From: MSN NicknameEagle_wng  (Original Message)    Sent: 8/10/2006 5:44 PM
What can be Done for Chechnya?
Publication time: 10 August 2006, 22:52

I had written two consecutive articles on the Chechen issue under the headline, "A Chechnya Accounting," and tried to develop an approach to the background of this dramatic problem. I promised I would write on what could be done to end this tragic situation, which is rapidly wearing down a nation.

Unfortunately, I was unable to keep my promise until now, because as I was trying to draw attention to the forgotten Chechen issue, the Palestine and Lebanon issues surfaced. The two problems drag on today before the helpless eyes of the world community. Elected Palestinian MPs are still in Israeli jails. As children are being killed in Lebanon and its cities bombarded, western powers are engaged in cease-fire debates that would even make crocodiles laugh.

I doubt I would be able to draw attention to the Chechen issue amid new developments. Nonetheless, it is necessary to deal with this almost-forgotten but challenging problem with common sense. A glance at some statistics released by the pro-Russian government in Chechyna will help understand the magnitude of the problem. Chechnya's Deputy Prime Minister Dukvaha Abdurrahmanov announced that 300,000 people have been killed and over 200,000 others wounded since the war began in 1994. These numbers represent nearly half the Chechen population. One should add the four Chechen leaders killed while fighting for independence, after the era of Dzhokhar Dudayev, to this death toll.

In my two previous articles I emphasized the necessity to evaluate the problem. This is an evaluation of all those associated with the Chechen cause, the Chechen people in particular and answers to the following questions: What strategic and tactical errors have been made during the course of the struggle? Why weren't rogue armed groups and ransom hackers in Chechnya controlled? Was the international conjecture analyzed properly? Could the victory of the Afghan mujahedeens over Soviet Union have been an example for Chechnya? In this context, was independence the right choice? Wouldn't a broad-based coalition, like the one in Tataristan, have been better for Chechnya? What should be done now?

Also in my previous article, I wrote how the Chechens are fervently in favor of independence. However, However, whether this admirable idealism was equally backed by realism was doubtful. This is because it was almost mission impossible for Chechen leaders, under the most difficult conditions, to learn about the world's realities immediately after the disintegration of the Soviet Union. I could hardly find a sincere Chechen leader willing to deliver a pro-democracy speech. A comparison could be made among Bosnian, Albanian and Armenian leaders who were faced with similar problems during those turbulent years.

I think the situation has not changed for the better. Chechens living abroad have serious responsibilities. I wish a convention, representing all Chechens, could be held to find answers to the above-mentioned questions and to develop a vision for the future of the Chechens.

There is a striking point included in reports by international human rights organizations on Chechnya. These reports say most Russian soldiers have returned to their barracks and that most of the raids against the Chechen people are carried out by the pro-Russian government troops. Ramazan Kadirov, the son of former Chechen President Ahmed Kadirov who was killed by Chechen insurgents. According to a Human Rights Watch report, Kadirov is interim prime minister because he is under 30 and is marking his authority everywhere with the help of a security forces that include renegade insurgents.

Many Chechens, who wish to remain anonymous, believe this force is more dangerous than the Russian force. Unfortunately, among Chechens, the war of independence has the potential of turning to a blood shed. Therefore, it is crucial for Chechens to unite and develop a common vision that is compatible with the realities of our contemporary world.

I will continue with "What can be done?" in the next article.

ABDULHAMIT BILICI

Zaman

http://www.kavkazcenter.com/eng/content/2006/08/10/5255.shtml