September 10, 2004
BESLAN TRAGEDY:
'RUSSIA'S 9/11'
KEY FINDINGS
** With the "sick
massacre" of Beslan's children, terrorists "crossed a new line"
in barbarism.
** Condemning the
"cowardly" attack, writers also fault Russia's "ruthless
Caucasus policy."
** Russian dailies split
over Putin's persistence in maintaining a "tough line."
** Critics imply Putin is
trying to play the "al-Qaida card" to win West's support on Chechnya.
MAJOR THEMES
A 'higher level of savagery' in terror; rebels deserve no
'understanding'-- Global writers held nothing will ever justify "butchering
children"; any sympathy for the Chechen independence movement
"evaporated at School No. 1." Writers shared the conviction of India's
right-of-center Pioneer that "coldly and consciously" treating
children "as lambs to slaughter...is an outrage against
humanity." Reflecting how "not
so long ago" many in the West had sympathized with the Chechen cause,
Prague's mainstream MF Dnes averred the tragedy "totally
obliterated any memories of the brutal actions of the Russian army in
Chechnya." It was "a new
low," added the center-left New Zealand Herald, and "in fact
marks an end for the Chechen rebels."
'Strength and dialogue'-- Although they had "no doubt" Chechen
militants and their supporters were to blame, observers also faulted
"Russian repression" and President Putin's style and policies for the
"tragic outcome." Euro critics
flatly declared Beslan a "patent failure" for Putin and proof that he
is "unable to improve the security" of his nation. Although many understood the "pain and
urge to do something," they opposed Putin's taking an even "harsher
policy" and fear his vow of "pre-emptive military strikes"
could, as Financial Times Deutschland warned, "turn the next level
of the counterterrorism war...into a horror trip." Papers advocating a political solution, such
as London's left-of-center Guardian, stressed "Russia's friends
have a duty to urge it to seek political dialogue that promises some slender
hope beyond the bloodshed."
'Compromise' is 'out of the question'-- While Russian dailies
acknowledged Beslan was a "terrible defeat for Russia" and a
"severe political crisis for Putin," editors scorned outside calls
for "dialogue" with separatist leaders. A literary weekly rejected the very
suggestion that Putin "should start talks with those monsters." Official Rossiyskaya Gazeta intoned
that "for all its arrogance, the West must realize that no country...can
teach Russia the 'right' policy in the Caucasus." But business and opposition papers challenged
Putin's adherence to a "deeply and tragically erroneous view." Rather than "razing another village to
the ground," advised Vedomosti, the Kremlin "would do well to
develop a wiser strategy, not a sterner one."
Terrorism following 'its sinister script of sowing hate'-- Skeptics implied that
Putin was exploiting the possibility of an al-Qaida connection to gain support
from the West--similar to the "carte blanche" Washington received
after 9/11--and camoflauge his "heavy-handed, ineffective" Chechnya
policy. Italy's financial Il Sole-24
Ore explained Putin has "no intention of publicly linking" Beslan
with Moscow's "barbarian war" in Chechnya, but is rather portraying
the Caucasus conflict as part of a global struggle, with Russia "an
innocent victim" of terror. Some
argued that "wrapping" the Chechen problem in the global war would
lead to "more violence and drive more Chechen nationalists into the arms
of religious fundamentalists."
Prepared by Media Reaction Branch (202) 203-7888,
rmrmail@state.gov
EDITOR: Irene Marr
EDITOR'S NOTE: Media
Reaction reporting conveys the spectrum of foreign press sentiment. Posts select commentary to provide a
representative picture of local editorial opinion. Some commentary is taken directly from the
Internet. This report summarizes and
interprets foreign editorial opinion and does not necessarily reflect the views
of the U.S. Government. This analysis
was based on 97 reports from 38 countries over September 4-9 2004. Editorial excerpts are listed from the most
recent date.
EUROPE
BRITAIN: "Putin's
Wasting Asset"
An editorial in the conservative Daily Telegraph
(9/8): "In the immediate aftermath
of Beslan, public attention is naturally focused on the paramount evil of
taking children hostage for political ends.
However, given the deep-seated corruption of the Russian security forces
and bureaucracy, this is unlikely to be the last incident of its kind. With each new terrorist attack, Mr. Putin's
reputation as the strongman who can sort out Chechnya will suffer.... Having propelled Mr. Putin to power, Chechnya
has become a wasting asset."
"Against All"
An editorial in the conservative Times
stated (9/7): "It does not help those Muslims brave enough to say candidly
that terrorism now has dangerously deep roots in Islamic culture if EU
ministers rush to 'understand', where they should without qualification condemn.... President Putin insisted on an urgent session
of the UN Security Council to pass a resolution on Beslan. This is a striking departure from his
previous reluctance to internationalise the Chechen problem..... Moral grandstanding in 'old Europe' helped to
erode the international solidarity brought to bear after 9.11; the Beslan
tragedy could help to reknit that unity.
The opportunity must not be thrown away."
"Our Business Too"
An editorial in the left-of-center Guardian read
(9/7): "But sympathy for innocent
victims and their families is not enough: what, if anything, can others do to
help Russia in its agony?... In current
circumstances it is bleakly certain that the Russians will be no more amenable than
before to any international pressure for change. Last week's UNSC resolution, actively sought
by Moscow, was framed to condemn the 'heinous crimes' of the Chechens, not to
give the UN a role in monitoring or policing the conflict. But if there is to be a way forward,
outsiders must get more involved in whatever ways they usefully can.... It will now be harder than before, but
Russia's friends have a duty to urge it to seek political dialogue that
promises some slender hope beyond the bloodshed."
"Putin's Media Censorship"
The conservative Daily Telegraph held (9/7): "The importance of the media as a check
on the executive is all the more important in the absence of a proper
parliamentary opposition. During his
four years in office, Mr. Putin has created what one commentator calls 'a political
desert' based on strong presidential power and a loyal bureaucracy. Yet if the Russian people are to respond to
his call and unite against the scourge of terrorism, they deserve to be taken
into his confidence by an honest presentation of the facts. The curate's egg of the Beslan coverage
suggests that old habits of disinformation die hard."
FRANCE: "Russian
Issues"
Left-of-center Le Monde editorialized (9/8): “Why do
Western capitals give so much support to Vladimir Putin? Realpolitik dictates
to the West that Russia is still a major state.… In the geo-strategic game,
Moscow counts because it has nuclear power and holds a permanent seat at the
UNSC.… But also because of its energy resources.… Even if for the U.S. those
resources are far away, they can mean a second source of oil in case things go
badly in the Middle East. Putin knows this. This is why he is putting the
energy sector back into the hands of the State.… Another reason for this
support is that 9/11 and Islam’s growth in the region have altered the name of
the game, with a new solidarity in support of ‘the war against terrorism.’ By
assimilating the Chechen ‘separatists’ to Islamism, Putin has the argument he
needed to pursue the war in Chechnya.”
"Police Power"
Gerard Dupuy in held left-of-center Liberation (9/8):
“Security in Chechnya has not been restored. Chechnya, duly controlled, is hell
for its people.… For Putin it is a patent failure, but the lesson will not be
drawn. His mistake is not to have failed to negotiate with the terrorists, as
accusers point out, but to have excluded every option and reverted exclusively
to repression.… Everything seems to indicate that Putin will continue in the
famous Russian tradition of remedying the weaknesses of the police system with
more police.”
"The West’s Support For Putin"
Bruno Frappat in Catholic La Croix
(9/7): “What can we say about Putin’s
heart, and the visible part of this iceberg of a man? The compassion he has
shown, and its limitations are enough to make us wonder.… The man who was
elected in 2000 as the winner of the war against Chechnya is accountable for
the perpetuation of that war, the ‘dirtiest’ ever, since the conflicts in
former Yugoslavia.… Democracies have no choice: Putin is their de facto partner
and their relative ally. They think that Putin and his enigma are better than
the contingencies of a ‘post Putin.’ They know that the keys to the Kremlin are
in the hands of Russian society. And so they make do.”
"Putin’s Failure"
Pierre Rousselin wrote in right-of-center Le Figaro
(9/6): “In a normal country, Putin’s
address after the Breslan tragedy would have been interpreted as an admission
of his own impotence.... Glacial and
determined, and faithful to his image, Putin showed absolutely no
emotion.... He repeated what he says
every time blind violence hits Russia:
it is a violence that emanates from the same international terrorism
that has hit the U.S. and the West. Once
again not a word about Chechnya, as if the dirty war the Russian army is waging
there had nothing to do with the determination of terrorists whose killing
madness forecast more tragedies.... In a
normal country public opinion would have raised its voice.... The tragedies which have hit Russia in the
last ten days prove that Putin has been unable to improve the security of his
citizens.... Putin is hiding his failure
through repeated calls to Russian patriotism.
It is a leitmotif that will, in time, and after repeated acts of
terrorism, begin to lose some of its appeal....
For the first time Putin appears extremely alone. His stubbornness in refusing to see the real
causes that lie behind terrorism may end up costing him dearly.”
"Blindness"
Antoine de Gaudemar noted in left-of-center Liberation
(9/6): “Europe’s blindness when it comes
to Russia’s Chechnya policy continues.
It is true that in matters of fighting terrorism no one is in a position
to give lessons. Everyone is keeping a
low profile, including those who are quick to demonstrate in favor of the Iraqi
people oppressed by America’s imperialism.
