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Chechen peace process held
hostage
By Sergei Blagov
MOSCOW - The ongoing hostage crisis in Moscow
has dealt a critical blow to official claims of a new
political stability in Russia, reviving concerns over
the armed conflict in Chechnya as well as in the region.
Initial reports indicate that the approximately
40 armed attackers who seized a theater audience of
about 700 as hostages belong to a group headed by Movsar
Barayev, a nephew of Arbi Barayev, a Chechen field
commander who was killed recently in a Russian
operation. Barayev has been quoted as saying that the
gunmen went to Moscow "to die" and that 40 Chechen
widows had joined in the attack.
Arab satellite
television station al-Jazeera showed a tape of what it
said was one of the black-clad male rebels saying, "Each
of us is ready to sacrifice for God and the independence
of Chechnya. We seek death more than you seek life." The
hostage takers are demanding the withdrawal of Russian
troops from Chechnya
The theater, a former
culture center near Proletarskaya metro station, was
staging a performance of the popular musical Nord-Ost
based on the novel Two Captains by Veniamin
Kaverin. In all, 711 tickets had been sold in the
1,163-seat hall for the Wednesday show.
Children, Muslims and some foreigners who
produced their passports have been allowed to leave,
while some have managed to escape. The Russian media
have reported that the hostage takers allowed Georgian
nationals to leave the theater.
The issue over
Georgians is a loaded one. President Vladimir Putin says
that the hostage move was planned in a terrorist center
"abroad" of Russia. The presidential finger clearly
seemed to point to Pankisi Gorge in neighboring Georgia,
where thousands of Chechen rebels are based.
Tensions between Russia and Georgia reached
boiling point last month after Putin ordered the
military to prepare for strikes into Georgian territory,
this after blaming Georgia for sheltering Chechen
rebels, who are fighting for an independent Muslim state
from Russia.
Bilateral tension receded after
Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze, in the face of
the saber rattling, agreed to joint border patrols and
to the extradition of suspected Chechen terrorists in
Georgian custody, but he has remained under diplomatic
fire from the Kremlin.
Keen to avoid accusations
of complicity, Shevardnadze lost no time in condemning
the hostage taking, and pledged security cooperation
with Russia. Georgia's State Security Minister Valery
Khaburdzaniya even offered troops to help deal with the
crisis. However, many in Tbilisi are unwilling to take
any action that might anger Chechens lest they become
the target for such attacks as that on the Moscow
theater.
Indeed, whatever the level of Chechen
activity in Pankisi Gorge, the root of the problem lies
in Chechnya itself where the presence of more than
80,000 Russian troops has failed to stop the fighting.
In an attempt to calm the situation, some
members of the Chechen Diaspora in Moscow said that they
were ready to offer themselves as hostages, according to
news reports. The hostage-taking is "absolutely
senseless" said chief administrator for Chechnya, Akhmad
Kadyrov.
The State Duma deputy from Chechnya,
Aslanbek Aslakhanov, tried to negotiate with the rebels
at the theater, warning them that their actions could
spark anti-Chechen feelings in Russia. Ruslan
Khasbulatov, a prominent Chechen and former speaker of
the Russian parliament, denounced the rebels, but warned
that the crisis was a byproduct of continuing operations
by Russian troops.
Putin, facing his biggest
challenge in two and a half years in power, has scrapped
plans to meet US President George W Bush at the weekend
in Mexico and canceled trips to Germany and Portugal to
deal with the drama.
The official Russian media
has been saying that life in Chechnya has been returning
to normal. But Russian troops suffer almost daily
casualties from rebel attacks. Separatists have also
killed local pro-Moscow village chiefs, and tried to
intimidate anyone cooperating with the federal
authorities.
The Russian army retook Chechnya in
1999 after it was beaten by separatists in 1996. More
than 3,000 Russian servicemen have died in the course of
the "second Chechen war", according to official
statements.
Russian troops repeatedly search
Chechen villages in operations known as
zachistki, or cleansing. The searches are
officially aimed at checking documents and locating
rebels. But there have been numerous allegations of
abuse and looting by troops. Russian officials describe
the operations as "tough but necessary".
Critics
of Russian policy in Chechnya have demanded talks
between Putin and Chechen leader Aslan Maskhadov, who
has been declared an outlaw by the Kremlin.
The
Russian government ordered extra security measures all
over the country on Thursday, and security was
reinforced also at key buildings thousands of kilometers
from Moscow. Armed forces are on standby for action
"anywhere, any time, in Russia," the Interior Ministry
said.
(Inter Press Service)
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