The siege of school in Beslan, the crash of two Russian airliners and the suicide bombing in Moscow have been condemned by the leadership of Chechen Republic of Ichkeria. We have stated more than once and we are stating it once again that there can be no justification for terror against innocent citizens and that such acts prevent international recognition of the Chechen State.
But it would have been dishonest to the victims and irresponsible to the survivors if, having condemned the killers, we had failed to name the political causes of the tragedy and had failed to try - even without much hope for success - to once again urge the world to condemn the policy that makes tragedies like this not only possible, but inevitable.
In his address president Putin tried to put the blame on external forces. In reality, however, the tragedy in Beslan and the entire endless cycle of violence in Chechnya and around it is caused by the policy of Putin himself, whose regime is responsible for Europe's worst cases of mass crimes against humanity since World War II.
The people who commit terrorist acts in Chechnya and around it do it not out of religious fanaticism or out of some abstract political idea. As a rule, they are driven by a feeling of personal revenge for the death of their loved ones from the hands of Russian soldiers in the atmosphere of impunity, with which Russia is continuing to commit genocide against the Chechen people.
Chechens, like no other people, understand what it means to be a victim of a meaningless and evil cruelty. In the past 10 years, a quarter of our population, including over 40,000 children, have been exterminated. Each Chechen knows that in the eyes of the Kremlin's racist regime we are second-rate citizens who have no right to life, dignity or freedom. And we have seen proof of the fact that the noble values proclaimed by the West that has accepted Putin as an ally - those of democracy, human rights, and freedom – have become empty words when it comes to us.
But Russian atrocities, international appeasement and Western treachery do not mean that we should fight against children and women. Those Chechens who take part in such acts, put themselves on a par with Russian soldiers guilty of mass and systematic atrocities against the Chechen civilian population.
Tough times are lying ahead of us. Instead of responding to our appeal for a political solution to the Chechen conflict, Mr. Putin seems to be ready to respond to the actions of the madmen responsible for the carnage in Beslan with wider punitive actions against Chechen civilians. However, the history has proven again and again that in the final analysis war criminals and organizers of genocide end up on trial, their patrons will be disgraced and we will attain freedom.
If we want to preserve our national identity and to maintain the moral rightfulness of our struggle, we must decisively disassociate ourselves from those few whose reason has been clouded by revenge. That is why I am calling on all the Chechens to mourn for the innocent victims and - on behalf of the Chechen people – I express my condolences to their families. They, like hundreds of thousands of killed Chechens, have fallen victim to the criminal and insane Russian policies in the Caucasus.
President of Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, Aslan Maskhadov
Kavkaz-Center
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