Double standards? The solitude of
the Chechnyan people in face of Russia’s imperialism is without bounds.... Moscow’s regime has shown the same
insensitive, cruel and brutal face after the Breslan tragedy that it showed
after the hostage-taking episode in a theater in Moscow.... Putin’s pale demeanor on television proved
that he was aware of the disastrous outcome of the carnage, for himself and for
the Russian army. But one could feel he
was ready to adopt an even harsher policy.”
GERMANY: "Call For Glasnost"
Christoph von Marschall noted in centrist Der
Tagesspiegel of Berlin (9/9): "Russia is on the move, after all. People in small towns, in the South in
particular, are demonstrating not only against the inhuman acts of terrorism,
but also against a state that is not taking care of the victims and withholds
information from relatives. There are
protests despite years of the party mouthpiece.… Putin's defense, which is that
he does not negotiate with child murderers like the West does not negotiate
with bin Laden, is fake. Nobody asked
Putin to talk with radical terrorists, but to negotiate with moderate Chechens
over autonomy. He will not be able to
solve the conflict militarily."
"Escalating War"
Business daily Financial Times Deutschland
of Hamburg editorialized (9/9): "The war on terror is reaching a new
level. Following the superpower America,
Russia now wants to fight terrorists across the world. Moscow wants to destroy their bases anywhere
in the world by preemptive strikes.… So the next level of the counterterrorism
war might turn into a horror trip. Isn't
Russia allowed to do the same after the massacre in Beslan like Washington did
after 9/11? Moscow hopes that the world
faced with the devastating pictures of dead children would accept an escalating
war. It overlooks that the announced
attacks on terror camps are an attack on the sovereignty of other
countries. Even a mature democracy like
the U.S. has its problems with such a war - see the violations of human rights
in Guantánamo and Abu Ghraib. What will
happen if an autocratic country like Russia is starting such a hunt? We have seen a touch of it in Qatar recently,
when two Russian agents eliminated a Chechen leader with a car bomb. Will we see similar actions in Istanbul,
London and Stuttgart? The anger, the
pain and the urge to do something is understandable after the terror attacks in
Beslan, but Putin's policy is wrong."
"What Russia Will Be"
Berthold Kohler commented in center-right Frankfurter
Allgemeine (9/8): "The West's hope that President Putin might solve
the recent act of terrorism politically was dashed immediately. Putin's program contains the usual elements.
He said that he wouldn't negotiate with child murderers, although nobody had
demanded that. Is every Chechen a child
murderer? A political solution, which
Putin supposedly sought, was based on the condition that terrorists lose the
support by the people, but Putin's policy of oppression has caused the
opposite. No critical comments on the war
in Chechnya are allowed in the Kremlin - it would be a criticism of the person
whose will is law in Russia. As a
result, there will only be an 'internal' investigation of the events in
Beslan.… Also, the West has no silver
bullet to solve the Chechen conflict, but we should worry even more about the
future of Russia under Putin."
"No Annoying Questions"
Barbara Oertel noted in leftist die tageszeitung of Berlin
(9/8): "There are not just funerals in the North Ossetian town of Beslan,
but also the Kremlin is acting as a gravedigger, burying annoying questions
about the actual events in Beslan and whether the authorities bear any
responsibility for the outcome. In this
respect, it does not come as a surprise that Putin rejected the idea of a
public investigation. This will be done
internally. We already know the result -
like in the case of Moscow's Musical Theater two years ago. All we will hear will be in line with
Russia's political leadership. Another
one of Putin's failed strategies is the 'Chechenization' of the conflict. His current diverting maneuver is to
internationalize the Caucasus conflict.
He therefore does not see any link between the hostage-taking in Beslan
and the barbarian war Moscow has been waging in Chechnya in the last five
years. Russia simply sees itself as an
innocent victim of international terrorism."
"Putin Not Interested In Truth"
Center-right Ostsee-Zeitung of Rostock (9/8) opined:
"We will never hear the full truth about the mass murder in Beslan, not
least because Putin is not interested in it.
He has only agreed on an internal investigation. Almost twenty years after glasnost not a lot
is left of the new openness. Putin is
wrong if he believes he can portray the Chechen conflict as a part of the
global war on terror. The reasons of the
conflict lie within Russia, and there they must be solved. More violence will only drive more Chechen
nationalists into the arms of religious fundamentalists."
"Too Confidential"
Christoph von Marschall opined in centrist Der Tagesspiegel
of Berlin (9/6): "The Chechen
terrorists and their allies do not deserve any understanding. Our solidarity must focus on the victims, the
Russian and Chechen civilian population who have suffered for years from war
and terror. But Putin? It is true that one has to cooperate with him,
including against terror. But a
conscience that stirs because of the U.S. cannot be silent over Russia. What has happened to the claim of the
Red-Green government to give human rights a greater value? Is this government blind in one eye?"
ITALY: "Putin:
‘Preventive War Against Terrorists’”
Roberto Fabbri notes in pro-government, leading
center-right daily Il Giornale (9/9): “The day after reminding his
western interlocutors that ‘there is no negotiating with child murderers,’
Vladimir Putin takes action. Starting
today, Moscow claims its right to carry out pre-emptive military strikes
against ‘terrorists’ ‘anywhere in the world,’ just like the United States.… Colonel-General
Yuri Baluyevsky, chief of the Russian military’s general staff, made the
announcement yesterday during a meeting with U.S. General James Jones who was
in Moscow to bring NATO’s support.… Baluyevsky, however, stated that the use of
force would be ‘a last resort in the fight against terrorism.’ Whether words will be followed by action
remains to be seen. The Russian Army is
in notoriously poor shape and its nuclear arsenal is the only thing that works
within the framework of embarrassing ruin for a former superpower.”
“Useless Protests”
Antonella Scott opined in leading business Il Sole-24 Ore
(9/8): “Russia is Putin: having assumed all powers, the President is the one
accountable for a series of failures due to the fact that nothing gets done in
Russia without his authorization. There
is no division of power...no system of checks and balances, there are no
organizations or parties capabile of getting the Kremlin to loosen its hold on
the country.… It’s easy to support world and Russian protests...but Putin stops
there. He has no intentions of publicly
linking the Beslan incident to Russia’s policy in Chechnya.… Allowing a debate
within or outside Russia would compel Putin to accept criticism, suggestions,
compromises, and a solution. This is not
possible. The only way out is via the
Kremlin’s intentions, which implicates a normalization of the region according
to its own rules.… NATO and Russia yesterday reiterated ‘their determination to
strengthen and intensify common efforts’ to combat terrorist groups. But if their statement doesn’t include the
term ‘Chechnya,’ then it will be meaningless.”
"Putin: I Owe Europe No Explanations"
Maria Ferretti noted in Rome center-left daily Il
Messaggero (9/8): “During a press conference with foreign
journalists...President Putin used harsh words towards the West in response to
a request for clarification put forth by Dutch Foreign Affairs Minister Bernard
Bot, and French Prime Minister Raffarin.… Putin appeared strong and
self-confident.… Putin’s Russia has been offended. Russia has irreparably fallen from its super
power rank, and after succumbing to years of humiliation, it resolved to offer
the West strong support following September 11, hoping to get the same
understanding in return --meaning the West’s approval of their approach in Chechnya,
as well as its acceptance to classify the separatists as international
terrorists. This, however, clashes with
European laws, leading to reprimands that in turn lead to frustration. A symptom of this environment was evident in
the news daily Gazeta’s violent attack yesterday against western and
foreign media and its reporting of the
events in Beslan: ...instead of calling them murderers and bandits, it ennobled
them in the world’s eyes by calling them ‘separatists and freedom fighters.’”
"Common Duties"
Managing editor Stefano Folli commented on the
front page of centrist, top-circulation Corriere della Sera (9/5): “On
September 11, 2001, the world ceased being what it had up to then been.… Three
years later, another month of September in a far away Russian republic laid
plain the extent to which the world has changed. Global terrorism is in our homes. The
children of Ossetia are our own. The candles lit for those deaths are the same
ones that were lit for the victims of the Twin Towers. The question is: what’s next? We don’t know. But we know that mix of
nationalism and religious fanaticism does not require a mastermind who is
hiding in some cave turning out bloody illusions and endless mourning. The ubiquitous contagion in the moderate
world and the network of alliances between fundamental groups suffices. This is
how Chechnya, crushed by Russian repression, became a laboratory for
fundamentalism.… Putin must not be left alone with his ghosts, regardless of
Moscow’s responsibilities in the Chechen issue. The Russian ghosts are ripe for
a return to an exasperated form of nationalism, to the prevalence of military
units, and to the hindering of democratic process. Similarly, the solution in Iraq can be found
only with the help of the international community, and not with its
disengagement. The truth of the matter is that crucial months lie ahead for
relations between the United States and Europe.”
RUSSIA: "Doing Things The American
Way"
Gennadiy Sysoyev wrote on the front page of business-oriented
Kommersant (9/9): "Yesterday the United States declared that it was
not going to give up contacts with Chechen separatist leaders. This means that Moscow's hopes that, after
the Beslan terror, the West will give it full support on Chechnya, are in
vain. The hopes were based on the
experience of three years ago, when the United States, following the 9/11
terrorist attacks, got a carte blanche to start a global war on terrorism. More than that, Washington reserved a right
to call anyone threatening its interests a terrorist. That, too, was accepted in the world as
being in order. Moscow decided it could
act likewise. Evidently, Moscow
reckoned that, under the circumstances, its tough stand on terrorism and
approach to the Chechen problem would win support (at least full understanding)
in the West. Yesterday's statement by Richard Boucher, a spokesman for the U.S.
