522-05-03-2003

Question: Telegraphic agencies have distributed as a sensation news of the intention by the Council of Europe (CE) to set up an international tribunal to investigate war crimes and crimes against humanity in Chechnya on the model of the already existing Court for the former Yugoslavia (ITFY). How would you comment on this report? Answer: This is not exactly the case. On March 3 a meeting of the Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on Legal Affairs and Human Rights was held in Paris, which considered the drafts of a resolution and a recommendation prepared by FRG Bundestag Deputy Rudolf Bindig, containing specifically a call upon the international community to set up a tribunal for Chechnya.

First of all it is necessary to note that these are but the draft documents subject to discussion and approval at a PACE plenary session to be held at the end of March - the beginning of April. The position of the Legal Committee is not a position of the PACE as a whole.

The spirit and tonality of these documents cause on our part regret and a total rejection of such forms of Council of Europe relations with Russia. We presume that PACE recommendations should create a basis for constructive cooperation by the organization with our country and assist the further restoration of democratic institutions in the Chechen Republic, whereas the Bindig drafts, apart from the fact that they bear an avowedly anti-Russian character and that the allegations contained in them are characterized by an extreme degree of odiousness, are removed from the real situation and extremely politicized.

In our opinion, the nature of these documents objectively does not reflect the sentiments in the Council regarding the process of the settlement of the Chechen problem. The results of the discussion of this question at the PACE session held less than two months ago (January 2003), which adopted a balanced resolution on the situation in the Chechen Republic, is testimony to this. Moreover, there have emerged concrete areas of cooperation between Russia and the Council
of Europe for organizing a peaceful life in the republic. Experts of the CE are actively working in the Bureau of Abdul-Khakim Sultygov in Chechnya. There are many other examples of constructive cooperation between Russia and the Council of Europe. Yet Bindig sees neither the contribution of the CE nor the efforts of Russia in the search for a political solutions to the Chechen situation. He made no mention of the upcoming, March 23 referendum on the Draft Constitution of the
Chechen Republic. One gathers the impression that Rudolf Bindig wrote the drafts, both not getting beyond the well-honed propaganda stereotypes of the apologists of Chechen separatism and failing to notice the changes occurring not only in Chechnya, but also in the world. Many states, including the US, already designate Chechen bandits as terrorists, yet he keeps on repeating about "Chechen fighters."

I would like to stress that the Bindig drafts ignore the progress made in peaceful settlement in Chechnya, and repeat practically all the provisions of the 2000 PACE resolution, when under artificial pretexts the Russian delegation in the Assembly was deprived of its right to vote. As life has shown, such decisions did harm not only to PACE cooperation with Russia, but also to the activities of the organization itself. With regard to the call to set up a tribunal for Chechnya on the Hague model, its absurdity should be obvious to the authors themselves - deputies of European legislative assemblies. Russia has its own judicial system and no one can deprive it of its sovereign right to administer justice in its own country.