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Chechen President Maskhadov Essential for Peace: Council of Europe Envoy
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| Lord
Judd criticized the human
rights
situation in Chechnya. |
MOSCOW,
March 22 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - The head of a Council
of Europe delegation on Chechnya insisted Thursday that a settlement
in the independence-seeking republic could not be reached without
Chechen president Aslan Maskhadov, triggering an angry reaction from
Kremlin spokesmen.
Urging
the Russian authorities to engage in talks with Maskhadov, Lord
Frank Judd, the co-chair of the Parliamentary Assembly of the
Council of Europe (PACE), told Moscow Echo radio that "you
can't resolve the situation [in Chechnya] without a political
settlement."
"Maskahdov
is the political reality of today's Chechnya. If you search for a
political solution without his participation, it will simply not be
a political solution," Lord Judd said, quoted by Agence
France-Presse (AFP).
Russian
officials, however, accused Lord Judd of having an
"inadequate" view of the situation in the
independence-seeking republic, and described the envoy of the
Europe-wide democracy and rights body of playing "political
games" with his insistence on negotiations with the Chechen
president.
The
Kremlin's chief spokesman on Chechnya, Sergei Yastrzhembsky,
denounced Lord Judd's "inadequate view of the situation,"
claiming that Russia was allegedly "fighting international
terrorism there the way the United States and Moscow's other
partners are fighting it in Afghanistan," the Interfax news
agency said.
Accusing
Lord Judd of playing "political games" on the issue of
talks, Russia's human rights
ombudsman for Chechnya, Vladimir Kalamanov, claimed that ordinary
Chechens did not support Maskhadov and allegedly wanted the Russians
to provide "bread, law and order and participation in the
modern world."
In
January, U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Ruud Lubbers challenged
the Russian government's view of Maskhadov as a terrorist,
describing him as a "key person" in the search for peace,
sparking anger in Moscow.
Russia
brands Maskhadov, elected president in 1997, and other independence
fighters as terrorists and ceased to recognize him following the
entry of Russian troops in Chechnya October 1, 1999.
Russia
has consistently tried to establish a direct link between Chechen
independence fighters and international terrorism, including Osama
bin Laden's Al-Qaeda organization, especially since the September 11
terrorist attacks on the United States.
Lord
Judd also criticized the lack of movement on human
rights in Chechnya.
"There is some political movement, but I am not sure that this
is evident in the area of human
rights," he said, AFP
reported.
He
pointed to a "huge discrepancy" between the number of
complaints about human rights
violations and the number of official inquiries and questioning of
people suspected of these violations. Even those investigations,
which are undertaken, are rarely pursued to the end, he added.
Human
rights organizations accuse
the Russian army of grave abuses against Chechen civilians,
including extra-judicial killings, which largely go unpunished.
They
complain that the civilian prosecutor general's office cannot open
criminal inquiries into abuses by Russian soldiers as that depends
on military prosecutors.
Lord
Judd has made several visits to Chechnya to inspect the
deteriorating human rights
situation there and has been outspoken in his criticisms of grave
Russian abuses in the independence-seeking republic.
Up to 20,000 Chechen fighters have been killed in the fight for
independence from Russia according to the official toll. The
civilian toll of the war has never been reported, however.
History
During
the Soviet era, Stalin, in order to maintain power and to prevent
overthrow "by external powers manipulating internal ethnic
groups", was pretty brutal in his control of the Chechen
people. The Chechens therefore actually said they would welcome
Germany if they recognized an independent Chechnya. This led to a
mass deportation and relocation of Chechen people (and others) to
Kazakhstan and Siberia. Around 800,000 people are said to have been
relocated this way. Perhaps 100,000 or more of these people died due
to the extreme conditions.
Chechnya
declared independence in 1991 after the collapse of the Soviet
Union. In a move that looked as though Russia wished to show the
world it could also do what the United States did to Iraq, it
attacked Chechnya. The 1994-96 war left 80,000 casualties. The
Russian assault devastated Grozny and other parts of Chechnya.
However, the Chechens defeated Russia revealing how poor Russian
military capabilities were.
Earlier
in 1999, the Islamic uprising in the neighboring Dagestan region of
Russia resulted in accusations by Moscow that Chechen government
forces supported a Dagestan rebellion. While this was denied,
Chechen fighters (that aren't really controlled by the central
government) did support the Islamic uprising in Dagestan. This
incursion led to a conflict with Russian forces that defeated the
Chechens.
Current
Crisis
Following
the Chechen defeat in Dagestan, Moscow suffered bomb blasts believed
to be by various separatists (although never proven). This has also
led to a rise in Russia of racist sentiments against people mainly
from the Caucasus regions.
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| U.N.
human rights chief Mary Robinson accused Russia of failing
to meet international demands for 'credible' investigations
of killings, torture and looting by its forces in Chechnya.
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Russia
is now engaged in a full-scale war with Chechnya. There have been
many reports of bombing raids by Russian forces and over 200,000
people are said to have fled from Chechnya. Grozny and other parts
of Chechnya are being pounded and destroyed.
Once
more, it is the civilian population that gets caught in the middle.
Civilian casualties have been high and there has been international
outcry at the brutal Russian crackdown and indiscriminate bombing
and targeting of civilians.
Human
Rights groups are concerned by Russian forces’ rampage, since
issuing an ultimatum for citizens in Grozny to evacuate. The Russian
troops have been looting and burning homes and buildings, even
executing those who resist. The rest of the G8 and the European
Union have even threatened to isolate Moscow if they continue their
campaign.
On
April 20, 2000, Chechen President Ashlan Mashkadov made a ceasefire
offer. However, Russian demands have been stern, which triggered
more suicide attacks and increased warfare by the Chechen
combatants, indicating that the conflict is far from over.
As
Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported in April 2001, "the U.N.
Commission on Human Rights adopted a resolution on Chechnya that
condemned serious human rights violations by Russian forces, and
raised concern about forced disappearances, torture, and summary
executions.
“Sponsored
by the E.U., and with strong U.S. backing, the resolution called for
U.N. special rapporteurs to investigate these abuses in the war-torn
republic and for credible criminal investigations by domestic
agencies into all human rights and humanitarian law violations.
Russia rejected a similar resolution adopted by the commission, and
refused to comply with its requirements. It has vowed to do the same
this year."
In May 2001, HRW also reported that Russian authorities covered
evidence of extra-judicial executions.
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