State Department, however, poured cold water on Moscow's plans. Mr. Boucher, speaking of the United States'
intention to continue cooperating with the Russians in combating violence and
terrorism, made it clear that his country's assessments of some representatives
of Chechen separatists differ from Russia's."
"The U.S. Sends a Double Signal"
Yuliya Petrovskaya and Artur Blinov noted in
centrist Nezavisimaya Gazeta (9/9): "A pause for the Beslan tragedy
over, the United States is back, speaking of a need for a political settlement
in Chechnya and of its readiness to contribute to a settlement in the North
Caucasus heavily, including through talks with the separatists. A statement to that effect by an official
spokesman for the U.S. State Department, Richard Boucher, has caused a negative
reaction from Moscow. Washington is
sending Moscow a double signal. On the
one hand, the United States has sided with the Russian authorities rating the
Beslan hostage crisis as an act of international terrorism. On the other hand, Washington is turning up
the heat, insisting on a political settlement in Chechnya."
"Russia Knows Best"
Vitaliy Tretyakov argued in official government Rossiyskaya
Gazeta (9/9): "For all its arrogance, the West must realize that no
country there or in the whole wide world for that matter can teach Russia the
'right' policy in the Caucasus, simply because no country knows the Caucasus
better than Russia does. A majority
knows nothing about it at all. This is
not to say that Russia need not change its policies, both external and
internal,including in the Caucasus. One
of the obstacles that make the change difficult is local leaders who have been
hard on the Kremlin, demanding more power and claiming that, without them,
their republics will plunge into chaos....
The latest series of terrorist acts in Russia has confronted Vladimir
Putin with a severe political crisis, the worst in his presidency, one that
will bring about radical changes in this country's foreign and domestic
policies."
"Fatherland In Jeopardy"
Under this headline, literary weekly Literaturnaya Gazeta
front-paged a piece by Aleksandr Tsipko stating (9/8): "People are right
when they compare terrorist atrocities in Beslan to Nazi brutalities. More shockingly, in the days of the Beslan
tragedy, some politicians suggested that Putin should start talks with those
monsters. Beslan is not only a terrible
death toll. Putin's enemies, we must
admit that, reached their main goal.
Millions of people have been shocked, realizing that their country is
incapable of ensuring elementary security and that what befell Beslan may
happen anywhere in Russia.... Putin is
right to attribute our woes to the disintegration of the great nation of the
USSR, speaking of those who, as they stimulate the Chechnya war in the North
Caucasus, continue to view Russia, weakened as it is, as a strategic threat and
turn out of their way to get it taken apart piece by piece. The great country fell apart not only
because it was not up to the challenges of the times but also because it was in
the way of a strategic rival."
"Putin's Error"
Kirill Rogov said in business-oriented Vedomosti (9/8):
"The Beslan hostage crisis is a terrible defeat for Russia. It will stay in people's memory as an
unfortunate outcome of a battle in the war on terrorism, a lesson to be
carefully studied and learned. In his
answers to questions from a correspondent of the British Guardian, President
Putin persisted in what seems to be a deeply and tragically erroneous view,
rejecting the idea of talks with the 'bastards' and 'murderers of our
children.' The tragic dilemma, however,
is that the children were alive then.
It is very important to know that the terrorists' aim was not a troop
withdrawal from Chechnya. Their aim was
to cause confusion in people's minds.
This is exactly what they did.
Putin's 'tough line' on terrorists has increasingly been transforming
into a 'tough line' on society and its rights to information, emotions, and
opinions."
"Outrage And Grief"
Boris Lebedev had this to say in nationalist
opposition Sovetskaya Rossiya (9/7): "As the authorities were
trying to hide the truth, all their clumsy attempts did was evoke popular
anger. In a country that has for years
been fighting an undeclared war, telling stories about two planes crushing at
the same time because of the pilots' errors and bad fuel plumbs the depth of
indecency. Why lie to us? They would have done better if they had
admitted an oversight. The country is
in the doldrums, with negligence, a lack of discipline, and irresponsibility
reigning supreme. Innocent people die
for lack of security, as the government can't protect them, failing to perform
its chief constitutional duty. Outrage
and grief come over you as you think about the misery we have brought on ourselves
and about the incompetence of the authorities who have turned our life into one
appalling and endless nightmare."
"Short-Sighted Policy"
Yuliya Latynina declared in centrist Nezavisimaya Gazeta
(9/7): "Special services rule in
Russia. Their people account for 70 to
80 percent of the new elite, sitting on the staff of presidential envoys,
heading the Drug Control Service, the Audit Chamber...they are everywhere. For all that, our special services, though
they are in charge, are not up to their job, failing in preventing terrorist
acts, which is their only professional responsibility. Why is it that special services, as they
show a great interest in whatever concerns the re-division of the Yukos
property and the shutdown of the free press, don't do what they are supposed to
do in the first place, which is combating terror and ensuring national
security? That there have been an awful
lot of victims...is also a result of Russia, its president and the Kremlin
pursuing a shortsighted policy in Chechnya, and not telling us the
truth.... The reason why the war
continues has nothing to do with national security or glory. It is hard to tell whether the authorities
can change to become more reasonable, particularly because, as terrorists have
been acting irrationally, destroying children and challenging not just the
government but the entire nation, a compromise with them, obviously, is out of
the question."
"Change Tack. Give
Them A Chance"
Business-oriented Vedomosti contended (9/7): "Putin, himself a former KGB officer,
while reforming the special services and militia, have had them focus on his
political opponents.... Russia needs
effective police measures against its true enemies. President Putin likes tying himself to the
U.S.' war on global terrorism, often with a view to camouflaging his
heavy-handed ineffective policy in Chechnya.
But the disturbing reality is that Chechnya exports Islamist
terror. Rather than sending untrained
rookies to battle or razing another village to the ground, the Kremlin would do
well to develop a wiser strategy, not a sterner one, trying to improve
intelligence gathering for starters....
There is a need for a new political approach based on talks with
legitimate Chechen leaders. The Russian
president, who evidently considers all Chechens--except for those whom he knows
personally--terrorists, pushed for a political solution, but failed to win
public support. The Moscow-staged
elections on August 29 were neither free nor fair. Moscow's failures in Chechnya are no
justification for terror, anyway. Just as
the wave of terrorist acts of the past ten days is no justification for being
rougher on Chechnya. As we speak for
both Chechens and Russians, we remain hopeful that President Putin will change
his policy soon enough to give a chance to war-ravaged Chechnya."
AUSTRIA:
“The Lesson From Beslan”
Chief editor for mass circulation weekly News
Peter Pelinka opined (9/9): “Chechnya, together with the neighboring
Caucasian regions, is one of the three most dangerous tinderboxes in the world,
comparable with the Far East between Afghanistan and Iraq and the Middle East
with its smoldering conflicts between Israelis and Palestinians. In these three
conflicts, three men are trying to present themselves as hardliners against
terror: Bush intends to use 9/11 and the
Iraq war to prevail against Kerry, Sharon wants to win the Israelis’ fight for
survival by steering a tough course against almost all Palestinian factions,
and Putin seeks to prevent a secession by the Chechens by taking a hard line.…
However, they have not won their fight against terror in spite of pugnacious
rhetoric and actions. On the contrary, Iraq has become the territory of
international terrorists, with pacification or democracy nowhere in sight. In the Middle East a vicious circle of mutual
violence remains, and Russia is being
shattered by a wave of terror whose brutality exceeds almost all comparison.…
Victory against terrorism is not to be achieved by military means alone, on the
contrary. This is the lesson from Beslan that Putin has to learn, as do Bush
and Sharon.”
BELGIUM: "No Limits To
The Harm Muslim Terrorism Is Prepared To Cause"
Chief editor Rik Van Cauwelaert in liberal
weekly Knack (9/8): "The school in Beslan was the umpteenth victim
of Muslim terror that has left a trace of blood over the whole world: from the
WTC in New York and Kuta beach in Bali to train stations in Madrid and
beheadings in Iraq. Only today - after
years of horror--the first hesitant voices of protest against Muslim extremism
are heard in the Arab world. There is
also protest against 'the sheiks and imams who like to send other people's sons
and daughters to their death while they let their own children study in Europe
and the United States,' as al-Arabiya boss Abdel Rhaman al-Rashi recently
said.... The Russians have always refused to negotiate about more autonomy for
the Chechens. The spreading of the
conflict might have been avoided.
Chechnya has almost no natural resources. Its oil wells are almost depleted. Strategically, the country has only little or
no importance for Russia's security. In
the meantime, with his war against the Chechens, Putin has created his own
version of the war on terror. He tries
to convince his Western friends - who prefer to look into the other direction -
that he is the last rampart against approaching chaos and Muslim extremism that
threatens Europe and the rest of the world from the Caucasus.... The past - and the tragedy in Beslan - show
that there are no limits anymore to the harm that Muslim terrorism is prepared
to cause."
