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Following
the deaths of the two hundred and fifty men, women
and children in the Russian town of Beslan at the
hands of Chechen rebels, I feel that the question
has to be asked, who will the people of the world
believe is to blame?
The
natural reaction of most people will be to blame the
Chechen freedom fighters, and let me say that I think
their actions in the mass slaughter of totally innocent
civilians was absolutely reprehensible, but, I believe,
that Russia and the Western nations of the world have
to shoulder the majority of the blame, as between
them they have created the mindset which now exists
within the Islamic countries of the world.
As
with most of the conflicts of the past twenty years,
the war in Chechnya is about one thing, oil. A major
pipeline carries oil from fields in Chechnya to refineries
in the Ukraine and as long as the region is part of
Russia, Moscow will have a say in the oil flowing
through it. In fact, Russia's main concern has been
it's lack of involvement in the discussions with the
major western oil companies.
In
many ways the conflict in the region has been similar
to Kosovo, where NATO forces adopted a high tech strategy
of precision bombings, to ultimately defeat the Serbian
forces. Hence, Russia adopted this same strategy in
Chechnya, albeit with a more limited success rate.
It
is also similar to Kosovo in that the insurrection
there has been funded by some of the West's larger
powers. In Kosovo, the Kosovan Liberation Army was
financially supported by Military Professional Resources
Inc. (MRPI) who incidentally, were contracted by the
Pentagon as military advisers to the Macedonian army
which meant that the U.S had a foot in each camp.
A
no lose scenario for the Americans.
For
the last decade or so, there have been accusations
levelled, that Western forces have been used to destabilize
Chechnya and hence, ensure a permanent split from
Russia, thus allowing them to deal with a smaller
and weaker nation. Indeed, in times past, it has been
suggested, that the West sponsored the now outlawed
Islamic extremist group Al Quaeda, in it's involvement
in the war in Chechnya, to attempt to destabilize
the former Soviet Union.
Breaking
down larger regions is a strategy which has been used
successfully, by Britain and America, in the past,
when they divided and ruled colonial states. Of which,
Ireland, is a typical example. And, as with Ireland,
where the Brits violated the human rights of the nationalist
population of the North, the Russians have done exactly
the same thing in Chechnya.
On
the thirteenth of April this year the bodies of nine
men were found outside the village Serzhen-Yurt. Two
weeks previous, the men had been forcibly removed
from their homes in the village of Duba-Yurt, by men
dressed in Russian army uniforms. The men had been
shot in the head and showed obvious signs of torture.
(Familiar?)
Also,
only as long ago as last Friday, a Russian court issued
a ruling, liquidating the operations of the Danish
Refugee Counsel, an organization which had been a
major player in humanitarian aid to diplaced persons
in the area.
During
the five year long conflict, tens of thousands of
Chechen civilians, have been subjected to massacres,
rape, torture and arbitrary detentions by Russian
forces, of which, next to none have been investigated.
The
conflict is deemed to be the most serious human rights
violation of the last decade and although the United
Nations know this, there seems to have been a reluctance
on the part of the International community to involve
itself.
As
a matter of fact, post September eleventh, there seems
to have been an international disengagement on the
human rights violations in the region, due mainly,
to the Russians claiming that the war is their commitment
to the U.S led war on terrorism.
International
disengagement does nothing, not only for the human
rights of the Chechen people but also does nothing
for the rights of the Russian population, who will
in the long term, suffer for the unchecked violations
committed by their forces, as, when more of them return
to perhaps, take up positions within their justice
system, they will be bringing with them the brutality
learned in the region.
As
I said at the beginning of this article, I believe,
that although the Chechen rebels committed a totally
barbaric act in the town of Beslan, people like Tony
Blair, George Dubya and the rest of the world's leaders
need to bear their share of the blame for what took
place. Their actions in Iraq and Afghanistan and support
for Israel's treatment of the Palestinian people have
created a whole new type of freedom fighter. Where
in the past, when people were setting up operations,
one of their primary concerns would have been their
escape route, now the primary concern is maximum casualties
and who cares about escape.
So,
I ask you, Who Is Really To Blame?
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