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TITLE: Labor Lawmakers Urge Action on Chechnya |
AUTHOR: |
PUB: Associated Press |
DATE: January 3, 2001 |
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Influential officials from Britain's ruling Labor Party urged Britain and the European Union on Tuesday to take tougher action on Russia's human rights record in Chechnya. Glenys Kinnock, a member of the European Parliament's foreign affairs and development committees, said that Britain and the EU should demand an independent inquiry into the Russian military's actions in the war-ravaged province. "Impunity is simply not an option as far as what has happened in Chechnya is concerned," Kinnock said in a radio interview with the British Broadcasting Corp. "We need a credible and transparent investigation from the Russian authorities ... but up until now nothing has happened and maybe we are reaching a point where some kind of strong action needs to be taken," she said. Human rights advocates and foreign governments have accused Russian forces of indiscriminate bombardment and brutal treatment of civilians during the 15-month-old war. The current pro-Russian administration in Grozny has so far prosecuted only a handful of Russian servicemen. Labor peer Lord Judd said on the same BBC program that Britain's handling of the Chechnya situation went against the Labor government's pledge to establish an ethical foreign policy. Judd said that Prime Minister Tony Blair was right to reach out to Russian President Vladimir Putin, but he criticized the extravagant welcome given Putin during an April visit to Britain, Putin's first trip to the West after winning a March election. "It is not either-or, is it? You bring them on but you leave them in no doubt and keep up the pressure," he said. END |