TITLE: Letter to Lord Russel-Johnston, Parliamentary Assembly Council of Europe

AUTHOR: Tilman Zuelch

PUB: Society for Threatened Peoples

DATE: January 23, 2001

Lord Russel-Johnston President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Fax: 0033 388 412796 Goettingen, January 17th 2001   Dear Lord Russel-Johnston, On January 25th 2001 the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council on Europe will decide whether to suspend further the voting rights of the Russian delegates to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe or whether to reinstate their rights to vote. When the voting right was withdrawn last year we appreciated this step very much as it underlined the european resentment at the bloody war in Chechnya. Though nearly nine months passed the AssemblyEs recommendations as to how the situation in Chechnya could be improved were not followed by the russian government. Given the massive human rights violations in Chechnya and the humanitrian catastrophe in the refugee camps of Ingushetia we appeal to you today not to reinstate the voting right for the Russian delegates. This would be a wrong signal to the Russian leadership which is responsible for the genocide in Chechnya. The war in the Republic of the Northcaucasus still goes on: regularily mopping-up operations are conducted where civilians are harrassed and often arbitrarily detained. The Russian airforce still bombs the southern part of the country. There are still about 8.000 mostly young men in the so called filtration camps. The republic is closed to humanitarian aid, independent monitoring of human rights violations and independent journalists. As the AssemblyEs delegation to Chechnya led by Lord Judd found out, the human rights situation in Chechnya has rather changed to the worse than to the better. The russian government is not committed to a political solution and an end to the war against the civilian population. In fact the situation is still characterized by total lawlessness, arbitrariness and a humanitarian catastrophe for the internal and external refugees in Chechnya and Ingushetia. We therefore appeal to you, Lord Russel-Johnston, to use your influence to convince the Parliamentary Assembly not to reinstate the voting right for the Russian delegates of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. Furthermore try to pressure the Russian government into making sure that Chechnya is opened up for independent human rights monitors and for international humanitarian organisations. Thank you very much in advance. Sincerely Tilman Zuelch President Society for threatened peoples Society for Threatened Peoples Germany Europe Desk P.O. Box 2024, D - 37010 Goettingen, Germany END top