Human Rights in Chechnya - Press Releases

PACE & Conflict in the Chechen Republic - Adopted texts

April 3rd 2003 · Council of Europe

During the debate on Chechnya at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on April 2, 2003, three documents - Resolution 1323 (2003), Recommendation 1600 (2003) and Order No 586 (2003) - were adopted. You can read their provisional versions below:

The human rights situation in the Chechen Republic

Resolution 1323 (2003) [1]

1. The Parliamentary Assembly recalls its previous resolutions and recommendations on the conflict in the Chechen Republic. It makes particular reference to Resolution 1315 (2003) on the evaluation of the prospects for a political solution of the conflict in the Chechen Republic, which remains fully valid.

2. The Assembly reiterates its belief that there cannot be peace without justice in the Chechen Republic. The human rights situation in the Republic is the key to an equitable political solution based on national reconciliation. Without a tangible improvement of the human rights situation, all attempts at pacifying the region are doomed to failure.

3. For nearly a decade now, people in the Chechen Republic have lived in constant fear. Their towns and villages have been reduced to rubble, their fields mined, their friends and relatives murdered, illegally detained, “disappeared”, kidnapped, raped, tortured and robbed. The Assembly has consistently condemned the gross human rights abuses, the violations of international humanitarian law and the war crimes committed in Chechnya by both sides to the conflict. Since the very
beginning of the first conflict in Chechnya in 1994, the Assembly has called for those responsible for these acts to be brought to justice – to little avail.

4. The people of the Chechen Republic have a right not just to our pity but also to our protection. So far, everyone involved – the Russian government, administration and judicial system, the different Chechen regimes – has failed dismally to provide such protection from human rights abuses. International organisations and their member states have not managed to ensure that the victims of these abuses were granted redress, nationally or internationally.

5. The main reason why both Russian soldiers and Chechen fighters go on committing these abuses to this day is that they nearly always get away with them. The Assembly pays tribute to the courage of some brave victims, journalists, NGOs and human rights activists as well as honest officers of law-enforcement bodies who brought to light violations of law and who, despite a difficult situation, strived to restore justice. At the same time, the Assembly is disappointed that criminal
investigations of gross human rights violations, including massacres of innocent Chechen civilians and targeted assassinations of local heads of administrations or their families, are nevertheless few and far between, depressingly ineffective and mostly fail to secure convictions in court (if they reach that stage, which is rare).

6. Non-judicial redress mechanisms set up by the Russian authorities, such as the Office of the Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation on Human Rights and Freedoms in the Chechen Republic, do little more than catalogue individual complaints. While the Assembly pays tribute to the courage of the Council of Europe experts working within that Office, it asks that all measures be taken to increase the effectiveness of their current mandate as regards their possibility of influencing the human rights situation.

7. The mandate of the OSCE Assistance Group to Chechnya has not been renewed by the Russian government. The Council of Europe’s Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) has complained of Russia’s lack of co-operation with it. Russia has yet to authorise the publication of its reports. The recommendations of the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights are implemented by Russia with long delays, if at all. The European Court of Human Rights, set up to deal with individual violations of human rights, cannot hope to cope effectively with systematic human rights abuse of the Chechen scale via individual complaints. Lamentably, no member state or group of member states has yet found the courage to lodge an interstate complaint with the Court.

8. The result is a climate of impunity which encourages further human rights violations and which denies justice to the thousands of victims, embittering the population to a point where the Chechen Republic could truly become ungovernable. If a meaningful political process is to develop in the Republic, human rights violations must stop and those responsible for past abuses must be brought to justice.

9. To ensure that human rights are respected in the Chechen Republic in the future, the Assembly recommends that:

i. Chechen fighters should immediately stop their terrorist activities and renounce all forms of crime. Any kind of support for Chechen fighters should cease immediately;

ii. Russian forces be better controlled and discipline enforced: all relevant military and civilian regulations, constitutional guarantees and international law, including humanitarian law and in particular the relevant provisions of the Geneva Conventions and the protocols thereto, and the European Convention on Human Rights as well as the European Convention on the Prevention of Torture, should be fully respected during all operations, including full co-operation with the prokuratura
before, during and after such operations;

iii. in so far as the security situation allows, troops should be confined to their barracks or withdrawn from the Chechen Republic altogether;

iv. all those suspected of committing abuses be fully investigated and, if found guilty, severely punished in accordance with the law, regardless of their rank and position;

v. the recommendations of the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights should be implemented immediately by the Russian Federation;

vi. the Russian Federation authorise the publication of the reports of the CPT without further delay.

