Italian European presidency backs Putin's policy in Chechnya

Just some info so that everyone may have a taste about the level of the actual European presidency with regards to Chechnya.

On http://europa.eu.int/comm/ebs/schedule.cfm [Wednesday, Chechnya: Council and Commission statements - External Relations (European
Parliament, Strasbourg)] everyone with some broadband can see and listen to Mr. Frattini (Italian foreign minister, voice of the European
presidency of the prime minister Berlusconi for the next six months) and many others welcoming his statements.

Here are only some brief excerpts (my very crude translation).

"...Russia has the right to defend its territorial integrity and combat terrorism".

Without naming him directly, Zakayev is recognized as "a principal exponent of the Chechen resistance" (obviously no word about his trial
in GB).

According to him there is "the important initiative of institutional reforms initiated by President Putin and the new constitution approved
by the local referendum".

"This path should be encouraged by the international community, in particular by Europe, the Council and the OSCE".

[Putin's] design is "of a broad autonomy and ample powers to local organisms [in Chechnya] in the Russian Federation".

"Military contingents and checkpoints have been diminished in order to favor a normalization".

"The 23 march referendum with 89% of participation has been, as it is well known, amply in favor of the constitutional project. This shows
that the Chechen population ... has chosen for the political solution and to remain in the Russian Federation. At the same time this has
shown that Maskhadov lost the recognition of the civil society".

"The referendum is only the first step of a political transition."

"As everyone knows there are 200 prosecution going on against Russian soldiers who committed abuses..."

The Union will help the OSCE (which should be restored) to build a "good governance" in Chechnya.

The EU will "make any effort to encourage the recent political process so that it may lead to the state of rights and the reconstruction of an
economical and social texture. The Union agrees to judge positively the beginning of the institutional process of President Putin in Chechnya."

"An amelioration of the human rights standards of the Chechen population will be a concrete and strong consequence and, I dare to say
an almost automatic consequence, of the institutional process ignited [by Moscow]".

It goes without saying that "in particular Chechen terrorism" has been condemned, but obviously there was no clear condemnation of the Russian
atrocities.


Well....this is the level of understanding of the situation in Chechnya and the sincerity of the European presidency which recently began.
Apparently no reasons to be optimistic: Europe will back the genocidal policy of Putin more than ever. M.M.