Chechnya's secret slaughter

[Aidoneus]

Chechnya's secret slaughter

Russian troops put on trial for bus atrocity to appease opinion

Nick Paton Walsh in Grozny
Sunday December 14, 2003
The Observer

Dusk was falling on the farm in the Chechen hills. Four men and a woman cowered in the freezing mud of a ditch. Above them were a group of Russia's elite troops who had mistakenly shot up a civilian bus, killing one man, headmaster Said Alaskhanov, during a bungled stop-and-search operation.

Over the static of their radio, the order allegedly came to clean up the mess. The five were pulled from the ditch and told to run. They were shot as they fled.

In the second high-profile case of its kind, the Russian military have opened the trial of four soldiers for murder, in a bid to show troops are accountable for atrocities committed in the separatist republic - where murders are perpetrated daily.

The last such case was that of Yuri Budanov, jailed for 10 years for the rape and murder of an 18-year old Chechen girl. His imprisonment was seen as a token gesture from the Kremlin.

--snip--

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,1106676,00.html

[bemildred]

1. It just grinds along, doesn't it?

Every few days I check on google news, and there
are some more dead Russians and some more dead Chechens.
Meanwhile the retards in Moscow are immobilized by the
political consequences of doing anything different.

[Aidoneus]

2. those retards in Moscow have reason to panic

haven't been following things as closely, but it's not looking well from their position (though one would never, ever, get the idea from official announcements).

An AWOL in Istanbul tells me that the army began to sweat over the summer when the casualties (killed/injured) of the occupation forces & collaborators averaged around 2 dozen weekly; it's twice that the last couple months. To the political & economic bosses this means nothing, so the only noticable difference in presentation was that the declarations of victory and backpatting were ratcheted up so nobody would notice. The occupation forces are getting more hostile & aggressive in their daily routines (if such a thing was possible), for example the mountain village they destroyed after a recent ambush. Skirmishes from locals have been more frequent among the Ingush and further west in the other republics, and most recently the battle in Daghestan (ongoing?). While still small, anti-war demos in Moscow are a regular feature.
Not sure how recent shakeups in Georgia & Azerbaijan fit in.

[bemildred]

3. My impression (sitting here) is that the dustups in

Georgia and Azerbaijan involve Western meddling, and
that while the Russians would like to do more about
them, they have not the military means. It seems disputable that
the US and it's cronies have the means to really control
things in Georgia too, I expect a continuing descent into
chaos there. Azerbaijan I don't know, the political situation
seem much more stable. But this is all rank speculation.

I didn't know about the demos in Moscow, but then perhaps
they are tired of being blown up and attacked over this,
not to mention the other forms of wastage.

[Aidoneus]

6. their reactions should be interesting, all the same

Read passing references from a couple Russian sources that they now have some 400,000 soldiers & special police units massed in the north Caucasus/south Russia region (largest such concentration in Europe, and comperable to the army that eventually chased down Shamil in the 1800s).. figure something is up with a display of force like that, in light of recent events. The Batumi disagreement is probably linked, as some sort of balance to the American meddling.. the Abkhaz may do so something in the same spirit to Russia's benefit if the new regime appears as being aggressively hostile to Russian interests and subservient to US interests (as Saakashvili would be predictably inclined to be).

On the other hand, the recent battle in Daghestan is perhaps a commentary how effective even that is. Several dozen fighters of a joint Daghestani/Chechen/pan-Caucasus unit slip in and out through the mountains as they please, hit border posts at will, then slip in and out a bit more before finally leaving. The authorities claim it was a hostage-taking mission, but the only people that seem to have been taken were a local doctor and a civilian to treat some of the wounded, everybody involved released without harm.

Russia's anti-war displays are still small, but a regular event of a few dozen to several hundred people holding banners and such.. couldn't find the specific recent mention of them that I was looking for on GoogleNews (I'll look later for the particular reference), but found instead something about ANSWER that pleasantly surprised me--the next March 20th event on their agenda is plans for an "International day of action" against the occupations of Iraq, Palestine, & Chechnya (as a continuation of discussions of "Europe's forgotten war" from the last World Social Forum).

