June 26th 2003 · Prague Watchdog

Chechens claim amnesty guarantees no pardons for rebels


Timur Aliev, Northern Caucasus – The amnesty, as written, does not mean that rebels will receive pardons. At a round table discussion in Grozny june 24th, members of Chechen society and the intelligentsia discussed this issue under, “Chechnya after the Referendum: The New Threats.”

“According to Article 317, amnesty does not apply to anyone whose activities may have threatened the lives of law enforcement officers,” said Usam Baysayev from the human rights organization Memorial, “and so this includes practically all the guerilla fighters.”

Memorial cited the case of a rebel group headed by Abubakar Magomadov that had surrendered near the town of Komsomosk on March 21. “Immediately after appearing on television, 13 of the men were shot. The soldiers then cut off the head of one victim and placed it in a pail of boiling liquid. Seventy other captives were later transported to Alkhan-Kala where several received 3 to 5 year sentences, so amnesty will certainly never be granted them,” Baysayev declared.

He also claims that televised scenes showing the surrender of guerillas are primarily orchestrated for Russian viewers.

Edilbek Khasmagomadov, a political scientist from the Lam Cultural Center said that in order to defeat political terrorism in Chechnya it would be necessary to politically isolate the radicals. “An overall amnesty is not enough; what is needed is a political amnesty that would include the full spectrum of political parties,” he maintains.

He also believes that the authorities do not want this to happen. “It is unfortunate that on a political level, separatism and terrorism are merging,” he stated, adding that a political reform of separatism is necessary.

Nadirsolt Elsunkayev from the Center of Humanitarian Studies of the Chechen Republic thinks that strengthening national power within the republic might be a common meeting ground for Kadyrov and Maskhadov. “Kadyrov wouldn’t mind being just a Kremlin appointee, but a strong leader in Chechnya as well,” he stated.

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