Chechen horror
ow
that the razed Chechen capital, Grozny, has been opened to reporters and TV
cameras, the outside world is becoming aware of the horrors perpetrated in
Chechnya over the past several months by Russian forces. This awareness must be
translated into action. Strategic and regional considerations aside, the United
States and the rest of the international community can no longer ignore their
humanitarian obligation to alleviate - and end - the suffering of the Chechens.
The human rights commissioner of the Council of Europe, Alvaro Gil-Robles,
was allowed to visit Grozny Monday and was stunned by what he witnessed. ''The
destruction is really massive, it leaves a very strong impression,'' he said.
''It's necessary to stop this war as soon as possible. It's necessary to help
this population.''
This appeal followed closely upon a draft report by Human Rights Watch on
Russian atrocities against civilians Feb. 5 in the Grozny suburb of Aldi. Human
Rights Watch labeled as war crimes the killing, raping, and looting and demanded
that they be investigated and punished.
A unanimous sense-of-the-Senate resolution proposed by Paul Wellstone,
Democrat of Minnesota, called last week for an immediate cessation of Russian
military operations in Chechnya, investigation and prosecution of atrocities,
permission for an international monitoring mission to investigate and report on
war crimes in Chechnya, and ''immediate full and unimpeded access to Chechen
civilians'' by international humanitarian agencies.
These suggestions ought to guide the Clinton administration's approach to the
calamity created in Chechnya. Continued solicitude for the patriotic feelings of
acting President Vladimir Putin and his entourage will only make things worse -
not only for Chechens, but for Russians as well.
If Putin does not negotiate a peace with Chechen leaders soon, the conflict
is certain to enter a new phase of protracted guerrilla warfare that may lead to
a proliferation of hostilities across the northern Caucasus and eventually the
unraveling of the Russian Federation.
Source: Boston Globe, 2/29/2000.
The West Should Stand Up for Chechnya
Russia must get the message that its relations with the U.S. and its
allies will suffer if the slaughter continues.
By MARK KRAMER, Director of the Harvard Project on Cold War Studies.
During the battle of Corregidor in World War
II, eyewitnesses described the "almost unimaginable scale of destruction. Death has
been raining down everywhere."
That scene is now about to be replayed in
Chechnya, where Russian troops have been destroying everything in their
way. Moscow's aim increasingly seems to be to eliminate the Chechens as a nation.
This week, Russian military commanders offered
a blunt ultimatum to the tens of thousands of civilians--mainly elderly
and disabled people--who remain in Grozny, the Chechen capital:
"There will be no more talks. Everyone who fails to leave
the city [by Dec. 11] will be destroyed." Although relentless
bombing by Russian planes has made it almost impossible for
refugees to leave Grozny safely, Russian commanders warned that
"those staying in the city will be regarded as terrorists and
bandits."
The latest war in Chechnya began in August,
three years after Russia was forced to accept a humiliating truce
that deprived it of any control of the republic. During the previous
war, from December 1994 to August 1996, Russian forces engaged in indiscriminate bombing and shelling of civilian targets,
yet they were unable to defeat the resistance.
In this latest conflict, Russian military
officers have avoided some of the worst mistakes they committed
in 1994-96. Russian commanders have relied on the methodical
advance of infantry and mechanized units, reinforced by
massive air, missile and artillery strikes. Russian officers have
used far more troops this time--100,000--and have sought to draw
on the most reliable and best trained soldiers.
Despite these improvements, the campaign in
Chechnya has not redressed the underlying problems and weaknesses
of the Russian Army. The army overall is still in disarray. The
troops are still poorly suited for counterinsurgency operations
and mountain warfare, the two types of fighting that will be
essential if Russia hopes to reestablish military control over
Chechnya.
That is why Russia's campaign has become a war
of extermination. Without the capacity to take on Chechen
guerrillas in hand-to-hand combat, Russian forces instead are trying to
bring about the outright destruction of the Chechen republic.
