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Emboldened Putin
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MOSCOW,
October 27 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Warning that “Russia
cannot be brought to its knees”, President Vladimir Putin appeared
Sunday, October 27, ready to use the bloody hostage drama in a Moscow
theatre to bolster his hard-line stance on Chechen fighters and to
strengthen his grip on power.
A
pre-dawn assault on the theater by Russian forces on Saturday, October
26, left more than 118 hostages and 50 of their Chechen captors dead,
but officials insisted the rescue of more than 700 others showed they
had averted even greater fatalities, Agence France-Presse (AFP)
reported.
The
leading hostage-taker, Movsar Barayev, aged 23, was among those killed
when Russian elite special forces burst into the auditorium after
first pumping a potent sleeping gas into the building, according to
witnesses.
The
operation represented a high-risk gamble by Putin, who had resolutely
refused throughout the crisis to cede to the Chechens’ demands that
he end Russia’s bloody three-year war in their republic.
The
president, in a televised address late Saturday, appealed to Russians
to “forgive” the authorities for failing to save all the hostages
but warned that Russia would never yield to “terrorists.”
“We
achieved the near impossible, saving hundreds, hundreds of people,”
Putin said.
“We
proved that Russia can not be brought to its knees.
“But
now I want to address the families and friends of those who died. We
were not able to save everyone. Forgive us.”
Putin
expressed thanks for messages received from foreign leaders lending
“moral and practical support in the fight against our common
enemy.”
He
said he had spoken with one of the survivors in hospital, and had been
told by the man: “I wasn’t afraid. I was sure the terrorists would
have no future.”
Putin
added: “He was right. They have no future. But we do.”
The
comments reflected the opinion of analysts who warned that Putin could
use the event to strengthen his grip on the country and launch a
tougher strategy against the Chechen independence fighters.
Andrey
Piontkovsky of the Center for Strategic Studies said the president
could use the hostage crisis to justify launching a new front in the
Chechen war, as he did in October 1999 when, as prime minister, he
sent troops to the republic following a series of apartment bombings
in Moscow.
“It
was clear from the beginning that no matter how the hostage-taking
ended, there would be a toughened stance on Chechnya,” he said.
The
Kremlin’s new tough line may encounter little resistance from Europe
and the United States who have muted their concern over human rights
and their criticism of Russian policy in Chechnya, deeming it part of
the global war on terror.
Many
world leaders Saturday expressed understanding for Putin’s use of
force, and were unanimous in stressing “terrorism” could not be
condoned for any cause and required a firm response.
But
some, such as French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin, said the
crisis showed the need for a political solution to the conflict
between Moscow and largely Muslim Chechnya.
Following
the operation, Russian Interior Minister Boris Gryzlov maintained
heightened security levels around Moscow and ordered a wide-ranging
security operation to uncover an alleged Chechen “terrorist
network” he said there was “every reason” to believe existed in
the region.
Meanwhile,
Deputy Interior Minister Vladimir Vasilyev denied a report by Moscow
Echo radio that the gas released by the special forces, which he
described as “special substances”, had caused some of the hostage
deaths.
The
radio had quoted doctors as saying some of the surviving hostages were
in a poor state after breathing the gas and that those who died may
have choked on their own vomit.
A
web news service, gazeta.ru, reported that at least 546 of the freed
hostages had been hospitalized, many in serious condition from the
gas.
It
said that a check of Moscow hospitals revealed that only “four or
five” of the injured had received bullet wounds.
Authorities
said earlier that 349 hostages had been hospitalized, many of them in
serious condition.
Putin
dealt with the Moscow hostage crisis in the only way he could and will
come out stronger as a result, Britain’s press concluded Sunday.
Britain’s
right-wing Sunday Telegraph said the bloody incident had
“strengthened Mr Putin’s hand abroad in his determination to
portray Russia’s conflict with the rebels as part of the
international war on terror.”
The
Sunday Times added: “Far from withdrawing, President
Putin is almost certain now to intensify activity, both to crack down
on the terror threat... and more cynically, to recover some of the
personal authority lost after this week's events in Moscow.”
The
Observer said Putin should be “strongly discouraged” from
extending his campaign in Chechnya, asserting “it would be a fatal
error that would pile tragedy on tragedy, continuing in the same
mistaken path that Russia has pursued for almost a decade.
“Yet
with America seeking support for its own war on Iraq, it seems certain
that Russia will not be deterred and, in the short term, will ape the
U.S. position of attacking terrorists wherever it finds them.”
The
Mail
on Sunday said the ruthless manner in which Russia brought an end to
the siege was a “reminder that Russia is still a long way from
becoming the pluralist European democracy we would all like her to
be.”