10. To ensure that those responsible for abuses be brought to justice, the Assembly:

i. demands better co-operation from the Russian authorities with national and international mechanisms of redress, both judicial and non-judicial;

ii. calls on member states of the Council of Europe to pursue all avenues of accountability with regard to the Russian Federation without further delay, including interstate complaints before the European Court of Human Rights and the exercise of universal jurisdiction for the most serious crimes committed in the Chechen Republic;

iii. considers that, if the efforts to bring to justice those responsible for human rights abuses are not intensified, and the climate of impunity in the Chechen Republic prevails, the international community should consider setting up an ad hoc tribunal to try war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Chechen Republic;

iv. urges Russia to ratify the Statute of the International Criminal Court without delay.

[1] Assembly debate on 2 April 2003 (13th Sitting) (see Doc. 9732, report of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, rapporteur: Mr Bindig). Text adopted by the Assembly on 2 April 2003 (13th Sitting)

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Recommendation 1600 (2003) [1]

1. The Assembly refers to its Resolution 1323 (2003) on the human rights situation in the Chechen Republic. It reiterates its belief that there will be no peace without justice in Chechnya.

2. The Assembly believes that urgent action is necessary to counteract the climate of impunity which has developed in the Chechen Republic over the last decade. Those guilty of past human rights abuses committed by both sides to the conflict must be brought to justice without further delay, and further human rights violations must be actively prevented.

3. Considering that the efforts undertaken so far by all actors involved, starting with the Russian government, administration and judicial system, but also by the Council of Europe and its member states, have failed dismally to improve the human rights situation and to ensure that past human rights violations and particularly war crimes are adequately prosecuted, the Assembly recommends that the Committee of Ministers:

i. reorient its assistance programmes in the North Caucasus towards an amelioration of the human rights situation in the Chechen Republic as the priority objective, and allocate sufficient funds to these programmes to make a real difference;

ii. ensure that non-governmental organisations active in preventing and documenting human rights violations in the Chechen Republic, as well as those assisting their victims in different ways, are involved in the said assistance programmes;

iii. take all possible measures to increase the effectiveness of the current mandate of the Council of Europe experts working in the Office of the Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms in the Chechen Republic as regards their possibility of influencing the human rights situation;

iv. urge the Russian government to fully comply with the recommendations addressed to it in paragraphs 9 and 10 of Resolution 1323 (2003) on the
human rights situation in the Chechen Republic;

v. if the efforts to bring to justice those responsible for human rights abuses are not intensified, and the climate of impunity in the Chechen Republic prevails, consider proposing to the international community the setting up of an ad hoc tribunal to try war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Chechen Republic.

4. Furthermore, the Assembly decides to petition the Committee of Ministers by virtue of paragraph 1 of its 1994 Declaration on compliance accepted by member States of the Council of Europe and recommends that the Committee of Ministers instruct the Secretary General to make contacts, collect information and furnish advice on the human rights situation in the Chechen Republic in accordance with paragraph 4 of its 1994 Declaration on compliance with commitments.

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Order No 586 (2003) [1]

1. The Assembly refers to its Resolution 1323 (2003) and Recommendation 1600 (2003) on the human rights situation in the Chechen Republic.

2. The Assembly instructs its Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights to report back to it at one of its 2004 part-sessions on the implementation of these texts and also on the recommendations of the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights.

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Source: Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

http://www.watchdog.cz

PACE backs a Chechnya Tribunal

Thursday, Apr. 3, 2003.

The Moscow Times

By Nabi Abdullaev

Staff Writer In a sharp rebuke to Russia, European lawmakers on Wednesday agreed that a war crimes tribunal for Chechnya should be formed if Moscow fails to take a tougher stance on human rights violations in the republic.

Lawmakers in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe voted 97-27 in support of a resolution paving the way for the tribunal modeled on the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Ten lawmakers abstained.