This is not the first time that the government
in Moscow has sought to annihilate the Chechen people. During
Russia's bloody conquest of the Caucasus in the 19th century, entire
villages were razed and their inhabitants massacred. In 1944,
Josef Stalin ordered the wholesale deportation of Chechens to
Central Asia, leading to the destruction of a quarter of the
Chechen population. The war in 1994-96 resulted in the deaths of
at least 30,000 civilians and perhaps as many as 90,000.
During the latest war, the Russian government
has claimed that it is merely trying to wipe out
"terrorists" who launched raids into neighboring
Dagestan and who supposedly carried out the horrific bombings of
three apartment buildings in Moscow. The raids did occur, but no
firm evidence has emerged that the bombings were carried out by Chechens. Instead, the Russian government has used the bombings
as a pretext to launch a large-scale invasion of Chechnya.
The Russian Army's campaign in Chechnya bodes
ill for Russia's political future. An ugly nationalist backlash already seems to be underway. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir V.
Putin, whose public approval ratings have soared, has denounced
the "dark-skinned people" in Chechnya, whom Russian
forces "must annihilate." The destruction of Chechnya
may not mean the immediate end of Russia's progress toward democracy, but it could do irreparable harm.
Western governments have expressed criticism of
Russia's actions, but they have been reluctant to take serious reprisals. During NATO's operations
in Yugoslavia this past
spring, Russia accused the West of genocide and war crimes, and
suspended cooperative efforts with NATO countries. The operation
in Yugoslavia had its shortcomings, but NATO did at least try to
minimize civilian casualties.
Source: Los Angeles Times, December 9, 1999
Welcome to Chechen Forum U Kamina У Камина. Только у нас можно обсудить таких марионеток как Рамзан Кадыров или героев как Руслан Аушев, бардов как Тимур Муцураев или артиста ставшего политком Ахмед Закаев. На форуме есть такие интересные разделы как Грозный и Студенческая жизнь.
Chechen horror
ow
that the razed Chechen capital, Grozny, has been opened to reporters and TV
cameras, the outside world is becoming aware of the horrors perpetrated in
Chechnya over the past several months by Russian forces. This awareness must be
translated into action. Strategic and regional considerations aside, the United
States and the rest of the international community can no longer ignore their
humanitarian obligation to alleviate - and end - the suffering of the Chechens.
The human rights commissioner of the Council of Europe, Alvaro Gil-Robles, was allowed to visit Grozny Monday and was stunned by what he witnessed. ''The destruction is really massive, it leaves a very strong impression,'' he said. ''It's necessary to stop this war as soon as possible. It's necessary to help this population.''
This appeal followed closely upon a draft report by Human Rights Watch on Russian atrocities against civilians Feb. 5 in the Grozny suburb of Aldi. Human Rights Watch labeled as war crimes the killing, raping, and looting and demanded that they be investigated and punished.
A unanimous sense-of-the-Senate resolution proposed by Paul Wellstone, Democrat of Minnesota, called last week for an immediate cessation of Russian military operations in Chechnya, investigation and prosecution of atrocities, permission for an international monitoring mission to investigate and report on war crimes in Chechnya, and ''immediate full and unimpeded access to Chechen civilians'' by international humanitarian agencies.
These suggestions ought to guide the Clinton administration's approach to the calamity created in Chechnya. Continued solicitude for the patriotic feelings of acting President Vladimir Putin and his entourage will only make things worse - not only for Chechens, but for Russians as well.
If Putin does not negotiate a peace with Chechen leaders soon, the conflict is certain to enter a new phase of protracted guerrilla warfare that may lead to a proliferation of hostilities across the northern Caucasus and eventually the unraveling of the Russian Federation.
Source: Boston Globe, 2/29/2000.
The West Should Stand Up for Chechnya
Russia must get the message that its relations with the U.S. and its
allies will suffer if the slaughter continues.
