-Hayat newspaper published
on Sunday, February 29, Alexander Vershbow said Al-Qaeda network of
Osama Bin Laden “hijacked” the Chechen cause to serve its own
interests.
He
said the U.S. position on the Chechen file remained unchanged over the
past few years.
The
U.S. position consists of certain elements, the most important of
which is the assertion of the importance of recognizing the
sovereignty and territorial integrity of Russia and in the same time
opposing any solution for the conflict that is based on use of force
or terrorism, he added.
Denouncing
the so-called involvement of Al-Qaeda in the conflict, Vershbow stated
that the U.S. exchanged intelligence information with Russia to cut
off finances and ammunitions to the small mountainous republic.
Vershbow
noted that Arabs fighting alongside Chechen fighters were adding fuel
to the flames.
Some
of them played a pivotal role in the conflict after receiving quality
trainings in Afghanistan and returned to Chechnya carrying
“extremist” opinions, he added.
Vershbow
said the dispute is moved by a “political, separatist” drive and
has its historical roots, adding it could not be resolved by force or
“terrorism” but by diplomacy.
Not
Enough
Moscow’s
diplomatic and political efforts to end the conflict were not enough,
he said in a veiled reference to the Chechen presidential elections
and the new Chechen constitution.
Analysts
and rights watchdogs denounced the presidential elections in the
troubled southern republic of Chechnya as “a
farce”, saying the Kremlin had rigged the race for the sake
of the pro-Russian administration of Ahmad Kadyrov.
Vershbow
said Kadyrov has failed to win the confidence of the Chechen people,
asserting that last year’s Chechen elections were a mess after
barring other candidates from standing in.
However,
the American diplomat said Washington does not call for a dialogue
with what he called “terrorists” including Chechen president Aslan
Maskhadov whom he claimed failed to distance himself from terrorists.
Maskhadov
categorically
denied in October 2003 any links between Chechen independence
fighters and Al-Qaeda network, asserting Chechens are waging a
legitimate war to liberate their land and boot out Russian troops.
He
was elected to a five-year term in 1997 after the republic won de
facto independence from Russia following a bloody 1994-96 war.
Rights
Abuses
The
American diplomat also condemned the human rights abuses committed by
the Russian troops and Kadyrov against the Chechen people.
On
the forthcoming Russian presidential elections, the American diplomat
said the outcome is known in advance due to the lack of political
plurality and denying candidates to make their voice heard in the
media, particularly TV debates.
Putting
it in a nutshell, he said the coming elections will be some sort of a
public referendum for President Vladimir Putin but not elections.
A
U.N. panel sharply criticized human
rights violations in Russia in November 2003, highlighting the
impunity of security forces in Chechnya and the government's clampdown
on Russian media.
Chechens
and Ingush people marked
on February 23 the 60th
anniversary of mass deportations from their homeland by the Soviets
during the era of Josef Stalin.
The
deportations were a taboo subject until Stalin's successor, Nikita
Khrushchev, condemned them in 1956.
More
recently in 1999, some 80,000 Russian troops poured into the Caucasus
republic of Chechnya in what Moscow called a lightning-strike
“anti-terror operation” but which has since degenerated into a
grinding war with Chechen fighters.
The
current conflict, the second war between Russia and Chechen fighters
in a decade, has left 5,000 Russian soldiers dead -- 12,000 according
to rights groups -- and killed thousands of civilians.
It
has also driven tens of thousands of Chechens into exile within Russia
and abroad.
Thousands
of refugees from war-torn Chechnya live in
battered tent camps in neighboring Ingushetia and refuse to
return home because of continuing insecurity.
Yandarbiyev
Asked
about the assassination of former Chechen president Zelimkhan
Yandarbiyev earlier in the month and whether the Russian intelligence
was involved, Vershbow said investigations are still underway.
He
described the relations between Qatar and Russia as being sensitive
for the time being, urging both sides to solve the crisis calmly.
Vershbow,
nevertheless, said Washington has frequently urged Doha to hand over
Yandarbiyev to Moscow, but to no avail.
He
claimed that in the war on “terror”, concrete steps should be
taken and “terrorists” should be brought to justice.
The
Chechen leader was
assassinated on February 13 in the Qatari capital Doha by a
bomb attack on his car after Friday prayers.
Yanderbiyev
was living in Qatar for three years and Moscow repeatedly sought his
extradition.
He
was interim president after Dzhokhar Dudayev, a former Soviet air
force general who launched the Chechen independence movement after the
fall of the Soviet Union and who was assassinated by Russian forces in
1996.
He
then passed the torch to Maskhadov, who was democratically elected
president in 1997.
2
Qataris Arrested In Moscow
Two
Qataris have been arrested in Russia amid a spat over charges brought
in Doha against two Russians charged with assassinating Yanderbiyev,
reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
“The
ministry confirms that it is in continual contact with the Russian
foreign ministry demanding clarifications and an explanation ... and
the reasons why two Qatari citizens have been arrested,” a Qatari
foreign ministry official said.
“The
Russian foreign ministry has replied that it will furnish an official
response on Monday,” the official added.
Qatari
sources said the two men were officials with a judo team transiting
through a Moscow airport en route to a tournament in Serbia when they
were detained.
Qatari
press accused Moscow of seeking to use the men “to barter” for two
Russian security service agents.
Moscow
demanded on Friday, February 27, that Qatar free the two agents after
denying they were involved in the blast that killed the 51-year-old
Chechen leader.
