From: MSN NicknameEagle_wng  (Original Message)    Sent: 10/31/2007 5:48 AM
October 31, 2007

Akhmed Zakaev answers to the CHECHENPRESS’ readers

 

SIA CHECHENPRESS October 31, 2007

 

 

Assalamu Alaikum!
Dear Akhmed, How is interaction between the institutions of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria abroad and CRI institutions at home regulated? Is it sufficiently robust to cope with the tasks facing our state? What is behind the latest reorganisation of the State Defence Committee-Madzhlisul Shura of the CRI?
Iliyas Laramtsa. Ichkeria.

Zakaev: The occupation of the Chechen Republic and subsequent military operations have now continued for nine years. Under war conditions it has been impossible for institutions other than military structures to function effectively. As a result, the legislative and socio- economic activity of our parliament and government has been largely in abeyance. The leaders of the Chechen Republic have decided that now is the time to introduce changes to permit, and indeed oblige, these institutions to start functioning again.

In addition to extending all possible aid to those who are resisting the occupiers by force of arms, the parliament and government need to address themselves to the requirements of the tens of thousands of our compatriots compelled to live in exile from their homeland. We must also be ready to deal with the post-war situation, with rigorous and coherent programmes for restoring the entire socio-economic infrastructure.

Up till now the Chechen national institutions located outside Chechnya have been engaged primarily in presenting the country's case. In today’s circumstances, this is no longer enough.

Question:
I am a citizen of the CRI and simply a patriot of my homeland.
I would like to ask Mr Akhmed Zakaev, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the CRI, whether it is possible under the Constitution of Chechnya to change the name of our country? I would like to suggest renaming it "Nohchalatta". This would follow the European pattern of, for example, Deutschland, “Land” in German corresponding to “latt” in Chechen.
My respects, Russell.
PS. Vezachu Allakh1a tolam loila vai Nokhchiin k”oman eskaran. Allakh1 votsurg kkhin dekha vats, Allakh1 votsurg dala vats!

Zakaev: Our Constitution is an expression of the will of our people. If our people so decides, then most certainly the country, our cities, and many other things can be renamed. To the best of my knowledge, “Deutschland” is the name the Germans gave to their own country. My personal opinion is that we should return to our own name for our country, whether we choose Nohchicho or Vainakh-mohk. At all events, this is entirely something for the people to decide.

Question:
Hello. I have noticed that your website is paying a lot of attention to what is going on in Kosovo. We know the West is intending to recognise Kosovan independence and that Russia is supporting Serbia and opposing independence for the region. What consequences do you think recognition of the independence of Kosovo by the United Nations might have for Chechnya and the rest of the Caucasus? Do you expect Russia to recognise the independence of Transnistria, Abkhazia and South Ossetia?
Marcel, journalist. Ukraine.

Zakaev: The Kosovo situation is certainly interesting. It has come about not least through the actions of Russia, which has a practical interest in seeing Kosovan independence recognised but wants this to take place while officially disapproving. Russia knows that the West for its part will not support independence for Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Transnistria when the time comes for those regions to be officially annexed by Russia.

If we do not stubbornly hide our heads ostrich-like in the sand, we can see that Russia long ago recognised the right of Transnistria, Abkhazia and South Ossetia to accede to the Russian Federation. The world should regard this as Russia’s de facto recognition of their independence.

Question:
Assalamu ’Alaikum!
I am very concerned about our diasporas in Europe. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has a Committee for Liaison with the Vainakh Diasporas. In every European country we have a diaspora, but they are not well organised and lack a clear sense of purpose, a united policy. There is a failure to recognise that we can and should be working in the interests of our country’s future. We have the example of how European diasporas facilitated and were actively involved in creating the Jewish state. Why is there no lobbying for our state interests at the international level (creating a department for lobbying)? We have seen that lobbying is a force which can promote any interests, as was demonstrated by the recent vote in the US Congress when the issue of the “Armenian genocide” was being discussed. The Armenian diaspora in the United States lobbied for this law and Congress adopted it in favour of the Armenians, despite the opposition of Bush.