The resolution, drafted by PACE's human rights rapporteur for Chechnya, German lawmaker Rudolf Bindig, criticizes both Russian troops and Chechen rebels for human rights abuses committed in the republic.

The vote infuriated Russian officials, who have strongly opposed the idea of a tribunal since Bindig first raised it about three weeks ago.

"There won't be a tribunal on Chechnya, and there won't be PACE in Chechnya as well. None of their representatives will travel to the republic," Dmitry Rogozin, the head of the Russian delegation to PACE, said in televised remarks from Strasbourg, France.

"We will use today's vote to close the issue of Chechnya in PACE once and for all," he said.

"Raising the issue of setting up some tribunal is absolutely out of place," said Akhmad Kadyrov, the head of the pro-Moscow Chechen administration.

The head of the Federation Council's foreign affairs committee, Mikhail Margelov, said PACE does not reflect the current reality of Europe and should be reformed. Russia will submit reform proposals shortly, he said, without elaborating.

Bindig delivered a harsh report to the Parliamentary Assembly that accused both Chechen rebels and Russian troops for human rights abuses. "Impunity encourages further human rights abuses," he was quoted by Interfax as saying.

Bindig, citing documents from the Russian Prosecutor General's Office, said prosecutors have opened only 162 cases concerning crimes committed against Chechen civilians since the ongoing conflict began in late 1999. Of those cases, only 57 have been sent to court.

"In the majority of the cases, the final verdicts are not issued and guilty parties are not identified," Bindig said.

Bindig, who Russian officials have accused of sympathizing with the rebels, sharply criticized the rebels for carrying out attacks on pro- Russian Chechens and for the hostage-taking raid on the Moscow theater in October.

In the resolution passed Wednesday, PACE calls on Chechen rebels to immediately stop terrorist activities and denounce all forms of crime. The Russian government is urged to take tougher measures to ensure that troops do not commit human rights abuses and to severely prosecute servicemen found guilty of abuses, regardless of their rank.

The resolution says that if Russia fails to step up efforts to bring guilty parties to justice, PACE will recommend to the international community that a war crimes tribunal be set up for Chechnya.

President Vladimir Putin's envoy on human rights in Chechnya told PACE earlier this week that a tribunal would torpedo Moscow's hopes for bringing peace to the republic and compromise last month's constitutional referendum.

"The idea of a tribunal is being supported by the destructive forces opposed to a political settlement in Chechnya," Abdulkhakim-Sultygov said.

Bindig cast doubt on the referendum in his report to PACE. The constitution, which subordinates Chechnya to federal law, was approved by an astounding 96 percent of voters on March 23, according to election officials. Turnout was about 85 percent.

Bindig said he doubted such a high turnout was possible in the war- torn republic. He also pointed to criticism from Russian human rights groups about new names being added to voter lists at the last minute and about the large number of soldiers and their families who were allowed to cast ballots.

Bindig said it would be an "illusion" to believe that the situation in Chechnya would go back to normal after the referendum without prosecutors and courts boosting their efforts to punish war criminals.

Council of Europe parliamentarians call for an end to the ''climate of impunity'' in the Chechen Republic

April 2nd 2003 · Council of Europe

Strasbourg, 02.04.2003 - If the efforts to bring to justice those guilty of human rights abuses are not intensified, and the climate of impunity in the Chechen Republic prevails, the international community should consider setting up an ad hoc tribunal to try war crimes and crimes against humanity in the republic, according to the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly.

In a resolution adopted today by a majority, the Assembly - which brings together parliamentarians from 44 European democracies, including the Russian Federation - said that so far everyone involved had "failed dismally" to protect the people of the Chechen Republic from human rights abuses, and said the main reason why both Russian soldiers and Chechen fighters went on committing such abuses to this day was that "they nearly always get away with them".

"Criminal investigations of gross violations by Russian forces and Chechen fighters are (…) few and far between, depressingly ineffective and mostly fail to secure convictions in court - if they reach that stage, which is rare," the parliamentarians said, debating a report by Rudolf Bindig (Germany, SOC) on behalf of the Assembly's Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights. They warned that without a tangible improvement in human rights, all attempts at pacifying the region were "doomed to failure".

