| The Chechen Times 17.11.2004 “Insignificant” statistics? The recent data by the Memorial human rights center about the victims of extrajudicial executions and the disappeared quite expressively comments on words of Russian politicians and representatives of the puppet structures on Chechnya. So far this year at least 100 civilians have been killed, 294 persons – abducted, 146 of the have been released, 20 – found dead, and 128 are still considered missing. The statistics covers only… 25 percent of Chechnya’s territory. What happens on the rest of 75 percent – is unknown even approximately – the work of Memorial’s employees is unsafe there and therefore – impossible. Besides, Memorial has always emphasized the fact that the majority of extrajudicial executions and abductions are blamed on Russian security services and military. I shall note – this is officially confirmed data, rather than a full picture of what is going on even on 25 percent of Chechnya’s territory. If we take for granted Moscow’s numerous statements that the hostilities in Chechnya are over, the resistance of rebels can be considered defeated, and only “isolated instances of armed clashes and blowing up of military materiel” take place, then it is unclear how Memorial’s statistics can be explained? If all these killings and abductions take place on the territory where “a lasting peace was established long ago,” aren’t all of us witnesses of a barefaced and non-provoked genocide of the Chechen people? The given figures provide no statistics about killed Resistance fighters. Only civilians. As for killed rebels, Memorial gives a separate figure – 23. The puppet structures say the number is higher thereby trying to underreport the statistics of killings among the civilian population and at the same time to demonstrate their “successes” in the war which is formally over. “Chechnya’s vice premier,” personally heading one of the bloodiest bands called “the presidential security service,” Ramzan Kadyrov, has recently threatened relatives of Resistance fighters. As we know, “Chechen president” Alu Alkhanov support “a democratic initiative” of Russia’s general prosecutor to take counter-hostages. Its is an open secret that such practice is not new for Chechnya – relatives of Resistance fighters have “disappeared,” have been detained, tortured since the beginning of the war. But in the given case it is suggested to legalize this practice. And as we understood from Alkhanov’s statement, this “initiative” is first of all necessary on the “peaceful territory,” in Chechnya. Following the logic of “taking counter-hostages,” wouldn’t it also mean legalized “counter-executions”? The butchers of the Chechen people, in particular, General Yermolov, practiced it in the 19th century. Communists did the same in 1920-1930’s. Frankly speaking, if they could not find relatives, anyone might have become hostages. And who can guarantee that Russia’s defense minister is not going to suggest “legalizing” “counter-artillery” strikes and bombardments of Chechen villages close to which armed clashes take place or Russian armor is blown up? Saying that employees of human rights organizations can monitor only 25 percent of the Chechen territory, we shall note that the rest of Chechnya is unsafe for them from the side of Russian secret services, military units and puppet force structures. It has been known for a long time that human rights activists are regularly threatened. Several years ago representatives of a Russian human rights group addressed to world government and parliaments urging them to declare a boycott on the Russian government, to expel Russia from all the international organizations and to stop any financial assistance to it until, as the statement reads, “the genocide of the Chechen people” continues. Right after it phone calls began: “Judging by a polite tone of the conversation, from FSB, demanding to stop our activity, trying to persuade us that we are doing a wrong job… Also there were barefaced threats.” That is in Russia. In Chechnya human rights activists “disappear without trace” and die quite regularly. Those who “do not understand” what is going on in reality are “being brought to reason, giving final warnings.” All those who speak about crimes committed by Russian troops, who call for beginning of peace talks are labeled by all mass media channels as “accomplices of terrorists,” and Ramzan Kadyrov suggests punishing them cruelly. And he goes beyond mere suggestions. The western press is more often referring to everything what is going on in Russia as a return to Soviet imperialism and a retreat from democratic reforms – both in politics and economy. Most authors of such publications prefer to use the term “soft” or “slowly” while speaking about such return. I wonder – what do they think about Memorial’s statistics? May be it is too “soft” to them? Special to The Chechen Times Sergei Karpov http://www.chechentimes.org/en/comments/?id=23510 |