Row over Chechnya 'atrocities' What's left of Grozny's Minutka Square


Saturday, 19 February, 2000 BBC

The United States and Russia have clashed over allegations of human rights abuses by Russian troops in Chechnya.

Russia's Foreign Ministry accused US State Department spokesman James Rubin of "information terrorism" after he urged Moscow to conduct a thorough investigation into what he called "credible reports" of civilian killings in the republic.

A strongly-worded statement said his remarks at a Thursday briefing were "absolutely unacceptable, both in form and content".
 
This is tantamount to co-operating in a campaign of information terrorism.
Russian Foreign Ministry
Washington rejected the charge as "incomprehensible and ludicrous".

"Mr Rubin's statements, which reflect US Government policy, called upon the Russian Government to investigate credible allegations of human rights violations," the State Department said.

The US also demanded an investigation into the disappearance of reporter Andrei Babitsky after he was detained by Russian forces who later traded him in a prisoner swap with Chechens.

Human rights

The sharp exchange over Chechnya came at a time when Russia and the US are taking public steps to thaw relations that have been at their iciest since the Cold War.

Russians blow up a mined building in Grozny
On Thursday, Russia denounced talks in Washington between a visiting Chechen representative and State Department officials.

The latest spat came amid new reports from human rights groups that Russian forces in Chechnya beat, raped and summarily executed civilians suspected of aiding the separatists.

Rachel Denber, deputy director of Human Rights Watch, said 400 people had been taken to detention centres from the Chechen capital, Grozny, alone.

Throughout the Chechen campaign, Russia has been accused of human rights abuses and of using excess force.

It has denied the allegations, and appointed a special envoy, Vladimir Kalamanov, to investigate them.

But speaking to Moscow Echo radio, Mr Kalamanov said: "It is impossible to say that human rights have been completely respected in Chechnya."

At the same time as it said it would investigate reports of violations, Moscow announced plans to put a swift end to rebel resistance.
  Russia: Taking the fight into the mountains
Officers believe a decisive victory is within sight.

Colonel-General Valery Manilov, the first deputy chief of the armed forces' general staff, told a news conference there was no firm deadline for the military operation to end, but if everything went according to plan it would be over in a month.

Fierce fighting

The headquarters of the Russian forces in the North Caucasus said on Saturday that their aircraft had flown more than 150 combat missions over Chechnya in the past 24 hours, the Russian news agency Interfax reported.

It said planes and helicopter gunships targeted Argun and Vedeno districts east and southeast of Groznyy, as well as the Itum-Kale District and the Vedeno gorge in the south of the republic.

The Russians said a number of rebel vehicles, anti-aircraft installations and communication facilities and a relay transmitter were destroyed.

Meanwhile, at least 15 Russian paratroopers were killed when the helicopter in which they were travelling was shot down by Chechen fighters.

Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Rushailo described the incident as "tragic".

As many as 7,000 Chechen fighters are holed up in the rugged remote south of the republic, according to Moscow, where the inaccessible terrain allowed them to launch deadly counter-attacks against Russian forces in the 1994-96 war.
  A Russian soldier checks a Chechen's papers
They say they have been carrying out successful hit-and-run strikes on Russian-held villages near their mountain bases and are regrouping for further assaults.

Russian reports said that prominent Chechen rebel commander, Salman Raduyev, had been killed in fighting on Friday.

Grozny itself was being sealed off, the Russians said, to prevent possible rebel attempts to infiltrate it.

No date was set for the city to be re-opened.

About 25,000 residents have fled Grozny since the fighting began five months ago.

But the fate of thousands of civilians, said to be too weak to escape from the city, remains unclear.

The Coup D’Etat In Moscow Anointed By Chechen Blood

Paris, France
By Eric S. Margolis
Source: Foreign Correspondent


A month ago, this column predicted that Russian hardliners were on the verge of seizing total power in a "stealthy coup." Twenty-six days later, President Boris Yeltsin stunned the world by resigning and handing over power to a junta of KGB "Chekists" and senior generals led by former spy and now Acting President, Vladimir Putin.

Yeltsin agreed to resign in return for immunity for himself and his family from prosecution for massive corruption. The era of Weimar Russia was ended, and the west’s $100 billion plus investment in Yeltsin’s `democratic Russia’ a total loss. The Clinton Administration and its media backers tried to cover up the magnitude of this catastrophe by echoing Russian propaganda claims that Putin and his cronies were `clean;’ `youthful reformers;’ `covert democrats,’ and crusaders against terrorism.

Far from reform, what we are seeing in Moscow is the seizure of political and, increasingly, economic power by younger generation of KGB officers, like Putin, from the old First Chief Directorate(Foreign Intelligence). Forget the beetle-browed KGB thugs of the 1950’s. These 80’s and 90’s vintage agents, particularly those from KGB Lines PR and X, are hard-edged, sophisticated, worldly professionals.

Putin and his junta gained power by whipping up traditional Russian racial and religious hatred for Muslim Chechen, then launching a merciless campaign to exterminate the Caucasian rebels. Moscow, in the usual style of international malefactors, used the Christmas/New Year holidays to mask its attempted storming of the Chechen capital, Grozny, and laying waste to the rest of the tiny republic of 1.5 million people.