"Same Mistake"
Chief commentator Luc Van der Kelen commented in conservative Het
Laatste Nieuws (9/6): "In
Chechnya, the Russians made exactly the same mistake as the Americans in
Iraq. That conflict cannot be solved
with military means. The struggle in
Chechnya has become part of a much large conflict that is flaring up everywhere
in the Islamic world. The problem is
that that struggle is not conducted in a regular manner and not between a
regular army and a regular state with which negotiations can be started. The Western world--including the old Soviet
empire--is confronted with an enemy who cannot be defeated with bombers and
tanks. That enemy is elusive, invisible
and can hit anywhere in the world--preferably not in Islamic countries.... The Americans and the Russians will have to
understand that military actions will not lead to solutions. Europe must realize that its cities with
millions of people are not safe. Who or
what can stop terrorists in a region like the Caucasus where a 10-euro note is
enough to get a truck full of explosives across the border? Or with a 'dirty' bomb or chemical
weapons? The cooperation of all the
democratic forces is the only thing that can help."
"Chechnya, That Is Here, In Europe"
Chief Editor Beatrice Delvaux stated in
left-of-center Le Soir (9/6):
"Nothing will ever explain or justify such barbarism. But it is certain that, whoever the
terrorists ultimately turn out to be, it is not by simply condemning these acts
and by responding with the use of force only that one will prevent them from
happening again. For it was not an
isolated act, but it was part of the long-lasting Chechen conflict. And yet, as he has been doing since he made
the wrong decision to invade Chechnya, Putin does not face his responsibilities
and only offers the use of force as a response, whereas the failure of this
policy is obvious. Putin suddenly acts
in a Stalinist--and therefore frightening--manner. Europe made a mistake when it approved the
Chechen elections, which were a farce.
It must now prevent Beslan from being forgotten, like the tragedy of the
Moscow theater that was quickly forgotten.
There is an unacceptable ambiguity in condemning the adventurism of
George Bush in Iraq while at the same time giving Putin a blank check, whereas
in Chechnya or in the Caucasus--i.e. actually in Europe."
BULGARIA: "Putin's Responsibility"
Second-largest circulation 24 Hours commented (9/8): "For Russia, Beslan is what 9/11 is for
the U.S. The difference is that 9/11
marked the start of a new, unexpected and global war for the U.S. Beslan is the result of an old local
conflict, no matter how many Arabs and Africans the Russian authorities seem to
have seen among the hostage-takers....
President Putin should take the responsibility for the chaos in Beslan
as well as for failing to resolve the
Chechen issue, even partially. After
all, this is what he was elected for.... Instead, Putin is only concerned with
his macho image instead of focusing on a
lasting solution of the problem. Beslan
once again demonstrates tragically, that
stubborn bravado does not solve hot
ethnic conflicts."
"Jihad On Civilization"
Socialist-affiliated Duma held (9/8): "The
Beslan tragedy left no doubt about the terrorists' methods - the purposeful massacre of children was supposed
to convince the public that for the
'rebels with a cause', the most innocent human beings are a legitimate target of their jihad.... The methods used by these people transform their goals into a grotesque
façade of religious genocide harking, back to the Middle Ages.... Those who claim that democracy has no future
in Iraq or elsewhere in the Arab world not only justify the preservation of the
undemocratic regimes in these countries,
but also condemn them to the growing influence of religious extremists and fundamentalist political
models. In reality, there is not clash between the civilizations, but
rather a terrorist attack of the new Barbarians against civilization."
CZECH REPUBLIC:
"The West Will Win The Battle With Islam"
Jiri Pehe reflected in mainstream MF Dnes (9/8): "Despite arguments presented by tolerant
western experts of Islam, who warn that it is not possible to link Islam with
fundamentalist violence, it is difficult to ignore the simple fact that all
recent international terrorist attacks were committed by Muslim terrorists;
that except for Turkey there is no other democratic Islamic country; and that
the massacres of western civilians is not broadly denounced in the Islamic
world. The terror in Beslan will once
again prompt discussions over 'the clash of civilizations' and whether the
'oversensitive' West can ever win over Islam.... In reality, the response of
the West to terrorist attacks by Islamic fundamentalists is proof of the
incredible power of our democratic civilization. If ever we were to start thinking in the same
patterns as the Islamic fundamentalists, the West, with its technological
predominance, could easily wipe out all major Islamic centers in a matter of hours
without sacrificing one soldier... However, the Americans, led by their
tolerance of different religions, hesitated for months before firing at the
Islamic shrine in Najaf where radical Islamists built their base.... I am firmly convinced that our respect for
freedom and values that are superior to mass murders in the name of race and
civilization, hate and religious fanaticism are the very things that will
enable us to win the battle with Islamic fundamentalism."
"Beslan Should Open Our Eyes"
The MF Dnes Editor-in-Chief, Pavel Safr observed
in the mainstream MF Dnes (9/6):
"Pictures from Beslan depict hell.... Not so long ago, many people in the
West...used to be sympathetic with the
Chechens. However, the sick massacre of
children in Beslan has totally obliterated any memories of the brutal actions
of the Russian army in Chechnya. Terror
has become a globally interlinked phenomenon.
The various terrorist groups don’t need any central leadership, they
more resemble Internet operations. When
the Americans decided to remove Hussein from power, they wanted to destroy a
base for setting up criminal actions aimed at targets all around the
world. They did not provide themselves
with a good PR strategy, and made a lot of mistakes, but they were trying to
protect their safety. Israeli PM Sharon
made a number of statements and actions that turned many Western politicians
against him, but in fact he has been doing nothing else but seeking to protect
the citizens of his country. In both
cases, the UN is against [the U.S. and Israel], since especially European
politicians regard [terrorism] with a mixture of naivety (‘We should not
provoke the terrorists’) and cynicism (‘It’s not our problem, anyway’). The devastating tragedy in Beslan is a
warning: the criminals and fanatics in Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan and
Chechnya are global allies, and our enemies, whatever we may think. They did not ask the Beslan kids whose side
they want to take. They simply murdered
them."
DENMARK: "Russia Pulls Al-Qaeda Card"
Vibeke Sperling noted in center-left Politiken
(9/9): “Russia is exploiting the fact that al-Qaida may have been involved in
the Beslan tragedy. They are making the
point that they should be allowed to respond to the same enemy as the U.S.
faces, in the same way. Put like this,
it is very difficult for the U.S. to criticize Russia.”
GREECE:
"The Cycle Of Violence"
The lead editorial of influential, independent Kathimerini
held (9/4): “People cannot understand this extreme form of terrorism that uses
little children as shields.... Everyone knows that Chechnya is occupied and
strongly oppressed by Russia. Many
people consider Chechnya to be Russia’s Iraq, as it is a region where one side
exercises occupational practices, and
the other side exercises practices of guerrilla warfare.... What we see lacking in principle are
political means, and so violence becomes the main form of expression.... Life has lost its value.… Violence, coupled with religious and
nationalist fanaticism, takes on incredible dimensions, and therefore it is not
easy to deal with. We have seen this in Palestine, we see it in Iraq daily.”
“Violence And Politics”
The lead editorial of left-of-center, influential,
elitist Eleftherotypia argued (9/4): “The globe’s public opinion
unequivocally condemns the hostage-taking of little children. At the same moment, the international media
hold accountable not only those who make the most of unacceptable methods of blind
violence in order to succeed in their struggle, but also those governments that
deal with political problems by means of suppression. As a result, violence is reproduced....
Humanity is not going to find a solution to the vicious cycle of violence and
the incredible barbarity that expands from the Middle East and Iraq to
Afghanistan, from Africa to Chechnya, and also across Europe (Spain, Ireland)
through the ‘war on terrorism’ launched by U.S. President George Bush and other
warlords who have been following him to the deadlocked course of
suppression.”
"Madness"
Left-of-center, influential Ta Nea editorialized
(9/4): "The dramatic adventure of
the [school] hostages brought to the fore anew the problem of terrorism, which
is a threat for world peace. Not only
thanks to the [terrorist] attacks per se, which may destabilize various
countries, but also thanks to the reactions of the states affected by
terrorism. Those reactions usually incur
results that are usually opposite from those pursued, and create a vicious
circle of violence and blood. Best
examples are the behavior of the Russian troops in Chechnya, and the U.S.
invasion of Iraq.... Military operations
only cannot confront terrorism. A
framework of dialogue has to be created through which political solutions will
be found.”
HUNGARY: "Old Reflexes"
Foreign editor Gabor Stier indicated in right-wing conservative Magyar
Nemzet (9/8): “The Kremlin would have ‘grown into ’ the ‘job’ of handling
the tragic moment properly if the Kremlin had allowed the public to face the
sad facts right away. Russia’s shoulder
is still heavy with the burden of the past decades and the problems show
themselves in the roughest way at a time when one would least want it. President Putin felt that too. Putin, visibly touched and deeply emotional,
traveled to the scene [of the tragedy]. (Let’s recall how Bush disappeared on
9/11!).Covering up the facts [manipulating the reports about the number of
victims], just like hypocrisy, plays into the hand of the terrorists.”
"Russia And The World After The Hostage
Drama In Beslan”
Respected Russia expert Agnes Gereben observed
in influential business/political Vilaggazdasag (9/7): “Nobody can doubt today that in the
Euro-Atlantic civilization terror has replaced traditional wars. It is the
Jihad of the Islamic world’s radical
groups against the Jewish-Christian culture.