Among other recommendations, the Assembly called on Council of Europe member states to lodge inter-state complaints against the Russian Federation before the European Court of Human Rights and to exercise "universal jurisdiction" for the most serious crimes committed in the Chechen Republic. Russian forces should be better controlled, discipline enforced, and all relevant military and civilian regulations, constitutional guarantees and international and humanitarian law fully
respected. Chechen fighters should immediately stop their terrorist activities and renounce all forms of crime, while any kind of support for them should cease immediately.

http://www.watchdog.cz

Chechen Republic of Ichkeria Ministry of Foreign Affairs Official Statement: "We welcome PACE's call for an international tribunal"

03/04/2003

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria welcomes a decision of the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly on Wednesday to call for setting up an ad hoc international tribunal for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Chechnya if "climate of impunity continues" (Resolution 1323, Article 10, iii).

We reaffirm our determination to offer full and active cooperation with such a tribunal and hope that the Council of Europe will show consistency and commitment on this issue.

Press Office of the Chechen Foreign Ministry

Rogozin comments to PACE

02.04.2003

Parliamentarian suggests cutting Russian contribution to Council of Europe STRASBOURG.

April 2 (Interfax) - Chairman of the Russian State Duma international affairs committee Dmitri Rogozin has put forward an initiative to cut Russia's contribution to the Council of Europe.

"We are insisting on reducing payment to the Council of Europe. We are among the principal payers and every year transfer [to the Council] $25 million, down to the last penny, only to hear what we have just heard," Rogozin told the press in Strasbourg on Wednesday after PACE passed a new resolution on Chechnya. The resolution includes a suggestion to consider setting up a special tribunal for war crimes in Chechnya.

Commenting on the debates on the resolution, Rogozin said, "We could well have heard this at home, we also like to criticize ourselves."

The parliamentarian proposed that the money saved from cutting Russia's contribution to the Council of Europe be spent on improving jails in which Chechen guerillas are held. "This money would be better spent on improving jails in which members of illegal armed formations detained in Chechnya are being held so that they can be kept in more or less decent conditions," he said.

The Russian delegation has also suggested that Chechnya no longer be discussed at PACE. "We will not discuss this matter any more, we are shutting down this issue. We will not consult with PACE as regards a political settlement in Chechnya," he said.

At the same time, he noted that Russia in April will hold negotiations on Chechnya with a European Parliament delegation, which is capable of making "more balanced decisions" on the issue.

PACE - Russia feud over Chechnya revived

TEXT: Svetlana Sukhova of Itogi for Gazeta.Ru

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has passed a resolution recommending that the international community should set up a war crimes tribunal for Chechnya, similar to that for the Former Yugoslavia if Russia and Chechen rebels fail to prevent further human rights abuses in the war-torn republic.

The decision, which was completely unexpected for Russia, was passed in spite of the fierce protests from the Russian delegation and despite PACE's official recognition of the results of the constitutional referendum in Chechnya. The Russian side responded by threatening to cut their payments to PACE.

Nothing turned out as planned for the Russian delegation in Strasbourg on Wednesday. The Assembly backed the initiative of German human rights expert and head of the PACE Legal Affairs and Human Rights Committee, Rudolf Bindig, who lambasted both the Russian government and Chechen separatists for their failure to observe human rights in Chechnya and proposed setting up a war crimes tribunal. Only a day earlier the majority of the European deputies had backed a
motion striking out the mention of a war crimes tribunal from the text of the draft resolution on Chechnya. However, on Wednesday the Assembly voted 97-27 in support of the document calling for the tribunal to be set up.

The head of Russia's delegation, the head of the State Duma's foreign affairs committee, Dmitry Rogozin, explained the abrupt change by the fact that the Russian side insisted on Mr. Andreas Gross of Switzerland to lead Thursday's debate on Iraq. Mr. Gross's anti- American position on the events in Iraq is well-known and his appointment as a rapporteur on Iraq along with a UK representative, is expected to lead to a scandal on Thursday.

In response to Moscow's ''attack'' on the US-British coalition, holds Rogozin, many European lawmakers refused to support Russia's proposal to exclude the war crimes tribunal provision from the draft resolution on Chechnya.

The Russian delegation applied all possible efforts to have the tribunal clause excluded by initiating a dozen amendments to the text of the documents. The Europeans refused to pass any of the amendments proposed by the Russians, regardless of how they were presented. For instance, the Russian delegation suggested replacing the definition of tribunal with the phrase ''the existing international justice procedures''. However, the socialists blocked that amendment.

