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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| Parents of Beslan killers don't condemn massacre |
| 2005-09-02 |
| SOLONGIRAY ATAYEV produces a photograph to explain why his son, Rustam, took part in one of the bloodiest hostage massacres in history. It shows a 12-year-old boy lying dead, his head split in two. His name was Ibraghim and he was Rustamâs younger brother. âHe disappeared in Grozny in 2002. Then villagers saw men in camouflage burying something. It was Ibraghim and two other boys, all naked, all with their skulls broken,â Mr Atayev, 63, said. âYou can imagine how Rustam reacted.â Rustam, who was 25 years old when he joined the take- over of School Number One, in Beslan, grew up in Psedkah, a village of dusty streets and heavily laden apple trees in Ingushetia, the region bordering Chechnya. His parents, both ethnic Chechens, say that he was shy and caring. Then came Russiaâs two wars in Chechnya and a decade of carpet bombing, summary executions and random violence that has killed tens of thousands and brutalised an entire population. A survey by the aid group Médecins Sans FrontiÚres last year indicated that 90 per cent of Chechens had lost someone close and more than one in six had witnessed such a death. In the past five years 3,000 to 5,000 people have disappeared, usually after detention by the security forces, the human rights group Memorial said. âWeâre very sorry for the children in Beslan. They were not guilty,â Nurzhan Salamova, 48, Rustamâs stepmother, said. Mr Atayev interrupted her and said bitterly: âBut that was one school, while in Chechnya everyone has been terrorised.â Past the bombed-out remains of Grozny, the capital, then up into the steep foothills of the Caucasus mountains is the village of Engenoi, home to at least two other of the hostage takers, including the only one to survive, Nurpashi Kulayev. His white-bearded father, Aburkash Kulayev, said that he was sorry for the suffering in Beslan but he refused to condemn Nurpashi, or his brother Khanpashi, who also was among the terrorists and was killed. âItâs cruel. Of course we feel their pain,â Mr Kulayev, 70, said in his rickety cottage overlooking a small maize field, pear trees and the wooded hills where Chechen guerrillas continue to harass Russian forces. âThe mothers received a terrible blow. Their children went out and never came back. But whatever happened, happened. I donât condemn my sons, or try to justify. Thousands of children have died in Chechnya.â Mr Kulayev, who lost a third son fighting the Russians in the Chechen town of Argun, said that during a four-hour prison meeting with Nurpashi, who is on trial in the city of Vladikavkaz, near Beslan, his terrorist son âdid not ask my forgivenessâ. Experts say that the mayhem in which a generation of Chechens has grown up makes recruitment easy for extremist chiefs such as Shamil Basayev, who organised the Beslan hostage-taking and gave warning recently on Unites States television that he was ready to begin similar attacks. In a society with a strong vendetta culture, some fight to take revenge. Some are attracted by the strict Islamic discipline of radical guerrilla units. Others are drawn into the underground by chance, then discover that they cannot turn back. âMost of those taking part in terrorist attacks do not know the target beforehand,â a Russian counter-terrorism officer said on condition of anonymity. âBut they have blood on their hands, so theyâre tied in, and once they get to the target they canât flee. Most of those who went to Beslan did not know where they were being sent,â he said. âThey are trapped. Imagine living in the forests, constantly reading pamphlets about the Koran and living with people for whom killing is absolutely normal. If you disobey, you die,â he added. The parents of Rustam Atayev in Psedakh, like many Chechens, also feel trapped by a conflict that seems to have no limit in cruelty and no resolution. âThere is no way out,â Mr Atayev said. âThe dead are to be envied.â |
| Posted by:Dan Darling |
| #6 I'm with MS on this one. Also need... |
| Posted by: Mona Gorilla 2005-09-02 17:51 |
| #5 The parents of Rustam Atayev in Psedakh, like many Chechens, also feel trapped by a conflict that seems to have no limit in cruelty and no resolution. âThere is no way out,â Mr Atayev said. The "way out" is negotiation, compromise, law, order, democracy and free enterprise. . |
| Posted by: Mike Sylwester 2005-09-02 17:11 |
| #4 They are trapped. Imagine living in the forests, constantly reading pamphlets about the Koran and living with people for whom killing is absolutely normal. If you disobey, you die,â he added. Basically they live in the woods, read the satan inspired terrorists manual and hey presto kill over 300 people. |
| Posted by: Mctavish Mcpherson 2005-09-02 14:41 |
| #3 If the west had the same attitude every mosque in the west would be a smoking hole, and every muslim country and radioactive desert. We can still make it happen. |
| Posted by: Ulereger Clavigum6227 2005-09-02 12:04 |
| #2 Thousands of children have died in Chechnya Does that mean that in she thuinks opinion the South Sudanese, Indians, Thais and any other people who have had their relatives murdered by Arabs/Muslims are entitled to revenge? |
| Posted by: JFM 2005-09-02 08:34 |
| #1 Oh yeah, that just explains the many rapings of girls in their early teens who took place in Beslan. |
| Posted by: JFM 2005-09-02 08:27 |