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| Caucasus |
| Basayev directed Beslan attack |
| 2004-09-11 |
| Chechen rebel leader Shamil Basayev directed the deadly hostage-taking at a Russian school that cost nearly 340 lives, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov claims. "I know for a fact that Shamil Basayev personally directed this operation," Mr Lavrov said. Basayev has claimed responsibility for numerous attacks in the past. Russia has blamed him for others that he has not claimed, however, he has so far stayed silent on the Beslan carnage. Mr Lavrov also blames Chechnya's separatist president Aslan Maskhadov, who along with Basayev had a $US10 million bounty placed on his head by the Russian authorities in the wake of the school attack. Mr Lavrov says Maskhadov "openly stated that as long as Russia's policy in the North Caucasus remains unchanged, there is no avoiding terrorist acts." "This is instigation of terrorism, if not confirmation of the fact he directed it all," he said. "So calls for political dialogue with him, as well as urgings from some Western capitals that we should seek a political settlement together with Maskhadov as our partner, cannot be considered by us as part of the partnership against terrorism that Russia has with Britain, the United States or others." Russia has designated 52-year-old Maskhadov a terrorist since the outbreak of the second Chechen war in October 1999. He acknowledged two years ago that the war had radicalised him. Nevertheless he has regularly condemned attacks against civilians in Russia and called for talks with Moscow, as he did again after last week's Beslan hostage crisis. |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #2 SCpatriot, Now you know one more. I thank you for your principled support of my other country. But what does that have to do with Basayev and Maskhadov? |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2004-09-11 5:48:08 PM |
| #1 That Guy may be in charge but his days are numbered.....The "state of Israel" will always exsist. people with a conscience will never forget, and i know very few jewish people |
| Posted by: SCpatriot 2004-09-11 2:19:36 AM |