[bemildred]

7. That's a lot of troops.

I have read in a number of places that the Russian Army is
generally not an organized force these days, a Potemkin
Army so to speak. It they actually attempt to do anything
with it, then we shall see. The little episode in Dagestan
does seem indicative.

Georgia has been subject to centrifugal tendencies for some
time now, and the reach of central authority has always been
questionable since the USSR disintegrated. Outside Tibilsi
you are on your own. I can't see how US meddling could fix
that, nor any efforts by Russia. There simply are not the
organized forces available to bring to bear. They would just
be another criminal gang among many, and possibly not the most
competent or best equipped. Nonetheless they will try, eh?

The Moscow demos are interesting in conjunction with the WSWS
piece on the elections and methods of rule in use now, it suggests
the sort of disjunction between the rulers and the ruled that
can lead to further disintegration over time, as in the USA,
although in Russia the process is much further along, as an
examination of their demographic, economic, and social situation
indicates.

Edit: centripetal -> centrifugal

[LoneStarLiberal]

8. The Russians Are Well Up The Creek

On one level it is really not too terribly accurate to call Russian military forces in Chechnya an "army." That term has an implicit organizational structure in it that much of the Russian military forces in Chechnya do not possess. They are not too far away from devolving into a 21st century version of one of the numerous 17th century armies that ranged throughout present-day Germany during the Thirty Years' War, sacking, raping, and pillaging for revenge and survival.

Their pay (when it comes) is abyssmal, life as an enlisted man is worse than Hobbes could have imagined (as much from the deprivations of their own officers and NCOs as from the wily Chechen enemy), and the only motivating force for an enlisted man is basic survival. How can they win? They can't. But they can sit there, take casualties, and destroy region for anyone else interested in it (like the residents) instead.

I fear that any hope of a peaceful existence in the several Russian republics of the Northern Caucuses and any hope of a peaceful existence in Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijin for the citizens of those republics and countries is a very long way off. Too many rulers, whether elected or unelected, in this region have a sultanic view of their office; that is they view their position as an opportunity to leech off the state's revenues (Aliev in Azerbaijin for example) or to use the state's structures of power to extract resources from its citizens (take your pick of the nbig-necked goons running the show particularly in Dagestan, Ingushetia, and "north" Ossetia).

It's not a matter of bringing democracy to these places; it's more a matter of could democracy have a chance of taking seed in the first place? My outlook is pessimistic.

[IndianaGreen]

4. Chechnya is a human rights tragedy

The alcoholic Boris Yeltsin started this war of oppression, and Putin has followed in his footsteps with as much brutality as Saddam used to put down the Shia rebellion at the end of the Gulf War.

Putin has not hesitated to used poison gas and indiscriminate bombings of civilian areas in a desperate attempt to put down the legitimate desire of Chechens to be free of the Russian jackboot.

Putin is America's friend, and this is why the American media will never disclose the horrors of his filthy little war.

[Aidoneus]

5. some others from my bookmarks while I'm at it

it seems BBC Monitering translates some Daymohk news material now.. good, don't have to put up with Babelfish's atrocious translations.

chechnya.blogspot.com/ & groups.yahoo.com/group/chechnya-sl/ are useful collections that are very attentive.

haven't posted here as much lately, might as well make it up all at once.

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"Special operation" by Chechen Special Forces to liberate Arjan Erkel

The editorial staff of the Chechen Times has learnt that a Chechen special force on December 13 carried out a special operation in the Tsuntinsky district of Daghestan to liberate the member of the organization "Doctors Without Borders", citizen of the Netherlands Arjan Erkel, who, according to preliminary information, was seized by members of the RF FSK more than a year ago and kept in captivity under the guise of a "kidnapping" in the mountain area of Dagestan, near the border with Chechnya. The editorial staff of The Chechen Times doesn't have any available information if Arjan Erkel was liberated from Russian captivity as a result.

We will follow the course of events and keep our readers informed.

<16.12.2003 12:26> The Chechen Times

http://www.chechnya.nl/news.php?id=7854&lang=eng

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Russian troops kidnap and kill civilians

Chechen human rights organizations have reported fresh crimes committed by Russian military formations in the occupied Chechen territory and in neighbouring Ingushetia. The information centre of the Council of Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) and the press service of the Chechen National Salvation Committee (CNSC) regional public movement reported that groups of Russian military bandits and military collaborators are continuing to kidnap and kill civilians in Chechnya.

