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Al-Ahram Weekly 23 - 29 September 1999 Issue No. 448 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 23 - 29 September 1999 Issue No. 448
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Comment Focus Special Features Profile Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Russia bares its teeth
By Abdel-Malek KhalilRussia's ailing President Boris Yeltsin and his premier Vladimir Putin plan to step up punitive measures against Islamist militants in the predominantly Muslim Russian autonomous republics of Chechnya and Daghestan in the Caucasus Mountains region of southern Russia. Insurgents in Chechnya have virtually created their own independent state but the breakaway republic has come under intense pressure from Moscow following a relentless wave of air raids which have killed an estimated 300 civilians in the past two weeks. Russian warplanes and artillery have been blasting Chechen villages suspected of acting as rear bases for the insurgents -- behind two uprisings in Daghestan -- led by Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev. Basayev said he had recruited up to 400 volunteers "ready to die for the Islamic faith."
On Monday, Russia's interior security forces were inspected thoroughly in a desperate bid to increase efficiency following a spate of bombings throughout the country, especially in Moscow. The inspection involved all members of the armed police forces tasked with ensuring internal security. The appraisal was triggered by Putin's harsh criticism of the interior security forces. He said the review of the police was of paramount importance for the "protection of Russian citizens against terrorism."
However, there are several other officials who are strongly against Putin's measures. Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov vehemently opposed the review, arguing that the "time is wrong." Luzhkov explained that the police forces are "busy trying to ensure peace in Moscow. They have no time for examinations and inspections. That will only foil their brave efforts to ensure the security of Moscow's citizens."
Some 300 people have died in four blasts at apartment blocks in Moscow, St Petersburg and the provincial city of Volgodonsk since 4 September.
In a separate development, 35,000 Russian federal troops were reported to have amassed at the borders of Chechnya since Sunday with the stated aim of isolating Islamist militant insurrectionists in the breakaway republic. Russian troops are converging on Stavropol in order to crush militants who have been launching attacks on neighbouring Daghestan from bases on Chechen soil. The troops are equipped with armoured cars and artillery and the Russian airforce has been intensifying its air strikes over several suspected militant Islamist bases.
The Chechens have reacted angrily. An estimated 2,000-man heavily armed Chechen force has been posted along the border between Chechnya and Daghestan and has been digging trenches to set up a line of defence against Russia's federal troops.
"This is a simple and pure blockade," said Chechen government spokesman Selim Abdumuslimov. "We have given Chechen border guards the order to reinforce controls and not to yield to any provocation they might encounter." The Chechen Interior Ministry said that while the hostilities have driven over 10,000 people out of the border region, a Russian invasion will escalate the fighting and heighten tension that has been building since the end of the 1996 Russian-Chechen war, and particularly after the Islamist uprising in Daghestan in August this year.
