http://www.chechenpress.com/news/10_2003/1_01_10.shtml [BBC Monitoring]

Chechen rights activist urges Azerbaijan to distance itself from Russia

Director of the Chechen Human Rights Centre Mayrbek Taramov has slammed the Russian authorities for their support for Akhmat Kadyrov in the run-up to the Chechen presidential elections. "The incumbent Kremlin's protege is the most unacceptable person for Chechnya," he said. He urged Azerbaijan to distance itself from Russia which he described as an "evil" state. He added that Kadyrov's election would create problems not only for Chechnya but also for Azerbaijan and Georgia. The following is an excerpt from Taramov's article written exclusively for Chechenpress news agency web site and published on 1 October 2003 - [Titled Kadyrovites to "clean up" Azerbaijan M.L.]

Subheadings have been inserted editorially [by BBC Monitoring]:

Chechen presidential election is illegitimate

So, a "historic" event will take place on 5 October - the Kremlin's "nationwide" appointment of ex-mufti Akhmat Kadyrov to reign in Chechnya. There is no need to explain that it is an absolutely illegitimate appointment; moreover, the Russian authorities aimed their action against the people of Chechnya, because the incumbent Kremlin's protege is the most unacceptable person for Chechnya. If it were possible to vote freely, he would have received no more than three to five per cent of the votes. However, the Kremlin's master tried to provide publicity to the would- be Chechen "president" in quite a peculiar way.

Being aware beforehand of a negative attitude of the American public to this Kremlin appointee, [Russian President Vladimir] Putin was impudent enough to include his protege in the Russian official delegation [to the USA]. The Americans, who are normally quite restrained, had to say to this impudence: "No! Kadyrov will not go to Camp David!" Nevertheless, what the Americans see as an offence, the Russians and their henchmen regard as normal. Nothing can be done about it. It is a "Russian school" where one can see with a naked eye a lack of any morals whatsoever.

[Passage omitted: generalities on the lack of moral values]

Ahead of a new appointment or elections, the public makes presumptions and forecasts as to what negative or positive developments to expect from this or that candidate. Chechnya is not expecting anything good from the strengthening of Kadyrov's power. According to different sources, he is guarded by 1,500 to 2,000 people. It would be fine if the number of his guards was 50,000 people, should they engage in protecting a "grand" person of vassal Kadyrov only. However, the problem is that the cruelty and inhumanity of Kadyrov's special services in relation to their own compatriots have no limits. They have outdone Russian colleagues in their bloody craft.

Kadyrov poses a threat to the Caucasus

The strengthening of Kadyrov's position after the "election" does not promise anything good not only for the Republic of Chechnya but for the whole of Caucasus. In particular, it will affect Georgia and Azerbaijan, that historically are the zone of Russia's strategic interests. According to statements made by politicians in the Kremlin, by [chairman of the State Duma International Affairs Committee Dmitriy] Rogozin, in particular, Russia does not intend to leave the Caucasus, but on the contrary, wants to reinforce its presence there. It is not that difficult to understand how the Kremlin's protege will begin establishing himself as "Putin's lever" in the Caucasus. It is to be expected that, first of all, Kadyrov will try to open his representative offices in the Caucasus. While he stands virtually no chance of doing so in Georgia owing to the fact that the Georgians are strongly oriented towards the USA, it is more than possible in Azerbaijan as the two countries have a special and trusting relationship.

[Passage omitted: reiterates the point]

Kadyrov will aim destabilize situation in Azerbaijan

Anyway, this fact proves that Kadyrov's supporters will try to destabilize the situation in Azerbaijan as much as possible, because the destabilization and chaos is a breeding ground for the current Putin's power, dominated by the so-called imperial thinking. It goes to say that the current Russian imperialism does not mean anything good even compared to the old Soviet one, because in the USSR there used to be certain communist limits in relations between "the main nation" and the others. Now, there is neither the USSR nor the CPSU [Communist Party of the Soviet Union] with its "Code of Morals". Nothing sets back Moscow's imperial hunger now. There are special services on top of the Russian power pyramid with the "Code of Morals" of their own which means the suppression of any kind of morals. Of course, this is the worst case scenario, so Azerbaijan must distance itself from the evil empire as much as possible if, of course, it does not want to be swallowed again by the northern monster.

The strengthening of Kadyrov's allies in Azerbaijan can occur according to the following scenario. As workers of the "dagger and axe" are in power in Russia and Chechnya now, it is quite possible that their violent actions will be exported to this country. To start with, they may provoke "inter-Chechen clashes" in Baku, which may result in the killing of one or two leaders of the Chechen community in Azerbaijan. This, in turn, will give the Azerbaijani authorities a pretext for tightening measures against Chechen refugees who will be squeezed out of the country by fair means or foul. It is unclear, though, where they will go and who will accept them in the conditions when virtually the whole world turned away from the Chechen bloody problem.

This is exactly the outcome preferred by the "true Putin supporters" and Kadyrov's allies who, with the help from the Azerbaijani authorities, having completed the initial programme, will proceed to implement the second one aimed at destabilizing the situation in the country.

All the more so that a "Trojan horse" in the person of the so-called Kadyrov's Chechen representative office (in fact, the headquarters to coordinate the activities of the Russian-Kadyrov's special services) will already be in the Republic of Azerbaijan to implement the second- phase programme.

Mayrbek Taramov specially for the Chechenpress  01.10.03