In the final text of the Wednesday resolution on Chechnya, PACE suggested that the international community consider establishing a special tribunal for military crimes and crimes against humanity in Chechnya. It would be authorized to examine all such crimes committed in the region if Russia fails to step up efforts to ensure that those guilty of human rights violations are brought to justice, and the atmosphere of arbitrariness and lawlessness in the republic prevails.

The initial reaction from the Russian delegation was one of fury. Sergei Yastrzhembsky, main Kremlin spokesman on Chechnya, said the Council of Europe's move ignored changes in the region, primarily the overwhelming support in last month's referendum for a constitution anchoring Chechnya within Russia. ''The decision is politically harmful because it runs counter to prevailing new developments in Chechnya's political situation after the referendum, which point to peace and stability,'' he said in a statement.

Russia's deputy prosecutor general, Sergei Fridinsky, quoted by Interfax news agency, also denounced Wednesday's resolution, saying it lacked all legal foundation. ''It is blatant interference in legislation governing justice and Russia's legal system,'' he said.

Rorozin, too, did not hide his anger: ''We have received the according message from you, but we all know that there will be no tribunal. And the worst thing in politics is to look ridiculous. And you are ridiculous. Henceforth, we will discuss the Chechen issue at home and will condemn all those that are guilty, but without you.''

Rogozin said that now that the new constitution in Chechnya has been adopted and law and order is being restored, PACE delegations would no longer be allowed to inspect the situation in the republic unless they choose to come as tourists. The Chechnya issue is closed and will not be discussed in PACE anymore, Rogozin said.

Furthermore, the Russian deputy suggested that Russia might cut its contribution to the Council of Europe. ''We are insisting on reducing payments to the Council of Europe. We are among the principal payers and every year transfer [to the Council] $25 million, down to the last penny, only to hear what we have just heard,'' Rogozin told journalists in Strasbourg. Commenting on the debates on the resolution, Rogozin said ''We could well have heard this at home, we also like to criticize ourselves.''

The parliamentarian proposed that the money saved from cutting Russia's contribution to the Council of Europe be spent on other things. ''This money would be better spent on improving jails in which members of illegal armed formations detained in Chechnya are being held so that they can be kept in more or less decent
conditions,'' he said.

Russia's threat to cut its payments to PACE could be damaging for the Assembly since Russia is one of the principal donors to the Assembly's budget. Admittedly, according to Gazeta.Ru sources, in truth the decision on reducing payments did not directly result from PACE's decision on the Chechnya tribunal. The Russian delegation informed PACE's budget committee of its decision as early as Monday, when the tribunal threat still seemed unlikely. The proposal on setting up the war crimes tribunal for Chechnya was first tabled by Rudolf Bindig last month, but initially most Europeans agreed that the idea was unviable.

Vladimir Zhirinovsky, the outspoken ultra-nationalist, actively backed the proposal to establish a tribunal: ''It has to be formed, so that all those who are guilty of kindling the conflict in Chechnya find themselves in the dock, and we know that those gentlemen are now sitting in London, in Warsaw, and in other states. And they are present in this hall, too. You will all find yourselves in the dock some ten years from now if the tribunal is set up… all of you, even those who will have retired by then.''

The next step is likely to be nothing special. PACE's recommendation on setting up the Chechnya tribunal is a blow to Moscow, but one with few serious consequences.

Firstly, only the UN Security Council is authorized to set up such tribunals, and Russia is a permanent member with a veto. Secondly, it is noteworthy that PACE recommends setting up the tribunal provided Russia fails to step up efforts aimed at bringing those persons guilty of war crimes and human rights abuses in Chechnya to task, which means that Moscow still has a chance of dealing with the problem on its own.

03 April 14:43

Putin's aide slams PACE resolution on Chechnya

13:31 Apr. 3, 2003

The PACE resolution providing for the possibility of setting up a war crimes tribunal in Chechnya is legally pointless and politically harmful, said Russian presidential aide Sergei Yastrzhembsky.