According to the same source, in the village of Alkhan-Yurt in Urus- Martanovskiy District of Chechnya, about 10 days ago, Russian bandits kidnapped four locals: Israilov, 23; Isayev, 17; Yahyayev and Magomadov, 18. Their relatives have failed to find the young men kidnapped by the occupiers. Residents of Alkhan-Yurt staged a mass protest action and blocked the Rostov-Baku highway. The residents are demanding that the hostages be released. It became clear later that several days after the kidnapping Isayev and Magomadov were freed by the bandit groups. However, the plight of Israilov and Yahyayev is still unknown.

The press service of the CNSC also reported that on 9 November, a group of armed people dressed in camouflage kidnapped Ibragim Tovsultanov, a resident of Dzhokhar and took him away in an unknown direction. Eyewitnesses said the kidnappers were in several cars. The kidnappers forced Tovsultanov into one car and drove away in an unknown direction. Nothing is known about his fate.

--snip--

http://www.chechnya.nl/news.php?id=7206&lang=eng

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Four Russians occupiers destroyed as a result of military operation in Urus-Martan
http://www.chechnya.nl/news.php?id=7927&lang=eng

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Protest action of the residents of Shaami-Yurt

A mass protest action is taking place in the village of Shaami- Yurt in Chechnya's Achkhoy- Martan District. The reason for the rally is that Russian servicemen kidnapped a local resident a few days ago. A search for the young man, who was taken away by the military from his own house, yielded no results. His fellow villagers blocked the road leading from the village to the district center of Achkhoy-Martan, demanding that the authorities immediately find and free the young man.
<17.12.2003 11:23>

http://www.chechnya.nl/news.php?id=7897&lang=eng

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Crimes of Russian occupiers in Chechnya
Russian military bandits are continuing arbitrariness on occupied Chechen territory, abducting civilians for a ransom and committing murder during their systematic bandit attacks in many settlements in the republic, the information sources of Chechen NGOs say.

The press service of the Chechen National Salvation Committee reports another wave of a hunt for young people by Russian armed bandits in Chechen towns and villages. So-called clearance operations are continuing in Grozny, Gudermes, Argun and other towns. These operations are being carried out mainly by groups of armed collaborationists from the so-called Chechen OMON and Kadyrovites.

Several young people were detained following a "passport regime" check in the Kirov settlement near Grozny. Names of the detainees are being verified, the press service of the Chechen National Salvation Committee reported on Tuesday 9 December.

The information center of the Council of NGOs reports that two young people were detained by Russian bandit groups at the central market in Grozny on 6 December. Witnesses say that several masked armed bandits in military uniforms stopped two young men, checked their papers and took them away. When people inquired why the men had been detained, one of the military criminals said that "the detainees will be set free after a check". Names of the hostages are being verified.

--snip--

http://www.chechnya.nl/news.php?id=7803&lang=eng

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13/12/2003
Press release: Russian troops wiped out a Chechen village.

According to a report of the Council of Chechen Nongovernmental Organizations, last Sunday, December 7, Russian military, burning down every house, killing local civilians and slaughtering cattle, entirely razed to the ground a mountain Chechen village Dzumsoy.

This is yet another Russian crime against humanity in Chechnya, committed under the orders of the current Russian regime - the same regime that, we are told, is a friend and a partner of the world’s most developed democracies.

Press-Office

http://www.chechnya-mfa.info/print_news.php?func=detail&par=102

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NGOs report persecution, killings of Chechen civilians
The Council of Chechen NGOs has reported several cases when young Chechens were detained on the pretext of passport checks and then disappeared, and Chechen civilians were killed in Russian missile attacks. According to some reports, 600 Chechen women blocked roads to the pro-Moscow administration in Grozny on 6 December, demanding that their missing sons be found and released.
<12.12.2003 11:09> DAYMOHK News Agency

http://www.chechnya.nl/news.php?id=7802&lang=eng

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