By MARK KRAMER, Director of the Harvard Project on Cold War Studies.
During the battle of Corregidor in World War
II, eyewitnesses described the "almost unimaginable scale of destruction. Death has
been raining down everywhere."
That scene is now about to be replayed in
Chechnya, where Russian troops have been destroying everything in their
way. Moscow's aim increasingly seems to be to eliminate the Chechens as a nation.
This week, Russian military commanders offered
a blunt ultimatum to the tens of thousands of civilians--mainly elderly
and disabled people--who remain in Grozny, the Chechen capital:
"There will be no more talks. Everyone who fails to leave
the city [by Dec. 11] will be destroyed." Although relentless
bombing by Russian planes has made it almost impossible for
refugees to leave Grozny safely, Russian commanders warned that
"those staying in the city will be regarded as terrorists and
bandits."
The latest war in Chechnya began in August,
three years after Russia was forced to accept a humiliating truce
that deprived it of any control of the republic. During the previous
war, from December 1994 to August 1996, Russian forces engaged in indiscriminate bombing and shelling of civilian targets,
yet they were unable to defeat the resistance.
In this latest conflict, Russian military
officers have avoided some of the worst mistakes they committed
in 1994-96. Russian commanders have relied on the methodical
advance of infantry and mechanized units, reinforced by
massive air, missile and artillery strikes. Russian officers have
used far more troops this time--100,000--and have sought to draw
on the most reliable and best trained soldiers.
Despite these improvements, the campaign in
Chechnya has not redressed the underlying problems and weaknesses
of the Russian Army. The army overall is still in disarray. The
troops are still poorly suited for counterinsurgency operations
and mountain warfare, the two types of fighting that will be
essential if Russia hopes to reestablish military control over
Chechnya.
That is why Russia's campaign has become a war
of extermination. Without the capacity to take on Chechen
guerrillas in hand-to-hand combat, Russian forces instead are trying to
bring about the outright destruction of the Chechen republic.
This is not the first time that the government
in Moscow has sought to annihilate the Chechen people. During
Russia's bloody conquest of the Caucasus in the 19th century, entire
villages were razed and their inhabitants massacred. In 1944,
Josef Stalin ordered the wholesale deportation of Chechens to
Central Asia, leading to the destruction of a quarter of the
Chechen population. The war in 1994-96 resulted in the deaths of
at least 30,000 civilians and perhaps as many as 90,000.
During the latest war, the Russian government
has claimed that it is merely trying to wipe out
"terrorists" who launched raids into neighboring
Dagestan and who supposedly carried out the horrific bombings of
three apartment buildings in Moscow. The raids did occur, but no
firm evidence has emerged that the bombings were carried out by Chechens. Instead, the Russian government has used the bombings
as a pretext to launch a large-scale invasion of Chechnya.
The Russian Army's campaign in Chechnya bodes
ill for Russia's political future. An ugly nationalist backlash already seems to be underway. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir V.
Putin, whose public approval ratings have soared, has denounced
the "dark-skinned people" in Chechnya, whom Russian
forces "must annihilate." The destruction of Chechnya
may not mean the immediate end of Russia's progress toward democracy, but it could do irreparable harm.
Western governments have expressed criticism of
Russia's actions, but they have been reluctant to take serious reprisals. During NATO's operations
in Yugoslavia this past
spring, Russia accused the West of genocide and war crimes, and
suspended cooperative efforts with NATO countries. The operation
in Yugoslavia had its shortcomings, but NATO did at least try to
minimize civilian casualties.
Source: Los Angeles Times, December 9, 1999
Welcome to Chechen Forum U Kamina У Камина. Только у нас можно обсудить таких марионеток как Рамзан Кадыров или героев как Руслан Аушев, бардов как Тимур Муцураев или артиста ставшего политком Ахмед Закаев. На форуме есть такие интересные разделы как Грозный и Студенческая жизнь.