“The world doesn't know what's really going on inside Chechnya.” --
Chechen in Ingushetia to RI
“The whole world keeps silent. No one wants to respond to our problems.”
-- Chechen in Azerbaijan to RI
Why are the people of Chechnya forgotten?
Nearly one half of Chechnya's 1.1 million people have been killed or displaced
by the Russian-Chechen conflicts in 1994 to 1996 and from 1999 to the present.
Chechen leaders claim the independence of their republic. Russia maintains Chechnya
is part of the Russian Federation. Fighting continues, rights abuses escalate,
and the humanitarian situation closely mirrors ones that captured international
attention in Bosnia and Kosovo. Yet Chechens have to plead for international attention
and action. Why?
Little independent information flows out of Chechnya. Federal authorities—both
military and civilian—have limited access for journalists. Russia has also
stopped key United Nations human rights monitors from visiting the region. When
the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) mission mandate
expired December 31, 2002, Russia and the OSCE failed to agree to extend it.
Foreign observers and journalists have been prevented from traveling there due
to concerns about the overall security situation. Kidnapping, murders of foreign
aid workers, and the use of landmines have forced most international organizations
to severely limit activities or withdraw. The August 2002 kidnapping of the head
of the Doctors without Borders Mission in Dagestan, adjacent to Chechnya, remains
unsolved.
Pressure to find a political solution, especially from Western governments, fell
off sharply when Russian President Vladimir Putin linked the military involvement
in Chechnya to the war against international terrorism. It is now more critical
than ever that events in the region are examined to ensure civilians aren't compelled
to return there, and to find a political solution.
The People and the Land
After the collapse of the USSR in December 1991, four independent states –
Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan divided the region where more than 50
religiously, culturally, and linguistically diverse nationalities and ethnic groups
live. Russia's northern Caucasus area has three "autonomous" republics: Chechnya,
Dagestan, and Ingushetia.
Chechnya is about the size of the U.S. state of Connecticut or of Italy's Tuscany
region. Chechens are an indigenous people of the north Caucasian mountains. Their
language belongs to the Vainakh group of the Iberian-Caucasian. Ethnic Chechens
and Ingush can communicate without a translator, but the language of the Bats
people who live in the Pankisi Gorge has been influenced by Georgian, so neither
Chechens nor Ingush can understand it.
Anatomy of the Crisis
The story of Chechen suffering is long. The most recent developments took place
after Chechnya declared independence in 1991. Tensions rose until they escalated
into warfare in 1994, and Russian troops arrived to crush the separatist movement.
The capital city of Grozny was devastated and large numbers of civilians were
killed or displaced. Fighting largely ended under a 1996 ceasefire, and a peace
agreement was signed leaving Chechnya with de facto but unrecognized independence.
Moscow returned to Chechnya in 1999.
The latest U.S. State Department human rights report charges Russian soldiers
with using "indiscriminate force" in civilian areas and cites reports that federal
armed forces have committed extra-judicial killings. There have also been killings
and human rights abuses by Chechen rebels. In late March 2003, Chechens voted
for a constitution that would make the republic an inseparable part of Russia.
Some believe the vote could contribute to peace. Others reject it as a public
relations scheme. Fighting continues unabated.
Humanitarian Conditions and the International Response
The conflict in Chechnya continues to take a huge toll on civilians. Fighting
initially displaced some 370,000 individuals (about 170,000 were in Chechnya,
160,000 in the neighboring republic of Ingushetia, 20,000 in Dagestan, and 20,000
elsewhere in the region). The vast majority of displaced Chechens depend on food
aid. They face growing problems finding adequate shelter. Health risks include
malnutrition, poor hygiene and shelter conditions, and high levels of psychological
stress. Tuberculosis, Hepatitis A, and HIV are also difficult problems. Because
both sides used mines, there have been an estimated 600 to 800 landmine casualties
since 1996, half of who are reported to be children. Human Rights Watch reports
that abuses by Russian forces appear to be on the rise.
The situation for Chechens outside Chechnya lacks attention. There was a police
crackdown and widespread discrimination against ethnic Chechens living in Moscow
after the mass hostage taking at a Moscow theater by Chechen rebel fighters. In
Azerbaijan, there is little support from international agencies because the government
of Azerbaijan does not presently accord Chechens refugee status. Similarly, Georgia,
a country already struggling to support more than 350,000 displaced individuals
from conflicts in Abkhasia and South Ossetia, has provided weak protection and
material support for Chechen refugees.
Officials stopped registering IDPs in Ingushetia in spring 2001. Toward the end
of 2002, the authorities announced that IDP camps, which house about 20,000 people
altogether, would close by the end of the year. They employed various degrees
of pressure to force the IDPs to return. Displaced Chechens in Ingushetia told
Refugees International they don't want to return to Chechnya. When a camp at Aki-Yurt
was closed in early December, there was an outcry from many organizations, including
Refugees International. President Putin responded that no one would be repatriated
involuntarily.
Representatives of international organizations and NGOs who visit Chechnya have
reported a lack of federal assistance for rebuilding war-torn areas. Some international
NGOs maintain small branch offices staffed by local employees; however, all international
NGOs have their bases outside of Chechnya.
Recommendations
Once rich in oil, Chechnya's economy and infrastructure are now in ruins. It has
become a territory without rights in which laws and international conventions
are suspended. Refugees International recommends that Russian and Chechen officials:
Immediately provide journalists, human rights monitors, and aid officials with
secure and unfettered access to Chechen civilians;
Renew efforts to find and implement a political solution, seeking outside mediation
if necessary;
Press forces and fighters to respect international humanitarian law and hold all
parties accountable for violations of humanitarian law
Continue to refrain from prematurely forcing individuals to return to their homes
in Chechnya.
Maureen Lynch is Research Director for Refugees International. She can be contacted
at ri@refugeesinternational.org.