The valiant Chechen mujihadin, however, refused to surrender. Some 1,500 Chechen fighters dug into the ruins of Grozny have managed to defend the city against ferocious assaults of some 60,000-80,000 Russian troops for the past month. Russian generals claimed the would conquer Grozny two weeks ago. Russian forces are mercilessly pounding the city to rubble with massed batteries of heavy artillery and heavy rocket launchers, as well as carpet bombing and strikes by ground-attack aircraft and helicopter gunships. Forty thousand Chechen civilians are trapped in the city, cowering in shelters with little food or water.

Russia is violating all norms of warfare and numerous international conventions by making extensive use of fuel air explosive delivered by aircraft and rockets. These weapons release a fine mist of explosive fuel over a target, then detonate. The resulting massive explosions are of enormous destructive power second only to tactical nuclear weapons. All of the oxygen under the blast zone’s football-filed sized footprint is burned up, sucking the air out of the lungs of victims. Devastating overpressure ruptures internal organs and kill anyone sheltering in basements or bunkers.

Grozny and most other Chechen towns have been blasted to ruins by fuel air and conventional explosives. The Russians have showered tens of thousands of anti-personnel mines in the mountainous south in an effort to seal the border with Georgia. Foreign journalists are being kept out of the war zone lest they report details of Russia’s latest slaughter of the rebellious Chechen. Even this writer has received a steady stream of organized threatening email from Russia. Almost all news on the conflict comes from Moscow’s propaganda organs who keep repeating the mantra that Chechen are `Islamic terrorists’ – where have we heard this before - who must be "cleansed."

Ironically, while the US wrung its hands over the possible threat of terrorism during millenium celebrations, Russia was committing one of the worst acts of international terrorism of our era in Chechnya. Washington issued a few tut-tut’s over Russia’s brutal actions, but continued to back Russia with diplomatic support and billions of cash.

As Russian poured shells on the Chechen for daring to seek independence from 300 year’s of brutal colonial rule by Moscow, President Bill Clinton actually described Russia’s siege of Grozny a "liberation." The same Clinton who hailed Yeltsin as `a Russian Abraham Lincoln’ after Russian forces massacred 100,000 Chechen in 1994-1996.

Why this nauseating sycophancy? Because Clinton agreed to give Moscow a free hand in Chechnya in exchange for Moscow allowing the US to keep bashing away at Iraq. Clinton’s key financial backers want Iraq destroyed. Chechen will pay the price for the ex-president’s political and financial future.

Meanwhile, bands of fierce Chechen fighters continue one of our era’s most heroic struggles. The courage of these mountain men is almost beyond comprehension. They are lightly armed, surrounded, low on munitions and supplies, hopelessly outnumbered 100 to one, under constant bombardment, and forgotten. Their voice goes unheard beneath a barrage of Russian disinformation and propaganda, echoed by so-called `counter-terrorism’ experts in the western media, who assure us Chechen are nothing more than dangerous Islamic terrorists and kidnappers.

A handful of fighters from Ukraine, Jordan, and the Baltic have come to help; otherwise, the world has left the Chechen to be ground into bloody pulp by Russia’s killing machine – a crime largely financed by US and western dollars.

Clinton has hailed the Putin regime as `new, democratic Russian leaders.’ In fact, the Chekists and generals now running the Kremlin look very much like the old, brutal Soviet Russia, only this time less ideological and more efficiently ruthless.

Igor and demimore and subhuman groups

Do you think that your relatives are in dubi selling their body for foods. Read from the reality

"Insha-Allah victory will be yours. I make dua for Mujahideen all over the world, may Allah grant you all victory. I am disgusted to watch the silence amongst many muslim leaders about this war. It is true that there are still many muslims contributing to Russian oppressors by paying Russian prostitutes around the world, especially here in the UAE."
[Sister HS, Abu Dhabi, UAE, 21 Feb 2000]

"I have been following the Chechen Jihad very keenly and am greatly pained when I see entire villages being bombed but I fail to understand why the Chechen Mujahids do not conduct operations deep inside the Russian territory so as to take the fight inside Russia and hit the Russians where it hurts. This can be done very easily using martyrdom squads as small as 4-5 Mujahids who can penetrate beyond enemy lines and even places as far as Moscow shouldn't be beyond their reach.
Trust me this tactic has been very sucessful here in Kashmir and 2-3 Mujahids have been able to devastate entire Indian army camps. Chechens have some of the best military commanders and I am sure we will have such operations very soon. Let us put a ring around the Russian bear's nose."
[Dr.***, Srinagar, Kashmir, 16 Feb 2000]

The Aldi attack took place as Russia seized the besieged Chechen capital, after a brutal bombing campaign which continued for several days after Chechen guerrillas abandoned their hold over the area.

One Aldi survivor told the New York Times of the time when the bombing stopped: "The troops started mopping up. We thought they would just check everyone's passports, but it was a cleansing of everything alive. They killed cattle, dogs, people - children and old people."

