Interfax: PACE won't send observers to Chechen referendum
Council of Europe won't send observers to Chechen referendum
Interfax. Monday, Mar. 10, 2003, 3:55 PM Moscow Time
PARIS/MOSCOW. March 10 (Interfax) -
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has decided not to send observers to the referendum on the republic's constitution, Mikhail Margelov, deputy speaker of PACE and chairman of the international affairs committee of the Russian Federation Council, told Interfax on Monday. "PACE has decided not to send observers to Chechnya, although Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Azerbaijan and Turkey supported the idea. However, this decision was made for security reasons, not political*. In the meantime, PACE is very positive about the referendum itself**, and believes it will mean a considerable step towards achieving a political settlement***," Margelov said.
"The European parliamentarians did not doubt that their security would be ensured, but they deemed that they have no right to put the lives of Russian soldiers in danger for their security****," he said. Margelov recalled Council of Europe Secretary General Walter Schwimmer's statement about readiness to work actively with the Chechen administration, including with the parliament that can be elected under the new constitution. PACE on Monday approved the agenda of the next plenary session, which will open on March 31.
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Webauthor's comment:
* Is this Interfax true? But are these people serious? How can someone be so false and also offensive of someone's intelligence? Everyone knows that the simple truth is that they have to reconcile two opposite political necessities: one internal, i.e. that of those who are becoming increasingly nervous about the human rights violations in Chechnya and know that the referendum is a farce and want that it is not recognized, and another external necessity, which is the need not to upset Russia. And perhaps they consider themselves as particularly smart in finding this way out. But this won't work and will make them only more ridiculous.
** So they are "very positive" about the referendum. Fine, then they will have to accept the outcome I suppose. And this also automatically implies that Europe will have to accept Kadyrov and his entourage, or in any case someone who has almost certainly not the sympathies of the majority of Chechens, as the their legitimate representatives and put aside Makhadov (perhaps labelling him as a "terrorist"?). Did they think about what consequences that might have?
*** I'm eagerly waiting to see if this or unfortunately exactly the opposite will become true.
**** That's the last straw. They didn't feel ashamed in keeping perfectly silent about a genocide, and now suddenly feel "no right to put the lives of Russian soldiers in danger". It seems that, according to this Interfax, the majority of PACE members consider us complete idiots.
This is exactly the same disgusting Europe of Munich before World War II. Would Hitler still be alive under another name and resemblance, Europe would certainly welcome him as a "reliable partner".