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TITLE: Ken Gluck's Interview 10 Days Before Kidnapping |
AUTHOR: |
ORG: Glasnost Foundation |
DATE: January 18, 2001 |
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Ten days before Ken Gluck was kidnapped on January 9, he gave an interview to a correspondent of the weekly "Moscow news" that was published in issue no. 3 (16/22 January). In the preface of the interview, journalist Anna Nochuykina writes: "'Doctors without frontiers'" is not like other charity organizations. As a rule, international organizations operate trying not to look around. This organization is not of that kind. Telling about what is going on is sometimes more important for them than curing the wounded." In the interview Mr. Gluck responds to the question whether anything has changed during his work in Chechnya by noting that although the war is officially over, the civilians do not feel that. The weapon is used as often as it was used during the war. Mr. Gluck realizes that his work is dangerous: "You know, it's easier for us, anyway. When you see the locals living in constant danger, you feel awkward to complain." In that issue of the newspaper an article by Sanobar Shermatova analyzing versions of the kidnapping is published. The Russian military and representatives of Chechnya's acting administration announced that the American was kidnapped to receive ransom or to be exchanged for arrested Chechens. The Akhmadovy brothers were mentioned in this respect. It's not a secret that the brothers and the most notorious kidnapper, Arbi Baraev, move across Chechnya without difficulty, even on territory controlled by the federals. "In a republic where even high ranking officials are checked at checkpoints, this phenomenon is difficult to explain," comments the journalist. In Mr. Gluck's case the author of the article suggests other versions: One of them is that he had been pursued for a long time. There were some earlier failed attempts to kidnap him. The criminals did not kidnap any other official of any other humanitarian organization. They chose the very car in which Mr. Gluck was a passenger. The author reminds that in November 2000 Mr. Gluck made a report in Brussels on the hearing on Chechnya. In his report he told about losses among the civilians as a result of military operations. In fact "Doctor without frontiers" accused the Russian military of exterminating the local population. So who was interested in his disappearance? The answer is vividly clear, even without taking into account the opinion of some Starye Atagi villagers who are convinced he was kidnapped by the Russian secret services -- although there is not such clear evidence of that as in the case of Radio "Liberty" correspondent Andrei Babitsky. At the end of the article the author writes: "Usually, the kidnappers wait for a month until the relatives are in despair and ready to negotiate about a large sum of ransom. But the circumstances of Mr. Gluck's kidnapping suggest that the kidnapping was an end in itself." Lord Judde's Top Priority: Mass Extermination Of Civilians After visiting the "Severny" refugee camp in Znamenskoe village in Chechnya, the head of the PACE delegation, Lord Judde, held a press conference in which he said he hoped that Gluck's kidnappers "would understand that that crime affected civilians who will suffer from the halting of humanitarian aid from international organizations." Lord Judde declared that "the problem of mass extermination of civilians in Chechnya is a question of priority for me". The head of the delegation expressed his concern over the shortage of food, clothes, and medicine in the camp, especially considering that 40 percent of the 3,000 people living in the camp are infected with tuberculosis. Lord Judde said he had met the judges who had agreed to work in Chechnya and appreciated their courage. But he is very worried about the activity of the military courts, which have not investigated a single case of the killing of civilians in Chechnya. "They assert that among the suspects there are no military. But there are no such cases in the civil court either". Everybody Is An Enemy 10 operational flights of MI-8 helicopter with thermal imagers installed have been conducted during the last week. The Federal Forces commander in Chechnya declared that 130 different objects and targets were found and subjected to artillery fire. The military await MI-24 helicopters with thermal imagers that can also fire at suspicious objects, which would increase the effectiveness of military aviation. But how the thermal imagers will differentiate a civilian from a separatist is still a military secret. Kadyrov Doesn't Want Ilyasov Ahmad Kadyrov, head of Chechnya's acting administration, told the mass media on January 15 that it is possible that Stanislav Ilyasov will not be appointed to the position of Chechnya's prime minister. Kadyrov suggests his candidate - Abdula Bugaev, Kadyrov's deputy. Kadyrov said that he had told Ilyasov that he (Ilyasov) would come to Chechnya only on the conditions that his family would come there too. (C) 2001 Glasnost Foundation END |