RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 7, No. 112, Part I, 16 June 2003

Cechen president's envoy brands Basayev a war criminal.

In a 16 June interview with grani.ru that was reposted on chechenpress.com, Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov's envoy Akhmed Zakaev explained that Maskhadov aintains contact with radical Chechen field commander Shamil Basaev primarily with the aim of trying to dissuade him from launching suicide attacks and said that Basaev does not coordinate his military activities with Maskhadov.

Zakaev said Maskhadov does not approve of such methods. He added that the participants in such suicide attacks are not religious fanatics but "people consumed with a desire to avenge their tormented sons, their slain infants, their raped daughters." He said that at present Maskhadov and Basaev have a common enemy in the Russian military, but that in peace time Basaev was always Maskhadov's political adversary. "When peace comes, our government will definitely try to arrest and bring to trial all war criminals," Zakaev said.

Zakaev also said that the"overwhelming majority" of Chechen field commanders and rank-and-file fighters support Maskhadov. LF