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TITLE: War and Crime in Chechnya |
AUTHOR: |
DATE: January 22, 2001 |
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An open letter from the Chechnya Committees of France to the members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe On 25 January 2001, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe will hold yet another debate - the sixth since the beginning of the conflict - on the situation in Chechnya, and will examine the question of the Russian delegation's voting rights, which have been suspended since April 2000. In view of the fact that Russia has fulfilled none of the requirements set by this Assembly, we solemnly ask you not to restore the Russian delegation's voting rights. No other sanction having been imposed, the restitution of voting rights cannot fail to be interpreted by the Russian government as a tacit authorisation to pursue its current policy. Such an authorisation may be tantamount to complicity in what may be an act of genocide. Indeed, in the face of the magnitude and the gravity of the crimes committed by Russian troops in Chechnya, as well as the impunity of the perpetrators, the question may be legitimately framed in these terms. The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia defines Genocide to mean "any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such: killing members of the group; causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; ." Human rights organisations have amassed much documentation on cases of killing and inflicting serious bodily and mental harm to members of a group - the Chechen people. Summary executions, artillery and aerial bombardments, arbitrary arrests, humiliation, ill treatment and torture are incessant occurrences on Chechen territory. The catastrophic conditions of existence of the Chechen people, both on the territory of the Republic and in Ingushetia, can only be explained by the Russian government's deliberate refusal to honour its obligations toward the refugees. So much so, that the presidential representative for human rights, V. Kalamanov, has threatened to bring a legal action against the Minister of Migrations and Refugees for dereliction of duty. Whether there is a deliberate intention to destroy the Chechen people or whether their extermination is an "unforeseen" consequence of Russia's policy, the result in either case is the extermination of a people. We do not wish to enter into a controversy over a word, but to put an end to a massacre which has been continuing for well over a year. Chechen fighters resisting Russian troops have also been responsible for human rights violations, and the frequency of attacks on individuals accused of collaboration with the Russian authorities has increased. However, the scale of these violations is in no way comparable, and the two sides can certainly not be considered equivalent. The Council of Europe must not seek to spare the Russian parliamentary delegation on the grounds that they have "no responsibility" for the military operations and crimes, nor hope to "talk the matter over" with them. The Russian representatives, with a few notable exceptions, have offered no opposition nor condemnation of the military operations or accompanying human rights violations. Nor can the desire of the Council of Europe to "keep in contact" with Russia be a valid excuse to give way to Russian demands and blackmail. A recent statement made by the head of the Russian delegation, D. Rogozine, to the parliamentary representatives of the Council of Europe - "if you don't lift the sanctions, we won't let you into Chechnya any more" - shows the meaning the Russian authorities attach to cooperation. As to the three Council of Europe experts, they may be the only representatives of any international organisation present on Chechen soil, but for the last nine months their presence has in no way contributed to bringing the continuing serious human rights violations to public knowledge, nor to stopping them, nor to furthering the cause of justice. They should therefore be recalled as quickly as possible to avoid compromising the Council of Europe still further. If Europe needs Russia, Russia needs Europe. Successive backings down and demonstrations of passivity are interpreted by Russia as signs of weakness, and constitute a risk factor for European security as a whole. In this context, the abduction of the representative of Médecins sans frontiers Kenny Gluck should not be used as a pretext for the suspension or halting of urgent humanitarian aid brought to Chechnya by various intergovernmental and non governmental organisations such as the HCR, the ICRC, the European Union and the Office of the Council of Europe for Humanitarian Aid. There is no reason why the international community should adopt official Russian arguments whereby isolated acts of terrorists or bandits justify the persecution of an entire people. Indeed, the question of the Russian authorities' responsibility was brought directly into focus by Russian troop commander V. Baranov's declaration that he "controls 100% of Chechen territory". We call upon those responsible for Gluck's abduction to release him without delay. In any case, it would be criminal to deprive 300,000 Chechen refugees in Chechnya and Ingushetia. We are writing to you, the members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, because yours is the only international institution whose resolutions have taken a firm stand toward the Russian authorities. We realize that the power of the Assembly is limited, when not accompanied by true political will on the part of its member governments. But these limitations cannot be an excuse for failing to attempt all that is in your power to do. Members of the Parliamentary Assembly also have a voice in their own national parliaments, moreover, and are members of political parties, some currently in power. Therefore, we call upon the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, - on Monday 22 January, - to challenge the Russian delegation's voting rights when the votes on the national delegations' voting rights are taken, - on the occasion of the debate on Chechnya on 25 January, - to recognize that the violations of human rights committed by Russian troops in Chechnya constitute crimes against humanity; - to ask the various institutions that have suspended their humanitarian aid to reconsider their decision, even if they will no longer send in expatriates, - to maintain the suspension of the Russian delegation's voting rights, and if these rights were recovered during the session of 22 January, to vote a new resolution for their suspension, - to request anew that member states envisage taking Russia to the European Court of Human Rights, - to empower the Commissioner of Human Rights, Mr A. Gil Robles, to assure that this procedure is put into effect, - to renew your request to the Ministers' Committee to immediately begin a procedure for the suspension of Russia from the Council of Europe, and to firmly reprove the attitude of the Ministers' Committee for having failed to act upon previous recommendations to do this. We also ask the President of the Parliamentary Assembly, Lord Russell-Johnston, to address a request to the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan asking him to bring the question of the war in Chechnya before the Security Council. Chechnya Committee of Paris, 21ter rue Voltaire, 75011 Paris 06 14 02 74 52 Chechnya Committee of Strasbourg, 1a, place des Orphelins, 67 000 Strasbourg Chechnya Committee of Clermont-Ferrand, 68 rue des Meuniers, 63000 Clermont-Ferrand END |