It is additional bad luck that in the entire process of settling accounts
[with the terrorists] the two largest target countries, the United States and
Russia, are both led by politicians, who
instead of being charismatic statesmen use these kinds of horrible tragedies
for gaining personal political capital.
President Putin ought to destroy the regime he has created himself if he
wants to see changes.”
"No Good Solutions"
Liberal Magyar Hirlap concluded
(9/4): "There were only bad and
worse solutions to choose from at the school in North Ossetia. The Russians can’t really win the war without
achieving less than a genocide. They
can’t really grant independence [to Chechnya], like they did in 1991, because
in that case a state run by terrorists and criminals would be their neighbor,
offering even better grounds for al-Qaida than today. The Chechen freedom fighters have become
extremists.”
"Hostage Freeing Ended In Blood Bath"
Pro-government left-wing Nepszava pointed out (9/4): "It is hardly questionable that
President Putin is personally responsible for the situation. He kept promising security for the voters for
five years. But Russia’s security today
is more fragile than ever before.
Moscow's ruthless Caucasus policy has failed. And hundreds of innocent people, women and
children, have ‘paid’ for the chosen wrong policy [of the politicians] instead
of those who are accountable.”
IRELAND: "Putin Is Unlikely To Be
Another Victim Of The Siege"
Daniel McLaughlin held in the center-left Irish
Times (9/7): "Putin and the
Kremlin will get away with lying about what happened in Beslan because that is
the way it is in Russia... critics are again accusing Mr Vladimir Putin of
shirking responsibility for a bloody and humiliating crisis. But in a country where political opposition
is in disarray, parliament is packed with the president's men and the most
influential media is under state control, it is unlikely that the former KGB
spy will become another victim of the siege in Beslan."
NORWAY:
“A Russian Tragedy That Demands An Answer”
The newspaper of record Aftenposten commented (9/6): “A
solution must be sought by opening up other channels for political
participation, also in Chechnya, and pressure the followers of terrorism to use
these channels. It could even start to look like democracy when a majority
prefers these channels.… A closer coordination of the Russian and American war
on terror can now be expected. Iraq, which has just had one of its bloodiest weekends,
should stand out as a warning against an exaggerated belief in the blessing of
armed force. What we lack today, to a larger extent than ever before, is a
strategy for the war on terror that gathers the United States, Europe and
Russia.”
"Russia’s 9/11"
The social democratic Dagsavisen noted (9/4): "The political and psychological effect
on Russia and the Russian people will be like 9/11 to the Americans.... We fear
that Russia after this will tighten their grip on Chechnya even more. This will
turn even more Chechens into extremists and terrorists. President Putin will
therefore get sympathy and wide support from most countries in the world if he,
despite the tragedy in North-Ossetia, assembles the parties for a conversation
to find a peaceful solution to the Chechen conflict.”
POLAND:
“Putin’s Truth”
Editor-in-chief Adam Michnik wrote in liberal Gazeta Wyborcza
(9/8): “This is the most difficult moment for Vladimir Putin. If he wanted to
radically change his policy--and there is nothing to indicate he does--he would
take an enormous risk and expose himself to the anger of his own political
base. If he sticks to his tough-road-leading-nowhere policy--and everything
indicates that he will--then he will doom Russian democracy to degeneration.
For the time being, he is moved by sheer emotions. In the face of this horrible
tragedy, one can understand it.... But when Putin rejects with contempt the
idea of setting up a parliamentary investigating committee, he declares he
fears having the truth of the tragedy disclosed.”
"Chaos And Death"
Jerzy Haszczynski contended in centrist Rzeczpospolita
(9/4): “Will the tragedy in Beslan be
the last straw, or will ruthlessness in dealing with terrorists--and militants
for Chechnya’s independence who are treated similarly--continue to matter only
in Russia? Perhaps the people of Russia
will no longer want to bear new tragedies.
One must hope that terror will not last indefinitely, that the time for
negotiations has arrived after such bloody events.”
"Hostages To The Russian Power"
Editor-in-chief Adam Michnik opined in liberal Gazeta Wyborcza
(9/6): “[Putin’s] mysterious searching
for some anonymous enemies outside Russia does not change the obvious
fact: Putin’s policy toward Chechnya has
failed. The second Chechen war, which
lifted Putin up to the apex of popularity, has turned into a spiral of violence
with neither principles nor scruples.
All bars--even the most inhuman--are allowed. Meantime, Putin has announced he’s tightening
the screw even more. This is a road
nowhere.”
ROMANIA: "Terrorism Is
Not Afghan-Taliban Or Just Iraqi Any Longer"
In the independent Ziua,
foreign policy analyst Victor Roncea opined (9/7): “The horrors in the Moscow Dubrovka Theatre,
where 132 people were killed by Russian special forces, are just a bad dream
compared to the massacre perpetrated by Putin’s men in Beslan … The Russians
took over a Hollywood horror script by only changing the characters a little
bit.... After the bitter experience that the entire world had during the
invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq in the name of the 'anti-terrorist fight,'
Russia felt it was losing ground. It has imagined that it can continue this
mockery of human intelligence by using Islamic terrorism as a pretext for
maintaining strategic and political control over huge areas of the world. Was it only a coincidence that Saddam ‘the
terrorist’ with his ghostly WMDs was sitting on the second largest oil reserves
in the world? Was it a coincidence that
Afghanistan is the turning point of the oil and gas pipelines for all of Asia
and the largest opium plantation in the world?
Is it a coincidence that Chechnya plays this same role in the Caucasus
area? How real is the fact that this
‘revival of terrorism’ is taking place
now, in America and Russia, after these imperial powers had messed around in
every corner of this world? … Both Putin and Bush, who has hypnotized his
voters with his ‘anti-terror fight,’ should put an end to these policies of
force which stir up violence, and should treat this new global cancer in its
depth, from its origins.”
"Fight Far From Over"
In the opposition Romania Libera,
political analyst Razvan Scaesteanu opined (9/6): "The terrifying hostage taking in
Beslan, North Ossetia, during which hundreds of children and adults lost their
lives or were wounded, and the statements of President Putin, who said that
Russia was the target of international terrorism, indirectly gave two electoral
arguments to the incumbent U.S. President.
The first issue (the Ossetia hostage taking) has undoubtedly awakened in
Americans’ minds the tragic terrorist attacks of 9/11, when 3,000 people died,
and the conviction that a clear and tough position has to be adopted against
terrorism, and that means exactly what Bush has done and promised that he will
continue in doing. Second, Putin’s stand
underlined the fact that, despite all efforts up to now, international
terrorism still has resources, and, for this reason, the fight is far from over.”
"Putin Confronted With The Most Serious
Crisis Of Confidence"
In the English-language daily, Nine O’Clock,
foreign policy analyst M.Hareshan opined (9/7):
“In ten days, Russia was hit three times by Chechen terrorists.... The
geographic dispersion of these strikes, the losses registered on these
occasions and the variety of the means used by the terrorists, have all proven
the fact that all of Russia has been affected by this war.… It is undeniable
that the Putin administration, and President Putin himself, is confronted with
the most serious crisis of confidence on behalf of his own nation. Likewise, it is also obvious that the Russian
President will have to act very quickly to restore the nation’s
confidence. And this will undoubtedly
mean a settlement of the Chechen conflict.
How will this settlement be effected - through an intensification of the
war against the rebels, or through the launching of a new political process -
remains to be seen. What is however
expected is the fact that Russia will get powerfully involved in fighting
international terrorism anywhere where the latter might manifest itself, in
Iraq or anywhere else, to be certain that it is not alone in the fight."
SPAIN: "Putin
Rectifies"
Conservative ABC wrote (9/9):
"Russia has had to suffer its own 9/11 in order to change its
mind.... [Its] bet in favor of the
doctrine of diplomatic means, followed by the self-called Franco-German axis,
has totally changed. Its complete
opposition in the Security Council to the badly-named 'preventive war' has been
replaced.... After the terrorist
atrocity committed on September 3, nothing will be the same again in
Russia. The giant has been wounded. Self-defense justifies its reaction.
But if Russia wants to see justice done and avoid new attacks, it will
have to adapt its actions to proportionate means, and try future ways of
self-government that deny terrorists' propaganda. Otherwise, Russia will fall into the same
mistakes of the past.... If Putin wants
to win the reputation of a leader of an open society, he has now his
opportunity. The fragility of democratic
institutions should not be the excuse for a reactionary option that responds to
terrorist horror with more indiscriminate horror. Russia should learn from its failures and try
to combine force with practical intelligence.
Only that way will it be possible to win the battle against Islamic
totalitarism appearing in the Caucasus.
"Consequences Of The Slaughter"
Conservative La Razon wrote (9/5):
"The Chechen pro-independence movement has lost at a stroke any sympathy
it might have had for its age-old fight against Russia.... But Putin...should also stop considering the
Chechnyan problem as a strictly internal affair of Russia and coordinate
solutions with other countries.... The
international community, for its part, should take note of the massacre and face once and for
all the fact that we are at war.... It
is possible to defeat terrorism, but only by acting in a coordinated way among
all countries, especially in the Muslim world; and by not forgetting that,
together with police or military measures, one must simultaneously act
diplomatically, in order to deprive groups such as Al Qaeda of the possibility
of sanctuaries or havens in any country....
