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It
is very difficult to put into words the feeling of
sheer devastation at the loss of life regarding the
Beslan school siege. For myself, the scene of running
half naked emaciated children running from the scene
reminded me of similar TV images from the Vietnam
conflict or archive footage of holocaust victims.
Going by the reaction of ordinary people, many feel
the same way and express confusion at how anyone with
a conscience could possibly inflict such pain upon
perhaps one of the weakest and most innocent sections
of society.
If
we so wished we could perhaps limit ourselves to voicing
condemnation at the perpetrators of such acts. Comfortably
convincing ourselves that those who do such things
are simply 'murderers' or 'evil people'. However,
if we did this I feel that we would be not only failing
ourselves but failing all those who are victims of
such events. Fundamentally this limited view brings
us no closer to understanding how and why ordinary
people (those with families, sons, daughters, mothers
and fathers - those who love and are loved in return)
can be driven to carry out the most horrible of deeds.
What
was obvious amidst the explosions and gunfire of Beslan
was that the Chechen fighters who came to spill their
own blood (and the blood of others) on Russian soil
were desperate. Indeed this was something repeated
a number of times in coverage provided by the western
news media, unfortunately it was little elaborated
upon.
The
reality of life for the Chechen nation is in itself
desperate. One woman hostage who struck up a conversation
with a female militant in the Moscow Theatre siege
said that through her she learned of the terrible
atrocities committed by Russian troops in what they
called 'cleansing' operations. She spoke of summary
executions, the abduction, rape and mutilation of
Chechen women, of whole families being butchered by
drunken special forces or 'Spetsnaz' troops. The female
militant said to her that "either we die here
in Russia, or we die in Chechnya" finally commenting
that at least to die in Russia would mean the world
would take notice.
The
tactic of the Chechen resistance appears to be one
of turning the Russian homeland into a parallel version
of Chechnya, a place where death stalks the land and
life (no matter how innocent) has little or no value
whatsoever.
We
here in Ireland, and throughout the history of our
own struggle, have probably no experience of the intensity
and savagery of such a conflict. But we can understand
how the brutality of an enemy in its own perverse
way brutalizes and dulls the nobler aspects of our
human nature. For the pain and suffering we ourselves
witness, we can at times be filled with such an anger
and frustration that we wish it sevenfold upon those
who inflict it.
Like
all such conflicts the heart of the problem lies within
the institutions of a state that deems it necessary
to deny the reasonable and just demands of an oppressed
people. Instead, as Russia and its president Vladimir
Putin acknowledge, to recognize these demands would
portray 'weakness'. Therefore the only way to measure
'strength' in their minds is to make sure that their
hands reek of the blood of the slaughtered.
Hopefully,
one of the positive things to come out of the carnage
of the last few days will be that the Russian electorate
may finally feel the imperative to deny control of
their country to successions of 'Russian Strongmen'.
In Putin's live address to the Russian nation it was
interesting to note that he talked of "the difficulties
of reform" and the "problems encountered
in establishing Russian democracy" - failing
to note with any irony that he himself is one of the
biggest obstacles. The Russians need a government
that can establish true democratic institutions and
at the same time understand and deliver upon the democratic
wishes of the Chechen people. This will be the only
guarantee of a safe and peaceful existence for both
nations.
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