"This decision is legally pointless because PACE's opinions are just declarations that cannot have any legally binding consequences," Yastrzhembsky said on Thursday. "The PACE decision is politically harmful because it runs counter to a vector towards peace and stability, which has become dominant in the development of the political situation in Chechnya after the referendum," Yastrzhembsky said. He suggested that the PACE deputies who supported the possible
establishment of a special tribunal for war crimes in Chechnya "chose this awkward course in an attempt to soften disagreements that arose in Strasbourg because of the absence of Council of Europe representatives at the recent referendum in Chechnya".

//Interfax//

Kadyrov denounces tribunal proposal

Apr 03, 2003

MOSCOW - The head of the Kremlin-backed administration in Chechnya on Wednesday denounced a European call for creating an international tribunal for alleged war crimes in the fight between Russian forces and separatist rebels.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, the continent's top human rights watchdog, passed a report calling for the tribunal and said "those responsible for past human rights abuses committed by both sides to the conflict must be brought to justice without further delay."

Russian troops are alleged by Chechens and human rights groups of killing and torturing civilians during so-called "mopping-up" searches for rebels, and of rapes and looting. Although Russian officials have acknowledged that abuses occur, they react angrily to criticism and point to accusations against the insurgents, including
kidnapping and violence against pro-Moscow Chechens.

"Raising the issue of setting up some tribunal is absolutely out of place," Akhmad Kadyrov, the head of the Chechen administration, was quoted as saying by the news agency Interfax after the vote.

Before the vote at the assembly in Strasbourg, France, President Vladimir Putin's human rights envoy said the approval of a new Chechen constitution in a referendum last month launched an irreversible peace process.

"Russia has made a gigantic step toward setting up a system of elected state structures that will ensure human rights and freedoms in Chechnya," Interfax quoted Abdul-Khakim Sultygov as saying. Sultygov advocated "a very wide amnesty" for rebels as the key to a lasting solution.

The Kremlin recently voiced support for a wide amnesty. Officials have suggested it could include everyone who did not play a role in apartment house bombings and hostage-takings.

Earlier offers of clemency were vague, stipulating that participants in terrorist attacks would not be eligible. Russian officials interpret "terrorism" widely, often including attacks against troops in the term.

The Kremlin raised the possibility of a broader amnesty in the run-up to the March 23 referendum on the constitution, which confirms that Chechnya is part of Russia but leaves open the question of how much autonomy it will have.

Human rights organizations say the vote took place under extreme pressure in conditions of war and is no substitute for negotiations with the rebels - an option the Kremlin has ruled out.

Meanwhile, rebels attacked Russian positions 15 times in the past 24 hours, killing three troops and wounding eight others, an official in the Chechen administration said.

Two servicemen were killed and one rebel captured in a clash outside the village of Shali. One Chechen policeman was killed and another wounded in a clash outside the village of Alkhan-Yurt, the official said on condition of anonymity.

Near Tolstoy-Yurt, an army vehicle exploded on a land mine, killing two troops, the official said.

/The Associated Press/Seleznyov: PACE not resolve Chechnay crisis

Seleznyov: PACE not to resolve Chechnya crisis

Apr 03, 2003

MOSCOW - 'Members of the European parliament are not interested in resolving the political and socio-economic situation in Chechnya,' State Duma Speaker Gennady Seleznyov has announced. As a Rosbalt correspondent reports, he said this today while commenting on the results of discussions on the Chechnya issue at the spring session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).

PACE is in a world of its own and can not see the progress which is being made in Chechnya,' said Mr Seleznyov. 'Certain members of the European parliament are prejudiced against Russia and this is not helping the peace process in the Chechen Republic. They need a conflict zone which they can visit and build a political career on.'

In Mr Seleznyov's opinion, the results of the recent referendum in Chechnya left PACE members 'very despondent. At the latest session they tried to make Russia soften its denunciation of the Anglo- American attack on Iraq but Russia refused. Then they decided not to discuss the Chechnya issue any more. You can't call it serious politics, it is just blatant political intrigue,' said Mr Seleznyov.

/Rosbalt/

Call for Chechnya war crimes court denounced

Apr 03, 2003

MOSCOW - Russia on Thursday angrily denounced as "politically harmful" a suggestion by a European human rights body that a war crimes tribunal could be set up for the troubled Russian region of Chechnya.

