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TITLE: Canada Could Help End Chechen Horror |
AUTHOR: David Morley |
PUB: National Post |
DATE: January 2, 2000 |
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One year ago, as he accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the volunteers of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), Canada's Dr. James Orbinski made a plea to the Russian government to stop their reign of terror in Chechnya. "It is the sick, the old and the infirm who cannot escape," Orbinski said. "If conflicts and wars are an affair of the state, violations of humanitarian law, war crimes and crimes against humanity apply to us all -- as civil society, as citizens, and as human beings." Next week, as the President of Russia meets with the Canadian government, the horror in Chechnya continues. The Russian army has installed a state of terror, perpetrating acts of violence: arbitrary executions and police sweeps, arrests, disappearances and extortion. Russian forces have transformed Chechnya into a vast ghetto where every civilian is a suspect, and freedom of movement is denied. Even the sick and wounded are prevented from passing through military checkpoints. After months of intensive bombardment, the people of Chechnya are trapped in a confrontation with soldiers whose impunity gives them free rein to act as they please. MSF teams working with the Chechens have heard countless stories of indiscriminate shootings, arbitrary arrests, beatings, disappearances and summary executions. One doctor in Urus Martans puts it simply. "It's impossible to live here. They arrest people all over the place -- for no reason. For young men, it's dangerous to be anywhere on the street. They pick them up and take them to army headquarters. They beat them. Torture is common. "In the past two months, we've seen a lot of people who were previously arrested," says a doctor in Grozny. "They suffer from multiple injuries. Fractures, head injuries. Several said they had put some kind of metal wires over them and shocked them with electricity. They are so scared that most of them come out not talking. They try not to come to the hospital, because we register them. None of them file any complaints. They don't want to go through that hell again." Another surgeon in Urus Martans concurs. "I have seen a lot of them with burn marks on their bodies. Usually on the back or on the chest. In some cases there were electric burns. They tell me what happened to them. They said they take two wires and put them together on their skin. You can tell by the marks on their bodies. There is a small burnt point, surrounded by a black and blue mark." The war has ravaged Chechnya. A surgeon in Grozny describes the conditions in one of the cities best hospitals. "We get about 15 severely ill patients a day. About a third of them should be hospitalized. But we can't do this. We just don't have the necessary conditions here. We don't have the beds. We don't have the rooms. We don't even have any toilets." Many hospitals and clinics were destroyed by indiscriminate bombing by the the Russian military. "When there was the blast last week," recounts another surgeon, "21 people with severe injuries were brought here -- people with multiple and complex trauma. The blast happened right near Hospital No. 2, but that was bombed to Hell, so they had to come here. Eight needed immediate abdominal surgery with general anaesthesia. But we already had an operation under way when they were brought in. We only have two operating tables with anaesthetic equipment. Seven of the eight patients who needed urgent and major surgery died." "Births are the most dangerous problem," says another doctor. "There is very little pre-natal care now. Women wait until there is a crisis to go to the hospital. But who is going to risk travelling at night? It's too dangerous." This state of terror keeps the international media out of Chechnya. With almost no witnesses to these atrocities, the Russian army can carry out its unrelenting campaign of terror with impunity. The shocking silence of the international community and the reluctance of any Western government to call the Russian government to account for their actions against Chechen civilians means that we are all complicit in these crimes. Next week in Ottawa, Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, is meeting with Jean Chrétien and other Canadian government officials. The Prime Minister has a historic opportunity to show global leadership and call the Russian government to account for the continuing abuse of basic human rights and violations of international humanitarian law in Chechnya. Canadians should expect nothing less from our government. The horror in Chechnya has gone on for far too long. It must be stopped now. David Morley is Executive Director of Médecins Sans Frontières Canada. MSF has medical relief programs for displaced and injured Chechens in Chechnya, Ingushetia and Georgia. END |