An appeal of Chechen organisations concerning the situation in ChechnyaDear colleagues!
We, the employees of organizations monitoring the human rights situation in the Chechen
Republic for more than two years, appeal to you. So far nobody could accuse us of bias of our
reporting and taking the side of one of the conflicting parties.
It was always important for us to be independent but, at the same time, extremely difficult
because most of us are native Chechens.
It is pretty hard to watch how the nation you belong to is intentionally and methodically
being violated.
And we have been exposed to the torture for the third year already.
We did try to be objective, leaning on your support and attention. Reports on violation of
human rights in the Chechen Republic have never remained unnoticed by human rights organisations
in Western countries as well as in Russia itself. In the most difficult moments, when our
homeland was subject to another wave of violence, your perception boosted our spirit and
energy.
However, after the tragic events in New York and Washington, we started feeling that Chechnya
as well as the suffering of a small nation got out of your attention.
Politics was never compatible with morals and statesman and diplomats have got used to operate
other concepts, increasingly speaking about pragmatism and national interests.
In the interests of these „intestests“, Western leaders have stopped criticising the Russian
leadership for its actions in the Chechen Republic, or do it in a too much softer form. Results
were not slow to have an effect: The human rights situation in our republic has considerably
worsened over the last months.
We are not politicians. The life of a concrete person and his/her rights in any place of the
globe are of the highest value to us. We would like very much that this rule apply to Chechens as
well.
Chechnya is the sole region of the European continent where inhabitants are being destroyed on
purpose and on a large scale. Apparently, there are no reports of Middle-Ages-like treatment of
people by Russian soldiers. However, that fact does not make them less horrific and bloody.
People detained during punitive operations are being scalped, their ears and fingers are being cut, they are being tortured by electricity and beheaded.
Happiness for us in Chechnya means that the military sells the corpses of killed people to their relatives for burial. Thousands of women whose sons disappeared without a trace after their detention by the power structures of the Russian Federation, besiege public prosecutors and officials of the civil administration and are unable to discover the truth about their destiny.
Killings, kidnappings and disappearances of people, never-ending punitive operations in towns
and villages, „death squads“ and cynical lies, unfortunately echoed also in the West, are our
everyday reality.
We want the truth about Chechnya, its culture, tradition and contemporary desires become
available to the public in your countries.
We are ready to work out and suggest for your consideration the measures that would be able to
stop once and for all the bloody Bacchanalia in the heavenly, beautiful part of Europe.
That is why we propose to declare the year 2002 to be the year of protection of human rights
in the Chechen Republic.
We are waiting for your responses as we know that conscience and compassion have not
completely vanished in the superpragmatic world.
Civic movement The Chechen Committee of the National Salvation, Ruslan Badalov;
The Russian-Chechen Friendship Society, Imran Ezheyev;
Humanitarian organisation Lamanan šovda (Mountain Spring), Izrudin Aldamov;
The Union of Chechen Women, Libkan Bazayeva;
The International Union of Chechen Refugees, Abdulla Istamulov;
OPD The Union of the Progressive Youth and Students, Turko Bedigov;
The regional organisation Press-Centr, Kheda Saratova;
Regional peace organisation Echo of War, Zaypad Gashayeva;
Consultative office of the Memorial Human Rights Centre in Nazran, Eliza Musayeva
Information analysis centre Solidarity, Baudi Dudayev;
The National Independence Party, Minkail Ezhiyev;
Creative Union of the Chechen Culture and Arts Personalities, Umar Yarichev;
The Centre of the Science and Industry Intellectuals, Said Debiyev;
The Union of the National Education Teachers, Ramzan Didayev;
Civic institute of the political culture of the Chechen society Lamast (Tradition), Lema Shakhmurzayev.
Translated by Prague Watchdog. Abbreviated.
Source: http://www.chechen.org
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