Sergei Yastrzhembsky, main Kremlin spokesman on Chechnya, said the Council of Europe's move ignored changes in the region, primarily the overwhelming support in last month's referendum for a constitution anchoring Chechnya within Russia.

"The decision is politically harmful because it runs counter to prevailing new developments in Chechnya's political situation after the referendum, which point to peace and stability," he said in a statement.

Russia's deputy prosecutor general, Sergei Fridinsky, quoted by Interfax news agency, also denounced Wednesday's resolution as "lacking all legal foundation."

"It is blatant interference in legislation governing justice and Russia's legal system," he said.

The parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe, a prominent but largely powerless human rights and democracy watchdog, backed the creation of a war crimes tribunal if the rights picture did not improve in Chechnya.

Russian troops have often been accused of resorting to harsh methods in their efforts to stamp out a separatist insurgency extending over most of the past decade.

After being humiliated in a 1994-96 war, the Russian army returned to Chechnya in 1999 to end the region's three-year de facto independence. Troops have established nominal control but failed to stamp out armed resistance by Chechen separatist militants.

But President Vladimir Putin and other officials have pointed to the referendum as evidence that Chechens wanted peace while being governed within Russia. The vote is to be followed by elections for a Chechen president and assembly.

Russian officials have been particularly indignant about periodic criticism of the anti-separatist drive by the Council of Europe, one of the few pan-European bodies of which Russia is a full member.

Western criticism of Russian policy in Chechnya has been more subdued since the September 11, 2001, attacks on U.S. targets as many leaders accepted Moscow's arguement linking Chechen rebels to international terrorism.

/Reuters/

PACE resolution on Chechnya leaves Moscow with raised eyebrows

2003-04-03

MOSCOW, APRIL 3 (from RIA Novosti's Alexander Smotrov) -

The Russian government does not know what to make of the latest Chechnya resolution adopted by the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly
(PACE), the Russian Foreign Ministry says.

In this resolution, the PACE, created to uphold democratic values, shows disregard for the outcome of the March 23 referendum in Chechnya, with most of that Russian republic's residents having come behind the new draft constitution. Luckily, the document is an advisory one, and will not have any practical implications for Russia, ministry spokespeople say.

The Russian side believes that the recent referendum in Chechnya "put a full stop in the talk about the legitimacy of Aslan Maskhadov and his criminal regime, dealing an overwhelming blow to the strivings of the Chechen separatists and their associates abroad," the Foreign Ministry points out in a statement.

The ministry top find it hard to say whether the latest resolution arises from PACE's myopia or from its unwillingness to see what actually goes on in Chechnya. Neither can they explain why the European MPs had turned down Russian counterparts' proposal to supplement the resolution with a passage welcoming the prospect of amnesty in the republic.

"Those who have encouraged the Parliamentary Assembly into making this odious decision must have been seeking to place the PACE outside the political process in Chechnya," the Russian side concludes.

International Helsinki Federation Wants to Probe War Crimes in Chechnya

Melanie Sully Vienna
03 Apr 2003

AP Photo: Chechen Zinaida Israilova holds a photo of her disappeared daughter Luiza

The International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights wants the international community to set up a tribunal to try war crimes and crimes against humanity in Chechnya.

Human rights defenders want a war tribunal modeled on the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia to bring justice to those guilty of human rights abuses in Chechnya.

The International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights supports a resolution passed Wednesday by the Council of Europe that calls for such a tribunal.

In Moscow, a Russian spokesman for Chechnya dismissed the proposed court as "judicially meaningless" and described the initiative as politically harmful.

The International Helsinki Federation says Russia has failed to prosecute persons who committed human-rights violations in the 1994- 1995 conflict. It adds that Russian soldiers and Chechen soldiers continue to violate human rights today because they know they can get away with it. Brigitte Dufour, deputy director of the International Helsinki Federation in Vienna, said a tribunal is necessary. "It seems clear more than ever now that only an independent, international tribunal could finally bring justice to all Chechen victims of massive violations of human rights and humanitarian law there," she said.

Last month a constitutional referendum was held in Chechnya. Ms. Dufour said the ballot, organized by the Russian military, was one of the most illegal and manipulated in the entire post-Soviet period. "It was done in a way that was reminiscent of Soviet times, that was clearly a farce," she said.

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