Statement by the ChRI Cabinet of Ministers
For the last 16 years there has been a continuous record of violence and atrocities committed on the territory of the occupied Chechen state. The world has chosen to play the part of a dispassionate observer and has abandoned our nation to be torn apart by the Russian Empire. Political expediency and economic considerations have prevailed over the pangs of conscience of eminent world politicians and leaders of international institutions. Instead of objective intervention which they are committed to and which they are engaged in in other parts of the world, they limit themselves to discussions of the Chechen issue. It is not our job at the moment to lecture anyone, but we consider it our right, as victims of state terrorism, to be heard and to demand justice.
We have stated time and time again that our only wish is to have peace and security guarantees for our people. Our requirement to have such guarantees is not a mere whim, given the centuries-old experience of our tragic relations with Russia. The War of the Caucasus in the 19th century, which raged from 1817 to 1864, had cost our nation 60% of its people who were either killed or sent into exile. Under the communist regime decades of annihilation peaked in February 1944 when following the wholesale deportation of the Chechens 50% of our entire population died from executions, starvation, cold and diseases. Such events prompted the European Parliament to pass a declaration classifying 1944 deportations as act of genocide against the Chechen nation. In recent history two Russian-Chechen wars which were a direct result of the "new democratic Russia"'s aggression against Chechnya have led to the physical destruction of 250 000 Chechens - a quarter of the entire population of Chechnya. In other words, notwithstanding the regime or political ideology Russia has always followed the policy of genocide against the Chechen nation, destruction of its culture and ethnic and linguistic identity, a violent suppression of its freedoms and human rights. These are the circumstances which make the question of peace and security guarantees a question of life and death for the Chechens, in the proper sense of this word. Moreover, given both the historical data and present day events in Russia, it is clear that there can be no such guarantees for the Chechen people within the framework of the Russian Federation.
Evidence of the unchanged nature of the Russian political course and absence of any prerequisites of any future changes are the multitude of facts which testify to Russia presenting a greater danger and being more aggressive towards its colonies and other sovereign countries. In Russia itself, with the tacit approval of the highest echelons of power, an unbearable climate has been created for members of the opposition and other ethnic groups. In larger cities, and first and foremost, in the Russian capital itself, there is open chauvinism and xenophobia, while news agencies report daily facts of racist or nationalistic murders. The idea of imperialist revanchism masked by the slogans of 'national renascence' , in a typical Russian fashion, is implemented through large scale bloodshed and persecutions of human rights activists. Politicians, journalists, NGOs and human rights activists, who expose regime's crimes, are persecuted by the authorities with every possible means, including straightforward murders. None of the investigations of such murders have been properly completed.
There is an occupation regime in place in Chechnya, as well as the entire North Caucasus. It is based on open terror campaigns waged against the local population. One should also adduce the recent initiative of the Russian leadership concerning mandatory DNA tests for all residents of the North Caucasus, akin to the methods used by Adolf Hitler when he made all Jews wear a yellow star sign. After many years of tests in the Caucasus, the Kremlin regime has taken its campaign of terror against its political enemies beyond its national borders. Some of the most notorious cases of this kind have been the murder of the former ChRI President Zelimkhan Yandarbiev in Qatar and the first-ever nuclear terrorist attack carried out against the critic of the Kremlin regime Alexander Litvinenko in London. Yet Russia commits crimes using both fascist groups and secret services but also its own armed forces. Its direct aggression against Georgia which resulted in the annexation of a considerable part of the Georgian territory is a case in point.
Despite the criminal nature of the Kremlin regime the Chechen leadership considers it important to reiterate that under no circumstances shall we choose the terrorist solution. We fully understand that having chosen the way of terror which would completely deprive ourselves of the future and would sentence our people to prolonged suffering without any international support. We clearly stated the same position earlier and we are still committed to it. As members of the Resistance Movement, involved in all the political processes, we clearly see who initiates and who carries out all the acts of terror, which are attributed to the Chechen side by the Russian leadership. Investigations carried out by courageous Russian politicians, patriots and journalists (Anna Politkovskaya, Yuri Schekochikhin, Sergey Yushenkov and Alexander Litvinenko - who were all subsequently murdered) have unequivocally demonstrated to the world that the most notorious terrorist attacks which the Russian authorities have tried to charge Chechens with, such as bomb explosions in various appartment blocks in Russian cities, Dubrovka theatre siege, Beslan and others) were committed under the auspices of the Russian secret services. It is worth noting that none of the above mentioned attacks have been properly investigated nor have their real perpetrators been brought to justice.
Commissioning and carrying out terrorist attacks with the help of their own henchmen, including those who position themselves as "armed opponents of Russia', the Russian leadership infringes upon the basic human rights of its citizens, including the right to elect leaders of national autonomies. At the moment the Russian "triumphators" are planning to practically abolish the very notion of a national autonomy by amalgamating all nations of the North Caucasus into one administrative region. However, in order for such decision to be implemented they need another pretext, stressful for Russian citizens and palatable for the Western friends of Vladimir Putin which would be able to justify the Russian government's initiative. We state that the Russian secret services are planning another inhumane terrorist attack the responsibility for which will be claimed by Dokka Umarov or one of his closest assistants. We state that the responsibility for this act and its potential consequences will rest squarely with the leadership of the Russian Federation.
Chairman of the ChRI Cabinet of Ministers
Akhmed Zakaev
http://www.chechenpress.co.uk/content/2010/08/09/main01.shtml
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