As soldiers swept through the streets demanding money and valuables, Akhmed Abulkhonov, 75, from Mesayev Street, tried to fend them off with a payment of 300 roubles (£6.50), according to one survivor interviewed by Human Rights Watch. The soldiers rejected this as a derisory payment, so he went back to his home and returned with $100.

"You have dollars and you only wanted to give us roubles," the woman quoted a soldier as saying. She said the troops then beat Mr Abulkhonov, shot him, set his cattle shed alight, and finally roped his daughter Lucia to an armoured personnel carrier and drove off with her.

Neighbours later buried Mr Abulkhonov in a front yard, along with other local victims of the massacre.

http://www.newsunlimited.co.uk/chechnya/Story/0,2763,139633,00.html

while the Clown is entertaining everyone (including me), I just thought I'd place here something , perhaps, worthy of checking(does anyone ACTUALLY reads the crab he's been posting???) anyway, enjoy, guys...

To my opponents:
Don't forget to call the following a Ruskie Propaganda (the KGB-style )
😉


Updated 21.02.2000 at 20:14:50


The Arab Mercenaries Leave Chechnya

According to information disclosed by the militaries, the Chechen field commander Arbi Bairayev is currently in the Akhmet district of Georgia near the Chechen-Georgian border. The TV-broadcasting Information Center of the United Military Alignment in Khankala reports that he is preparing a corridor for Khattab and surviving Arab mercenaries from the so called Islam regiment.

Accoding to the Center, several days ago Khattab appeared before his subordinates and said that "the liberation mission in Chechnya is over and Allah ordered his warriors to return home." According to Khattab, he was told this by Allah who came to Khattab while he was sleeping.

As far as another field commander, Shamil Basayev, is concerned, he is still hiding in a settlement in the territory of Chechnya that had been liberated from bandits, the source says. According to military intelligence, Basayev's wounds recieved during the break-through from Grozny turned out to be more serious than was earlier reported by some mass media.

It has also been discovered that Udugov and his propagandists prepared several videotapes arranged from old shootings of Basayev. They are planning to give these tapes to Western journalists in order to create the impression that Basayev is still strong and healthy.

..for those of you who need a source :
it was taken from - http//allnews.ru/
..

I'll be seein'all of ya tomorrow..

ULTRA RUSSIAN NATIONALIST: PRESIDENT OF COALITION
DIMITRI: DIRECTOR OF FSB/FIELD AGENT 007
IGOR: MINISTER OF DEFENSE/NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR
BILLJ: PUBLIC RELATIONS AMBASSADOR
SULEYMAN: TOP ANALIST OF FSB
FREDLEDINGUE: MINISTER OF ECONOMY
MATA HARI AKA HAIR MARY: SPY
ABFOOLAH/ABDULLAH: COALITION CLOWN

I THOUGHT ABDULLAH WAS A COMMON LEBANESE NAME?

Abdulla

I really admire your skill as a great comedian and I wish you a good sleep...I hope that the false prophet Mohammed will come during your dream and...pin you in the brown ...You will be so happy...You deserve it for the super-great show you give to everybody tonight.

N.B. MAY ALLAH FORGIVE YOUR STUPIDITY.

Abdulla

I really admire your skill as a great comedian and I wish you a good sleep...I hope that the false prophet Mohammed will come during your dream and...pin you in the brown ...You will be so happy...You deserve it for the super-great show you gave to everybody tonight.

N.B. MAY ALLAH FORGIVE YOUR STUPIDITY.

More Mujahidins (or something) get to Chechnya - less of them come back out. Less durt this wolrd have to deal with. Got bless Russian Army in its holy quest!

{Íà è.î.ïðåçèäåíòà Ðîññèè Âëàäèìèðà Ïóòèíà ãîòîâèòñÿ ïîêóøåíèå} âî âðåìÿ âîçìîæíîé ïîåçäêè â Ñàíêò-Ïåòåðáóðã íà ïîõîðîíû Àíàòîëèÿ Ñîá÷àêà.


Ïî èõ ñëîâàì, òåððîðèñòàì èçâåñòíî, ÷òî ñëóæáû áåçîïàñíîñòè ìîãóò áûòü îñâåäîìëåíû î ÷àñòè èõ ïëàíîâ, íî, òåì íå ìåíåå, îíè íå îòêàçûâàþòñÿ îò íèõ. "Ñ òî÷êè çðåíèÿ ëèö, ãîòîâÿùèõ ïîêóøåíèå, ïîåçäêà Ïóòèíà â Ñàíêò-Ïåòåðáóðã èäåàëüíî ïîäõîäèò äëÿ èõ ïëàíîâ, òàê êàê çàðàíåå èçâåñòíû âñå îñíîâíûå ïîñåùàåìûå ìåñòà è âðåìÿ íàõîæäåíèÿ òàì", - ñêàçàëè ïðåäñòàâèòåëè ïðàâîîõðàíèòåëüíûõ îðãàíîâ.

Good luck!!

URN:
with any luck, your pr man is gone from this place. one can only hope.
====

ohaya, k-san!
second tolerable dawn in a row 'round here,
by which you are greeted...heh...