To summarise my questions:
1) Why is there so little organisation in our diasporas? Why are there no diaspora congresses, or at least meetings between representatives of all the diasporas? Why do they have no specific aims? I have recently been living in France and have to say that our representatives there are doing nothing.
2) What is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs doing, or intending to do, to lobby for our interests at international level?
Barkal. Adam.

Zakaev: Dear Adam, I wholly agree with you. The diasporas which have formed in Europe are of very great importance for our future. Allow me to assure you that work is already being done by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ special Department for Liaison with the Vainakh Diasporas.

Without going into details, I can assure you also that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is by no means sitting idly by. I regularly have meetings with politicians from many countries, but because our Republic is not officially recognised these are on a private basis.

Question:
I'm not convinced that you will reply to my question, but I shall ask it anyway.
Akhmed Zakaev, do you not consider that the British government is applying double standards when it demands extradition of the Russian businessman Andrey Lugovoy, knowing that under Russian law extradition of Russian citizens to foreign states is prohibited. At the same time, the British government is refusing the request of the Russian justice system to extradite you and Berezovsky who are accused of serious crimes, including terrorism and the financing of illegal Chechen armed groups?
Yevgeny Vladimirovich. Moscow.

Zakaev: Yevgeny Vladimirovich, it is no problem for me to reply to your question. You are evidently unaware that a special agreement was concluded between the governments of Russia and the United Kingdom allowing them to extradite individuals, providing that convincing evidence of their guilt was presented. The fact that I and Berezovsky have not been handed over to the Office of the Russian Public Prosecutor results not from double standards on the part of the British legal authorities but from the insubstantial nature of the Russian allegations, which fell apart when scrutinised by the British courts. Please note that the Russian authorities have uttered not a squeak about subjecting the charges against Lugovoy to legal investigation, even by the notorious Basmanny Court.

Question:
As-salaamu Alaikum! I would like to ask Akhmed Zakaev a question.
As-salaamu Alaikum, Akhmed! The present war is not the first to befall our people, but throughout our long history of struggle we have never fully succeeded in achieving our aims. There have been successes, some of which lasted longer than others, but there has never been a conclusive success.

1) Does it not seem to you, Akhmed, that we have once more entered a phase in our history when resistance is gradually weakening, the number of those participating in it is falling, the people is becoming increasingly disenchanted with it, and it, the Resistance, is is dwindling almost to nothing? Something of the sort happened during the Caucasian War after a number of the most outstanding leaders and warriors had been killed or captured and only a few individuals remained. Baisangur continued the resistance for a time, but it was not widespread and gradually faded away after his death. Does the present situation not present certain analogies?
2) I often hear people who come from home say that the majority of our people are tired now of war, politics, and so on. They have become, so to speak, amorphous and are accordingly content with the regime currently in power. Is this the case?
Mairam.

Zakaev: 1) I have to admit that I see no analogy here. When in the past Russia was conquering the Caucasus, Chechnya was the last to lose its independence, fighting off incessant attacks for more than 50 years. What is occurring today is completely different from what was happening in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Today it is Russia which is doomed. Like any other empire, it will gradually lose all the territories it had conquered. It has already lost Transcaucasia, the Baltic States, Central Asia, etc. As regards the killing of outstanding leaders, we have, of course, suffered irreplaceable losses, but it seems to me that it is precisely the ability to produce such leaders which testifies to the strength of our people and its ability to focus on victory.

Russia, pursuing particular individuals, failed to notice that it was losing its war to the people. I consider the Chechen Republic to be fully under Chechen control. The continuing presence in Chechnya of groups of Russian occupiers is a temporary phenomenon.
The reality is that resistance to Russia by the peoples of the North Caucasus has now crossed our frontiers and is occurring in other republics.

2) Of course, our people has become tired of the war. Chechens are no exception to that rule. War is always horrible, bringing with it the suffering and death of those dearest and closest to us. Our people is solving its problems one by one. Up till now the task has been to survive. Insha’Allah, we have succeeded in this.

