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TITLE: Putin Offers "Heartfelt Sympathy" Over 1944 Chechen Deportations |
AUTHOR: |
PUB: AFP |
DATE: February 23, 2001 |
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President Vladimir Putin expressed his "heartfelt sympathy" Friday for the victims of Stalin's massive deportations of Chechens exactly 57 years ago -- but stressed that Chechnya remained part of Russia. For the second successive year, and in marked contrast to his predecessor Boris Yeltsin, Putin came close to apologising for the wartime banishment of some 650,000 Chechens and Ingushis to Siberia and Central Asia during World War II. Thousands of the deportees died, either during the long journey or from the cold, hunger and disease experienced during 13 years in exile. In a message to the head of the pro-Moscow Chechen administration Akhmad Kadyrev marking the anniversary of the February 23, 1944 round-up, Putin sent condolences "for all those who took the bitter road of exile, losing their relatives and loved ones." But he added, in the message quoted by ITAR-TASS: "The peoples of our country have a common destiny. We lived together through both the bright and the tragic days of the 20th century. Now no-one will divide us, no-one will sow the seeds of enmity and mistrust." To Ingush President Ruslan Aushev, Putin wrote: "Tens of thousands of people were deprived of their homeland and their loved ones. These crimes can never be justified."*Stressing the tragic nature of the 20th century, he said he hoped the new century would bring "peace and prosperity -- may concord and a life of dignity for the people of the northern Caucasus be the best memorial to those who knew the hardship and pain of exile." A year ago on the same date which Chechen rebels have declared a national holiday, Putin -- then acting president and campaigning for a presidential election scheduled a month later -- issued a message of "compassion" for the Chechens and Ingushis. One of Putin's first decisions after Yeltsin appointed him prime minister in August 1999 was to despatch troops into Chechnya to crack down on rebel activities which Moscow described as Islamic terrorism. The capital Grozny was largely destroyed, and tens of thousands of Chechens forced from their homes. More than 150,000 Chechen refugees are currently living in neighbouring Ingushetia. Last month, and though it has been unable to eliminate guerrilla activity in the Caucasus republic since retaking Grozny last February, the Kremlin announced it was to cut its army presence ahead of a handover to civilian authorities. END |