Politically, the world must isolate terrorists and deny them any
possible sign of support or justification."
"Force And Dialogue"
Conservative ABC columnist Ignacio
Sanchez Camara wrote in a signed op-ed (9/7): "Do not let grief cloud
vision. Terrorism is not blind, so
neither can be the fight against it....
What is most relevant is to understand that a nationalist cause has
turned into another Islamic one. A new
focal point of Islamist terrorism is not a threat just for Russia, but for the
whole civilized world.... Not having
supported the intervention in Iraq does not, then, constitute a guarantee
against terror. The truth is that the
only ones who don't see it don't want to see it; but the threat against the
world in general and the West in particular long predated the Twin Towers and
the international alliance against Saddam Hussein.... It is not Bush's foreign policy that has
destabilized the world or made it dangerous.
His response may be more or less correct, but it is not the cause of
Islamist terror.... The solution is not
choosing dialogue and repudiating force, but rather in distributing each with
discernment and efficiency.... The worst
thing would be to use dialogue where force is needed, or use force when it is
pertinent to negotiate. Knowing where to
use one or the other is the key.... What
is needed is to decipher if there is a threat against the West that intends to
destroy it, where this threat comes from and how to fight it. The rest is secondary."
"Putin's Drama"
Left-of-center El País maintained (9/5): "Putin should be aware that, even if he
doesn't intend to change his policy on Chechnya, it has shown signs of weakness
ever since he came to power. And now it
might be more difficult to change it because he doesn't have, or doesn't want
to find, a valid interlocutor.... What
was in the beginning a nationalist claim has become for him a terrorist
phenomenon, and is now fundamentally international.... The rulers of post-Soviet Russia have been
unable to manage a policy of minorities in the chaotic ethnic framework that
the Federation remains.... It is not
easy, just as it isn't easy in Western democratic societies either. The problem worsens when it exists in a
nation whose leaders maintain strong autocratic signs and where there are not
the practices of the rule of law."
SWEDEN: "Stop Violence
And Oppression"
Conservative Stockholm-based Svenska Dagbladet commented
(9/7): "By disguising the war in
Chechnya as one part of the war against terrorism, Russia has managed, least of
all, to make the U.S. take an extenuating attitude towards the problem. But the opposite is needed. To shut one's eyes to Russian atrocities is
neither morally appropriate, nor good realpolitik.... Judging from President Putin’s statement, a
change of policy is not being considered...and to help put a stop to the
(Chechen) conflict a tougher approach from the U.S. and the EU, including more frankness
and criticism, will be needed.... After
Beslan we must both support Russia in its fight against the terrorist groups
that have been established there and increase pressure on President Putin to
seek a peaceful solution in Chechnya.”
“A Continued Russian Hard Line"
The independent, liberal Stockholm morning Dagens
Nyheter (DN) (9/6): "Today Chechnya is a tattered and torn society
where Russian officers and Chechen gangs of robbers make great profits from
organized crime. Anarchy is prevalent, a situation that encourages terrorist
groups.... Normalization is quite likely the prerequisite to stop or at least
reduce the terrorist attacks. In this regard the surrounding world has reason
to take an active part.... Everyone had
much to gain when Russian relieved itself from oppression and opened up. That
the world around at that time, when the situation was in the balance, chose to
keep a low profile on certain issues and prioritize the normalization of the
country and its integration into the West was easy to understand. But it is not
so today.”
TURKEY: "The Side
Effects Of Terror”
Sami Kohen noted in the mass appeal Milliyet
(9/8): “The North Ossetia disaster is big enough to shake up both Russian
domestic and international politics. The
Russians voiced their strong reaction against the terrorists, yet the Russian
incompetence in dealing with the problem has also put the Putin administration
on the spot. People are upset at those
Russian officials who either showed a very weak performance or lied to
them. Even Putin himself has been
subjected to harsh criticism.… This is the most serious crisis Putin has faced
as President. He might try to be
‘tougher’ from now to restore his weakening popularity, or he might try to
silence his opponents. Based on his most
recent remarks, the latter course seems more likely.… The incident will also
have an effect on Russian foreign policy. Putin is trying to gain Western
support on the Ossetia issue by making a linkage to international terrorism. Some leaders, including President Bush, have
already lined up next to Russia.
However, some political circles of Europe and some in the U.S. press are
treating this issue with greater caution.
The Dutch Foreign Minister, for instance, struck a suspicious tone,
which drew an angry reaction from Putin, who blamed the Europeans for applying
double standards. Putin seems bound to go through a very tough period, both
internally and internationally.”
"How Content You Are As A Muslim?"
Cuneyt Ulsever observed in the mass appeal Hurriyet (9/4):
“Let’s look at the recent performance of Muslims worldwide: Children were treated as enemies in North
Ossetia; terrorists crashed two planes in Russia and killed nearly 100
passengers; three Turkish Muslims in Iraq were murdered for nothing but trying
to earn a living; another Turkish Muslim businessman has been kidnapped; three
journalists from France, which stood against the American occupation, were
kidnapped; ongoing bombings in Iraq continue to kill more Iraqis than American
soldiers; another sabotage against the Kirkuk-Ceyhan oil pipeline has been
reported; Hamas killed innocent people in Israel despite its claim that Israel
is the one killing innocents. Even this
recent compilation shows that regardless of how right their cause may be,
Muslims have been producing nothing beyond treachery and death. 99.9 percent of Muslims worldwide have
nothing to do with this, of course, but by now it no longer matters. The word Muslim is being identified with
treason, not even with terrorism. A fly
is almost invisible, but is always enough to spoil the soup. Muslims should never forget this fact.”
MIDDLE EAST
SAUDI ARABIA: “The Lesson From A Tragic Event”
Daily columnist Mahmoud Rimawi reflected in
semi-official, influential Arabic Al-Rai (9/7): “The tragedy to which the hostage-taking
situation in the south of Russia ended regrettably shows that many mistakes are
being made in the handling of the phenomenon of terrorism, in the sense that
force, and excessive force at that, is being resorted to, which in turn
threatens the lives of innocent people on a massive scale.... Instead of being sensitive to criticisms, it
would be better for the Russian authorities to admit that they made serious
mistakes, going beyond that to the need to find a political solution to the
Chechens issue, which is an issue being used by some extremists to perpetrate
abhorring actions…. In all
circumstances, the requirement is to solve problems of a nationalistic and
historical nature, rather than resorting to short-term solutions that only lead
to more problems.”
“The Crime Of Killing Children”
Columnist Bassam Umoush, an Islamist, wrote in
an op-ed for semi-official, influential Arabic daily Al-Rai (9/7): “The crime of the Beslan school is completely
rejected by the Islamic Sharia and all others, and is only acceptable by the
rule of the jungle, the Nazis, the Zionists or warlords. Those who commit such acts have nothing to do
with Jihad, because the battles of Jihad are clear and honorable. We are the first to denounce the principle
that the end justifies the means. Those
who killed the children in that school are the kidnappers and, with them, the
Kremlin that proves its failure in handling crises, thus leading to the death
of hundreds of victims of a crooked policy.”
"International Alliance Against
Terrorism"
Riyadh's moderate Al-Jazira editorialized
(9/6): "The bloody end of the
Beslan crisis was a horrible human tragedy and has stunned the whole world. The
world was outraged against those who used such excessive brutality. This
disaster demands that the international community take a determined stand
against terrorism, similar to the worldwide sympathy for the victims. These
deviant groups will keep breeding more killers unless the international
community takes strong action against them to root out their bloody
delusions."
EAST ASIA AND PACIFIC
AUSTRALIA: "Russia’s
Politics Of Terror"
The liberal Sydney Morning Herald
editorialized (9/7): "Mr. Putin
signaled a sweeping security overhaul which will consolidate his central
government's power and override Russia's fledgling civil liberties. And Mr. Putin's traumatized citizenry will
likely applaud him for it. Liberal democracy
has largely failed to fulfill the high hopes which accompanied the
extraordinary, peaceful dissolution of the Soviet empire.... The grim wave of terrorist attacks across
Russia over the past week is, at least in part, a crisis of Mr. Putin's making. As a rising political star, he gravely
miscalculated when he tried to use a quick, crushing invasion of separatist
Chechnya to enhance his image as strongman firmly in control. The overwhelming human tragedy at Beslan
confirms what ordinary Russians have long felt:
everyday life in their new Russia is increasingly uncertain, and
unsafe. The abhorrent brutality of the
terrorists will only harden Russians against the Chechen cause.... Mr. Putin's hard line will fail, however, if
he is merely exploiting the shock of Beslan to consolidate his own political
authority and to divert attention away from Russia's rising social and economic
tensions. Unfortunately, liberal
democracy may prove the hapless scapegoat.”
JAPAN: "Rule of
Northern Caucasus to Determine Fate of Putin"
Liberal Asahi's Moscow correspondent observed(9/8):
"President Putin has maintained a hard-line stance against Chechnya out of
concern that terrorist acts by Chechen separatists could increase tension
between ethnic, tribal and religious groups across the northern Caucasus. Political instability threatens to spread to
neighboring Georgia, where local separatists are stepping up independence
efforts in the Abkhazia region, and fuel Islamic fundamentalism in other
central Asian nations. The ongoing
confusion in Russia's 'backyard' risks jeopardizing President Putin's security
and energy policies by triggering a 'Balkanization' of the Black Sea
region."
