Workers' Liberty #61


COMMENTARY


Colonial War in Chechnya


Russian heavy artillery and massive air bombardments continue to pound the Chechen capital, Grozny, which lies in ruins but as yet remains unbroken. 40,000 Chechen civilians are still living in basements and amongst the rubble of Grozny. Many tens of thousands are now either refugees in neighbouring republics or are displaced inside Chechnya. And yet the Chechen resistance continues. A few thousand fighters remain in their capital, amazingly still receiving supplies from Chechen forces outside Grozny. Russian troops are bogged down in a war which may continue for years.

This second phase of the recent Russian-Chechen war began in August-September 1999. The first round, in 1994-6, ended with stalemate (and so a Russian defeat) as Russia failed to re-impose its rule over this small area whose people had declared independence from Moscow in 1991. The compromise which ended the first war rested - in practice - on two contradictory principles: the Chechens would remain in the Russian federation; and that the Chechens would have the right to self-determination.

The Chechens clearly want their independence.

The Russians have two excuses for re-starting their nasty little war - the bomb blasts in Moscow which killed 300 and which were blamed on Chechen separatists and Islamic fundamentalists (but which may well have been the work of the Russian state) and the incursion into Dagestan by Muslim fighters from Chechnya.

The real reasons the Russians are fighting are selfish, strategic and economic. Although Chechnya's oil is nearly exhausted, an important pipeline, from Baku to Novorossiisk in Russia, runs through the area, and gigantic new reserves have been discovered in nearby Azerbaijan. The Russians want to put and end to the 'Chechen disease' and prevent other breakaways in the region.

The Chechens are a distinct Muslim people with their own language and a distinct history and culture. They are a majority in Chechnya. While it is true that the Chechen government of president Aslan Maskhadov is not a government which can be supported by socialists there is no rational, democratic case for not allowing this people the right to decide their own future.

Contact: United Campaign to Stop the war in Chechnya, 46 Denmark Hill, London SE5 8RZ.


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