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Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
Count Dooku declares the formation of Caucasian Front |
2005-06-03 |
Notorious Chechen militant leader Shamil Basayev has claimed responsibility for the electricity blackout in Moscow on May 24 â 25 and the fire that broke out in one of the capitalâs oldest theatres on the night of May 27. Some observers say this is proof that rebel fighters are successfully carrying out a threat to move their military activities outside Chechnya. Others say it suggests the fighters are under extreme pressure, in particular from the so-called Kadyrovtsy, the armed militia loyal to pro-Moscow deputy prime minister Ramzan Kadyrov. In statements published on the main Chechen Islamist website Kavkaz Centre, Basayev claimed that the disasters in Moscow at the end of May were no accident, but were carefully planned and executed acts of sabotage by Chechen fighters. Basayev boasted, âOur diversionary groups have dealt a significant blow to the life support system of the Russian Empire. The success of the special operation has exceeded our expectations. Right now we are collecting information about the consequences of our attack on central Russia.â A subsequent statement promised new attacks on Russian territory. It said, âAs we promised after the despicable murder of ex-president of the Chechen republic [Zelimkhan] Yandarbayev in 2004, we will do everything we can to bomb, blow up, hunt down, burn, set off gas explosions and [start] fires all over Russia. âToday we have in our ranks, thanks to Allah, Muslims of many different nationalities, including Russians, who are on the path of jihad, as well as a number of non-Muslim sympathisers who are their assistants, and our capabilities are growing from one day to the next.â The head of the pro-Moscow State Council of Chechnya, Tais Jabrailov, described Basayevâs claims as being a PR stunt. âIt used to be [Chechen commander] Salman Raduev who claimed responsibility for all that went on in the world. Now Basayev has taken over this role,â said Jabrailov. âBasayev wants the attention of the leaders of international terrorist networks so that he can attract more funds for his illegal armed groups.â However, there have been predictions that Basayev, who is now undisputedly the most powerful Chechen rebel leader after the killing of former pro-independence president Aslan Maskhadov in March, is planning a summer campaign of attacks. On April 15, Chechnyaâs chief prosecutor Vladimir Kravchenko said, âThe fighters are planning to make themselves heard and make use of the injections of cash which, unfortunately, they continue to receive. They are calling this summer âthe summer of fireâ.â Two weeks later, Radio Liberty broadcast an interview with Chechen field commander Dokku Umarov, in which he announced the fightersâ intention to âcarry military actions over onto the territory of Russiaâ. Around the same time, Abdul-Khalim Saidulayev, the Muslim cleric named as successor to Maskhadov, announced the creation of a united âCaucasian Frontâ to stretch across the North Caucasus. This Caucasian Front would include all the republics and regions of the North Caucasus, as well as âIchkeriaâ â as the rebels call Chechnya itself. The last few months have indeed seen an upsurge of violence in Dagestan, Ingushetia, Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachai-Cherkessia between militants and the security forces. However, Andrei Mikhailov, an officer with the FSB intelligence service, told IWPR that he regarded the latest statements as evidence of weakness rather than strength amongst the rebels. âAfter the killing of Aslan Maskhadov, the Chechen separatists could no longer carry out a single manoeuvre,â he said. âNow they have no single leader - the new âpresident of Ichkeriaâ, Abdul-Khadim Saidulayev, does not even have the doubtful legitimacy accorded Maskhadov. Bit by bit, they are losing the support of the population of Chechnya, without which it is almost impossible to wage a partisan war. It is this which is pushing them to announce the creation of all possible âfrontsâ and attempts to unleash military action outside Chechnyaâs borders.â Mikhailov said the fighters had lost most of their leadership and were now broken up and isolated. Pro-Moscow Chechen security boss Ramzan Kadyrov is also talking with confidence. With several thousand men under arms at his disposal, he has been organising military operations against the rebels in the mountains over the last few months, with Russian forces playing only a supporting role. The burden of the fighting has fallen on the Kadyrovtsy as well as two other nominally pro-Moscow GRU military intelligence battalions, headed by Sulim Yamadayev and Said-Magomed Kakiev and thus known as âYamadayevtsyâ and âKakievtsyâ. Kadyrov has accused the rebels of taking shelter in neighbouring republics and, in particular, in Dagestan. âWe have got these devils on the run here, and now, realising that they will no longer get anywhere here, they hide in Dagestan,â he said. âBecause they realise that here there are real men, who wonât let them wreak havoc any longer. But over there they feel safer, because the police in Dagestan simply donât dare touch them.â However, others warn that it would be premature to write off Basayev, who has also claimed responsibility for the attack on the Moscow theatre in 2002 and the Beslan school seizure last year. âThe events of recent years clearly demonstrate that we should take Basayevâs pronouncements seriously,â said Chechen political commentator Murad Nashkhoev. âIn 2003 he announced the start of âOperation Boomerangâ, after which suicide bombers carried out a series of large scale terrorist acts in Chechnya, its neighbouring regions, and Moscow. I think the creation of a Caucasian Front and the idea of transferring military actions onto Russian territory are his idea. This means he has the necessary resources, both in terms of manpower and of money.â Nashkhoev said Basayev and his comrades had been âforced into a cornerâ and knew there was little chance of negotiations, so were attempting more desperate measures. âEvery war has different components, a military aspect, a political aspect, an information components and support from the public. During the first Chechen war of 1994-6, the Chechen side had all these components,â said Umar Baisayev, a human rights monitor with the Memorial organisation in Grozny. âNow the situation is far more complicated. The people of Chechnya are frightened and are unable to express their opinions; there is still an information blockade in the republic, and pro-independence representatives abroad have not managed to change western public opinion. But whether or not Basayev and Saidulayev will achieve peace by taking the fighting into Russia is difficult to say. âIn my opinion, as long as Putinâs team remains in power, the war in Chechnya is unlikely to end.â |
Posted by:Dan Darling |
#2 I know guys on crack that make more sense than that guy. |
Posted by: Phasing Cherert8730 2005-06-03 13:32 |
#1 Whether or not Putin is in power has little to nothing to do with peace in Chechnya so long as Old Nasty Basayev is gimping on this earth. He's sounding kinda desperate these days though. Bragging about Blackouts and theatre fires is kinda pathetic after you've made it known to the world that you've got little problem with killing schoolchildren. He's got nothing to show for his efforts and there is no conceivable happy ending to it now for him. Another murderous freak who wants to rule a happy and peaceful "caliphate" he's going to forge through the intentional and carefully premeditated killing of civilians, including children. He should have stuck to growing his beard, praying, and fixing computers. |
Posted by: Tkat 2005-06-03 13:18 |