CHINA:
"Russia In A Fury:
Terrorists Go Insane, Miserable Fate Falls On Little Children"
Lv Yansong wrote in official international Global
Times (Huanqiu Shibao) (9/6):
“The uniqueness of the Russian hostage incident was that it was the
latest in a series of terror attacks in Russia over the last ten days.... This series of terror attacks proves that the
War on Terror is very severe in Russia.
Experts think that Russia is facing the most serious terror threat in
the world. The Putin administration is
also facing an unprecedented challenge.
The Russian government’s stance on the issue has gained unanimous
support from the international community....
Even the U.S., which never recognized Chechen militants as terrorists,
is standing by Russia’s side this time.
Recently, ‘learn from Israel’ has become the hottest topic in the Russian
media. A Russian official points out
that the serious damage caused by the hostage incident has caused Russia to
move ahead its ‘Israelization’ plan for the War on Terror. It is said that Putin’s first task is overall
reform of Russia’s security system.”
CHINA (HONG KONG AND MACAU SARS): "Beslan A Chance To Study Deeper
Reforms"
The independent English-language South China Morning Post
observed (9/7): "An equally
alarming possibility is that the authorities were caught entirely off guard by
the incident, despite evidence the attack was long-planned and well
co-ordinated. How could dozens of
heavily armed fighters have arrived in the small town undetected? The militants were terrorists determined to
inflict harm and no excuses can be made for them. However, the siege, which started only hours
after a Moscow subway suicide bombing and a week after two Russian planes were
hijacked by similar groups, underscores the vulnerability created by
intelligence failings. The failings
extend to Chechnya itself. A big Russian
military presence maintained since 1999 has not been able to root out extremist
leaders, while a Moscow-backed local government enjoys little legitimacy. Mr. Putin's hardline approach there may even
be stiffened in response to the recent carnage, but that will bring no
guarantee of peace and could even push the rebels into closer alliance with
Islamic jihad groups. A more productive
path would see Russia engage with Chechnya's moderate leaders, with the support
of international bodies such as NATO and the UN--even as it tackles the
intelligence shortcomings that made the Beslan disaster possible."
"The Counter-Terrorism Situation In Russia Is Grim"
Pro-PRC Chinese-language Macau Daily News remarked
(9/5): "Chechen militants know very
well that their political demands will never be accepted. Russia will not change its Chechen policy due
to the hostage situation, nor will the Russian army withdraw from
Chechnya. The major objective of the
school siege is to repeat the Moscow Opera House hostage in 2002. They hope to force Russia to use force and
tell the world that the Putin government does not cherish the lives of hostages
so as to insult Putin.... Russian President
Putin recently reiterated that the Russian government's determination in
safeguarding national unity and countering terrorist activities. The Chechen terrorists have become one of the
targets of the global anti-terrorist combat.
At the moment, Russia is not only fighting a war on terrorism in
Chechnya but in larger areas with all sorts of terrorists including the
al-Qaida group. In order to win the war,
Russia must step up its cooperation with different countries. Otherwise, not only Russia will suffer, but
also other countries will not have peace."
INDONESIA:
"Hostage Crisis In Beslan Turns Into A Human Tragedy"
Leading independent Kompas declared
(9/6): "Through television, the
world saw an act of cruelty by the Chechen guerrilla fighters.... Apparently, the violent approach that the
Putin government took is not always effective to curb and end rebel movements,
especially because the guerrilla fighters resorted to much more desperate
means, such as suicide bombing.... On
the other hand, rejecting the demands of the Chechen separatists would also
lead to more flare-ups and terrorist threats.
Some argue that the terrorist threats could be avoided by fulfilling the
demand for separation. But there is no
guarantee that the establishment of a Chechen state would not be followed by
other regions. Indeed, the Chechen question
poses a very troubling issue, a dilemma, to Russia.”
“The Cursed Violence”
Independent Koran Tempo held (9/6): “The
terrorist actions in Russia did represent a crime against humanity. It was very hard to understand that the group
that claimed to be Chechen freedom fighters could have taken such a brutal
tactic to pursue its cause. Indeed, the
tragedy would not only make them lose sympathy from the international
community, because it would overshadow all the human rights abuses of the
Russian forces in Chehnya. Support from
the Muslim world would also fade further away because even in a jihad, physical
war, a Muslim is not allowed to hurt unarmed people, let alone children.”
“Brutality In Beslan”
Islamic oriented Pelita (9/7) commented:
“One could possibly blame the Russian forces for recklessly conducting
liberation operations which led to a cross fire with the hostage takers and
caused many casualties. But it was such
an act of brutality by the terrorists that it must be cursed. It was hard to understand that the terrorists
could have become so desperate to the extent that they shot children and
teachers. It was such a barbaric crime
against humanity and one that also demonstrated that terrorist do no select
targets. It was indeed hard to
understand that the Chechen fighters could have resorted to such cruel and
brutal means.… Therefore, we must not
only condemn it but also curse the terrorists who used children as live shields
to pursue their cause.”
NEW ZEALAND: "Rebels
Take Terror To A New Low"
The leading center-left New Zealand Herald
commented (9/4): "To all intents,
world leaders held nothing back as they condemned the taking of children as
hostages in southern Russia.... None can
now feel confident they are immune to the terrible decisions associated with
terrorism.... The hostage-taking in
North Ossetia is, of course, a new low, even for the scourge that is terrorism.
For the first time, children have been deliberately targeted. It begs the
question: where will it stop? In fact, it marks an end for the Chechen
rebels. Any chance of attracting
international backing for an independent Chechnya evaporated at School No. 1 in
Breslan. Just as support for the
Palestinian cause evaporated when Black September overstepped the bounds of
humanity at the 1972 Munich Olympics.
Once, it was possible to feel sympathy for the Chechens. Historically, the region has resisted Russian
rule, and its push for independence was prompted purely by nationalism. Equally, Russia's reasons for denying that
right were hardly compelling. Important
oil pipelines cross the region, and Moscow fears the unsettling impact of an
independent Chechnya on other Muslim-majority areas. However, the Chechen rebels have
systematically undermined their own case.
Increasingly, they have espoused Muslim fundamentalism. This, and the presence of foreign Muslim
fighters, has enabled Russia to present the conflict as part of the international
terrorist threat spearheaded by al-Qaida.
Now, despicably, the rebels have stooped to involving children in their
desperate campaign. On any count, this
is a new low--for humanity and for their cause."
PHILIPPINES:
"Massacre Of The Innocents"
The independent Manila Times said (9/6): "The carnage in Beslan in southern Russia
has stripped away the world's last vestige of innocence. Children have become a fair game for fanatics
who have embraced terrorism to further their cause.... The hostage-takers in Beslan have achieved
what they set out to do--create a stage on which they could perform their dark,
bloody tragedy. In a way, they won a
political victory over the vastly superior enemy: Moscow.... And they did it by butchering school
children. There is no justification for
the massacre of the innocents. Let us
not lose sight of that.... It will take
a while for the image of Beslan to recede from the collective
consciousness. Perhaps we should not let
them recede. Perhaps we should let the
grief, the anger, the revulsion linger on, a constant, painful reminder that such
barbarism should not be allowed to happen again."
SINGAPORE: "Sad Day
For Russia"
The pro-government Straits Times editorialized (9/7): "There is no doubt that the Beslan
school siege ended in almost the worst way imaginable.... Russia must do far better in responding to
terror, not least because the terrorist masterminds responsible for the Beslan
atrocity are likely to be heartened by the way in which the crisis turned
out. They have attacked a school--a
simple but profoundly recognizable symbol of a normal society--with impunity,
they have killed large numbers of children and adults, and they have sown
terror in the hearts of the wider Russian population. They have scored a major psychological point
against the Russian state. However, it
is important as well to recognize where the terrorists have failed. The horrible casualties have caused
widespread revulsion in Russia and other countries and have set back the
terrorists' political goal: independence for Chechnya through force of
arms. Their inability to wrench major
concessions out of the Kremlin has underscored, as well, the reality of
President Vladimir Putin's tough line on terrorism. The need for this toughness cannot be
overstated. Terrorists are emboldened
when they see governments losing nerve....
Putin has shown that he will not be cowed. For this, he is to be commended. The challenge, then, for Moscow is to hold
firm to its line against terror while shoring up its security.... Putin has promised a thorough overhaul of
Russia's law and order and intelligence organizations to ensure that the
atrocity is not repeated. He will be
held to his word. Without a doubt,
Russia's 9/11 has arrived."
SOUTH KOREA: "A
Tragedy Driven by Despair And Recklessness"
Nationalist, left-leaning Hankyoreh Shinmun asserted
(9/6): “Behind the tragic hostage crisis
lie the hardship and despair of the Chechen people, given that the Russian
government has been suppressing the independence movement in the tiny
Republic.... Russian President Putin, in
a recent speech to the Russian public, made clear his intent to deal more
strongly with terrorist attacks, calling a recent series of attacks
international terrorism. However, this
attitude by Mr. Putin will clearly make the situation worse. Treating the
Chechen independence movement as part of international terrorism is tantamount
to attempting to gloss over the problem by taking advantage of the U.S.’ war on
terror. The only way to resolve the
Chechen crisis would be for Russia to admit the reality as it is and to leave
open the possibility for negotiations with the Chechen people.”
