Hundreds demonstrate in Paris against war in Chechnya
By Timur Aliyev
PARIS, France - A demonstration against the ongoing war in Chechnya took place in the center of Paris on March 18, which also condemned the killing of Aslan Maskhadov, the late President of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria. The protest coincided with the arrival of Russian President Vladimir Putin in France.
About 300 participants, mostly Chechens living in France, as well as anti-war activists from various European countries, supported appeals calling for an end to the war in Chechnya. According to the organizers, the number of participants in the opening rally peaked even at 700 and about 450-600 people took part in the subsequent march.
The demonstrators carried banners saying "Save Chechnya and Moldova from Russian Terror" and pictures of Maskhadov urging condemnation of his killing. "We intend to turn to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg and request that the killing of Maskhadov be recognized as a political murder," said one of the speakers.
The protesters, wearing brightly colored labels on their clothing stating "Withdrawal of troops from Chechnya", then walked through the streets of Paris chanting "Putin is a terrorist" and "Putin is a killer.”
The event was deliberately timed to coincide with Putin’s arrival in Paris where he was to meet with President Jacques Chirac, Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero of Spain.
A follow-up peace march from Paris to Strasbourg is scheduled for the afternoon of March 21. On that day the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) will organize a meeting entitled "Round Table" in which representatives of PACE, Russia, NGOs and Moscow-backed Chechen officials will discuss the problems of Chechnya. However, Chechen separatists were officially barred from taking part in the meeting.
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· Photos from the demonstration (AFP, 18.3. 2005)
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