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Russia must make
effort to end Chechen war: US envoy
MOSCOW (AFP) - Russia must make a serious effort to find a political solution to the war in Chechnya and wake up to the fact that it is being driven by nationalist feelings, the US envoy to Moscow said in a further toughening of Washington's stance. "Certainly there are links between Chechen terrorists and the international terrorist networks such as al-Qaeda. Both money and weapons and technology for dangerous weapons, like dangerous *poisons, are coming in from outside, from al-Qaeda sources," US ambassador to Russia, Alexander Vershbow told students in Moscow. "There is an international dimension. But it is nationalism which is driving the Chechen problem. Russia needs to make a more serious effort at a political solution to the Chechen problem. "It doesn't mean negotiating with terrorists, it means reaching out more effectively to the Chechen population, giving them a political process in which they can take control of their own destiny," he added. The United States had toned down criticism of the festering guerrilla conflict after Russia joined the US-led war on terror after the September 11, 2001 attacks, backing Moscow's line that it is fighting terrorists in Chechnya in the mainly Muslim republic. But last month amid a cooling of ties between the former Cold War foes, US Secretary of State Colin Powell raised concerns about the Chechen war as well as backsliding on democracy in talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Vershbow said rebels in the separatist republic did have links to the al-Qaeda network, which was providing them with money and weapons. But the high-ranking US diplomat insisted Moscow had to face the reality that the more than four-year conflict was primarily driven by nationalist feelings among the Chechen population. The US envoy in particular criticized the October 2003 presidential elections in Chechnya, which were resoundingly won by handpicked Kremlin administrator, Akmhad Kadyrov, and slammed for irregularities by rights groups and journalists. "The presidential elections in Chechnya could have been a step forward in that regard. But unfortunately only Kadyrov was left as a serious candidate. An opportunity was missed. "Russians do need to face up to the nationalist dimension of the Chechen problem," Vershbow said. Russian troops poured into the republic in October 1999 after a series of deadly apartment bomb blasts blamed on Chechen rebels, but the conflict has degenerated into guerrilla warfare that has killed 5,000 soldiers according to the official toll and thousands of civilians.
CHECHNYA: Open letter from Olivier Dupuis to Romano Prodi Strasbourg, 12 February 2004. The Radical MEP Olivier Dupuis, now on the 25th day of his hunger strike "for Chechnya", yesterday sent an open letter to the President of the European Commission, Romano Prodi, in which he illustrates the objectives that the European Union could and - in his opinion - should set itself: - to call on the Russian authorities to allow international organisations, NGOs, journalists and, of course, the institutions of the Union to work and circulate freely in Chechnya; - to guarantee security and dignified living conditions for the hundreds of thousands of Chechen who are living, often in inhuman conditions, in refugee camps both inside and outside the borders of the Russian Federation, without even enjoying the protection of refugee status; - To draw up, on the basis of article 14 of the EU Treaty, a "white list" of Chechen politicians charged with promoting the search for a peaceful and political solution to the Russo-Chechen tragedy, allowing them to reside and travel freely throughout the territory of the Union; - to acknowledge officially that the deportation of the entire Chechen people ordered by Stalin in 1944 constituted an act of genocide; - to acknowledge publicly the Peace Plan presented by the Maskhadov government, which proposes the establishment of an interim United Nations administration in Chechnya. The open letter concludes with Olivier Dupuis' offer to meet Mr Prodi in order to illustrate these objectives in more detail. Together with the letter, Olivier Dupuis also sent the President of the European Commission a copy of the book on the tragedy in Chechnya by the American photographer Stanley Greene. You can support
the Peace Plan presented by the Maskhadov government by signing the
appeal on www.radicalparty.org =====
CHECHNYA: the hidden genocide of yesterday and today. Over 100 people have already announced their intention to join the fast from 20 to 23 February Brussels, 13 February 2004. Over 100 people from Albania, Belgium, Chechnya, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Laos, Lithuania, Romania, Russia, Sweden, United Kingdom and the United States have joined the Satyagraha - a collective fast - promoted by the Transnational Radical Party, which will take place from 20 to 23 February, the three days preceding the commemoration of the deportation of the Chechen people in 1944. On 23 February, in fact, demonstrations will take place in various European capitals on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the deportation of the Chechen people, during which a third of the population died of starvation, cold and disease. Olivier Dupuis, Radical Member of the European Parliament, reaches the 26th day of his hunger strike "for Chechnya" On 18 January Olivier Dupuis began a hunger strike in order to urge the highest authorities of the European Union and of the Member States finally to address the question of the Chechen genocide from a political and humanitarian point of view. He is calling in particular for acknowledgement of the existence of the Peace Plan presented by the Chechen government, which proposes the establishment of an interim United Nations administration in Chechnya, with the disarmament of all the Chechen resistance groups and the withdrawal of all the Russian military and civilian forces. The demonstrations on 23 February: - Brussels, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in front of the European Council (Rond Point Schuman); - Copenhagen, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., two demonstrations, one in Raadhuspladsen, outside the Town Hall, and the other outside the Russian Embassy; - Moscow, from 12 p.m. in Piazza Lubjanka, in front of the monument to the victims of Stalinism; - Prague, at 5 p.m. in Namesti Miru; - Rome, in front of the seat of the government (Palazzo Chigi, Piazza Colonna), times to be confirmed; - Vilnius, at 4 p.m. in front of the Town Hall. The demonstration on 22 February: - Berlin, from 12 p.m. in Pariser Platz (Brandenburger Tor). You can support the Peace Plan of the Maskhadov government by signing the appeal on www.radicalparty.org =====
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