Question:
As-salaamu Alaikum, Akh’mad!
De dik doil shu, markhnash k”obal doil, kh”ag k”a melekh’ yazdoil shu!
I beg your pardon for writing in Russian, but will do that so that Russian-speaking readers can understand my questions.

I should like first of all to thank the journalists and editors of the Chechenpress State Information Agency for giving us the opportunity of asking questions of the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the CRI, Akhmed Zakaev.

I hope that in future it will be possible to address questions to other political figures on this website.

My name is Ansor and I am studying industrial automation engineering at an industrial institute in Belgium.

I would like to ask the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the CRI, Akhmed Zakaev, three questions:

1) Akhmed, please answer this question as a political analyst. If the independence of Kosovo is recognised, will this affect Chechnya, and will the geopolitical situation in the Caucasus be changed?
2) When the independence of the CRI is recognised, what will the state system be: secular, Islamic, or other? What form of government is to intended: parliamentary (the “Swiss model"), or presidential rule?
3) I would like to know your prediction, if possible, of what awaits Russia after Putin’s departure? Will Russian policy towards Chechnya change?
4) And finally, who is your favourite author?
Barkal. Anzor Laramtsa. Belgium.

Zakaev: 1) I have already replied to your question about Kosovo. I believe that recognition of Kosovo will undoubtedly change a lot. In order not to repeat myself, I will say only that the recognition of Kosovo will force Russia to give up its pretences. I have written about this in detail in my article (see http://www.chechenpress.info/events/2007/07/19/02.shtml), published in mid-July in a German newspaper.

2) I do not consider that such concepts as "secular" and "Islamic" can be placed on the same level, let alone opposed to each other. The term "Islamic" refers to the religious affiliation of a people, while “secular" refers to the nature of a particular system of government, in contrast to “despotic”, “authoritarian”, etc. It seems to me that a parliamentary system is appropriate to our traditions and mentality, where people are equal and not divided into “first-class” and “second-class”. At the same time, everybody knows that the Chechens are Muslims. As regards our present system of government, that is clearly defined in our Constitution (http://www.chechenpress.info/nohchicho/constitution/index.shtml).

I would like to draw your attention to the fact, well attested in our history, that in the period when the Chechens adopted Islam, our forebears lived under a social system which all Russian and Western writers and travellers described as "democratic" or "republican". This confirms that neither our forebears nor the Muslim missionaries who brought the light of Islam to our land saw any contradiction between a democratic system and the religion of Allah (swt). All the current attempts to see a contradiction between Islam and the democratic procedure of electing a government stem either from a failure of understanding or from the pursuit entirely opportunistic goals in politics and geopolitics. There is a well-known saying I have referred to before, and which I would like to repeat again here, that "the Chechens chose Islam as freedom, and loved freedom as Islam!".

3) I do not believe that Putin will give up power. Most likely, he will remain at the helm in the Kremlin even after his supposed departure. I would not, however, see a fixed, indissoluble link between the question of Putin’s continuing in power and the future of Russo-Chechen relations. Momentous processes of change are taking place in the world which are more powerful than individual personalities. I view our future with conscious optimism. I see it as free and flourishing, Insha’Allah!

4) My favourite author is Abdul Hamidov who bestowed on the Chechen people the immortal comedy "Bozh-Ali"!

Question:
As-salaamu Alaikum! Akhmed, I have a question about what provoked your Statement about the Emirate. Is it a fact that an emirate has been proclaimed in Chechnya, or is it just your belief that there is a plan to proclaim one? I would be grateful for your answer.
Apti M. Laramtsa, Aachen (Germany).

Zakaev: Needless to say, if I had not had hard evidence to hand I would not have made so important a statement. I think that everything will become clear very shortly, and that the identity will become known of the individuals who have embarked on this provocative adventure with the aim of totally depriving the Chechen State of its basis in law.

http://www.chechenpress.co.uk/english/news/2007/10/31/01.shtml