"Lessons From Hostage Tragedy In
Russia"
Hong Wan-seok, professor of international
politics at the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, observed in the
independent Joong-Ang Ilbo (9/7): “The 9/3 tragedy is certainly sounding
an alarm bell to the world: Despite strong military forces, massive human
resources and formidable military equipment, Russia, one of the world’s most
powerful countries, was devastated by a mere dozen or so terrorists. What the 9/11 terror attacks and this tragedy
signal is that the world is not free from war with these new enemies and that
it is not easy to eradicate them. In
this regard, the argument that those terror attacks against the U.S. and Russia
are the natural consequences of the superpowers’ imperialistic ambitions is
losing its persuasiveness.”
SOUTH ASIA
INDIA:
"The Beslan Horror"
An editorial in
Secudnerabad-based left-of-center English daily Deccan Chronicle
(9/7): "Even as Beslan is burying its dead, now estimated to exceed 360 in
number, a majority of them children, a new reality has emerged from that city's
horrendous experience with which the international community must contend if
the world is to be saved from similar tragedies in the future. That reality has
two aspects. The first is that terrorism, as the UN Security Council rightly
pointed out, is now 'one of the most serious threats to international peace and
security.' The second is that
counter-terrorism strategies devised by individual nations which are victims of
the menace are inadequate to contain it and that a global anti-terrorism
alliance has become an imperative. Both written and unwritten bilateral and
multi-lateral compacts do exist to fight global terrorism, some of them under
UN auspices.... The Beslan experience highlights the extension by Chechen
separatists of their operational areas beyond the Chechen borders and well into
Russia's entire North Caucasian region, prompting Russian President Putin to declare
that Belsan represented 'direct aggression by international terrorism against
all of Russia, to all our people.'... However, the responsibility for creating
an anti-terrorist global pact and investing it with a structural framework,
power and resources obviously rests with the international community and its
leaders who need to plan more imaginative measures in order to eliminate what
Putin describes as weaknesses in counter-terrorism strategies which are
exploited by terrorists the world over. It is here that new initiatives
inspired by the UN seem called for."
"The End Of Innocence"
An editorial in the pro-BJP right-of-center Pioneer
stated (9/6): "The bloody outcome of the hostage crisis in Beslan, North
Ossetia, has united not only Russia but the entire free world in grief. But solidarity in suffering does not suffice
when the victims of terrorist butchery turn out, to be small children.... With
Beslan, Chechen rebels crossed a line beyond: When children are not merely
caught in cross fires, when they are coldly and consciously made to go as lambs
to slaughter, it is an outrage against humanity. The cowardly perpetrators of
the carnage have to be smoked out of their holes and exterminated.... It is no
ghoulish coincidence Chechen 'separatism' has a Kashmiri cousin. Both
secessionist 'movements' stand hijacked by foreign elements.... Nor is it an
accidnet that, yoked to the mother craft of radical Islam, the terrorist
assault in Beslan shoudl have achieved new heights in diabolism. Though Putin's
iron will to crush insurgency has never been doubted, Russia's anti-terror
campaign appears reactive rather than proactive, hitting out only after the
tragic event. The combat requires teeth in terms of boosted intelligence, hot
pursuits, use of overwhelming force-and eternal vigilance. But, first, it
demands a sense of urgency.... With the Al Qaeda as its tutelary spirit,
Chechen militancy has undergone jihadi mutation...the world must stand by it as
solidly as for post-9/11 America.... Beslan's children teach the world a big
lesson: Only one standard can be applied to the kind of beasts who brutalized
them."
"Beslan Lessons"
An editorial in the centrist Hindu judged
(9/6): "The three day school
hostage drama in Russia came to a heart-rending end on Friday... The calamity
has revealed the ugliest face of fundamentalist terrorism. The Chechnya-linked
terrorists deliberately targeted innocent small children.... The terrorists
demonstrated they had no compunction in detonating the bombs that killed the
children in the end. The crisis climaxed a bloody week of apparently
coordinated terror attacks in Russia. It began with the simultaneous bombing of
two airliners in which 90 people died. Then came the suicide bomb blast in
Moscow that took 11 lives and injured more than 50 people. That 10 of the 32
hostage-takers killed by Russian forces in Beslan were reportedly of foreign
origin appears to provide fresh proof of the nexus between Chechen rebels and
international terrorist networks. Russian investigators claim they have found
evidence that the school raid was financed by an Al-Qaeda operative, Abu Omar
al-Saif, who has been active in Chechnya for some time now.... President Putin
has highlighted the truth that international terrorism has unleashed an
'all-out war' against Russia.... The hope is that the world will draw from the
Russian tragedy the appropriate lesson: that international terrorists,
outrageously appropriating the banner of Islam, have come a long way in forming
a united front against civilized humankind.
It is high time western countries stopped differentiating between 'bad'
and 'good' terrorists--between those who target the United States and its
allies on the one hand and those who target Chechnya, Jammu & Kashmir,
Xinjiang, and so forth--and close ranks in fighting the terrorist menace."
THAILAND:
“Lessons From A Russian School”
The lead editorial in the top-circulation,
moderately conservative, English language Bangkok Post read (9/7):
“President George W. Bush of the United States was right the first time. It is not possible to ‘win’ the war on
terrorism, and Mr. Bush should not have backtracked from this statement in the
face of election campaign rhetoric. A spate
of terrorist attacks on innocent civilians in Russia, culminating in the murderous
attack on a school, has demonstrated that terrorists have neither limits to
their destructiveness nor intentions to conclude their campaign.”
AFRICA
TANZANIA: "Violence
Will Never Eliminate ‘Terrorism’"
In the Kiswahili independent, but pro-Islam
weekly tabloid Nasaha, Maalim Bassaleh opined (9/8): “This was an evil
and barbaric act committed by alleged Chechen terrorists.... Whose heart would
have remained indifferent at the sight of the many dead bodies, innocent lives
that had been extinguished? If the people who committed these murders did so in
the name of Islam then they are very wrong. Islam has nothing to do with
indiscriminate blood shedding. No Muslim would rejoice at such savage acts. All
those who respect the right of every human being to live should vehemently
condemn these brutal and evil attacks. Many world leaders have condemned these
murders.... But condemnations alone will not eradicate terrorism! If the world
wants to stamp out terrorism, efforts must be made to identify its causes. Only
when the causes are fully addressed, will the war against terrorism be won. In
the case of Chechnya, the question must be asked as to why Russia has refused
to recognize the country’s independence? There are two major possible reasons.
Firstly because of the oil wealth that is in Chechnya, and secondly because the
people of that country are predominantly Muslim. Russia does not want to lose
the oil and it does not want an Islamic state on its borders. There are some
who blame the Chechen fighters for holding the children as hostages. On the
surface, this might appear to be brutal, but why are Russian soldiers not
blamed for killing old people, women and children in Chechnya? Are Russian
children worth more than Chechen ones? Why should Chechen militants who are
fighting for their self-determination be regarded as terrorists when they kill
[Russian] children, but Russian troops who kill Chechen children are justified
to do so? Violence is not the means to
end terrorism. Dialogue and compromise on both sides concerned is the right
way. The proof is there for all to see. Since President Bush declared his so
called ‘war on terrorism,’ have we seen a decrease or an increase in terrorist
attacks? Since American forces invaded Iraq, has blood shedding reduced or
increased in that country? Everyone can see for themselves.”
"Stamp Out Terrorism"
The Kiswahili independent, but anti-government Majira
carried an editorial commentary stating (9/7): “If there was any horrifying and
tragic news that went round the world last week, it must have been the killing
of more than 300 people and wounding of 500 more, with 260 still unaccounted
for, in Beslani, Russia. These savage terrorist murders of innocent people
cannot be tolerated. As President Benjamin Mkapa said in his message of
condolences to Russian President Vladimir Putin, it is difficult to believe
that these horrible acts took place. We join President Mkapa in his call for
the world to work together in combating terrorism wherever it may be found,
considering the fact that Tanzania was a victim in 1998. We also join other peace loving people the
world allover in condemning this act of terrorism and in extending our
sympathies to all the families that lost their loved ones in this tragedy. We
call upon the international community to intensify the fight against
international terrorism.”
WESTERN HEMISPHERE
CANADA:
"Putin Reverts To Old And Evil Habits"
The conservative The Gazette editorialized (9/8):
"Newspapers around the world covered the [Beslan school] story the same
way, but only Izvestia's [editor] Raf Shakirov was forced out, apparently
because the paper had dared to criticize Russia's President Vladimir Putin for
his handling of the crisis.... Putin, the former KGB man, has more than once
shown a clear willingness to use totalitarian methods. In modern Russia, just
as in the Soviet era, there are too few checks and balances.... A people without access to the truth cannot
decide what steps to take next. Russians are no longer content to be told to
think something - 'It's international terrorism' - that they know, despite
Putin, is not the whole truth. Russians should be able to learn, from free and
unbiased sources, who the hostage-takers were and what their goals were; how
many people died and how; how the crisis ended; whether the Russian special
forces are up to the job of combating terrorism, especially in such fraught
circumstances as the hostage-taking of children; what steps the Putin
government plans next in its battle with Chechnya and Chechen terrorists. These
are all legitimate questions. In any truly democratic country, the media and
the population would be screaming these questions from the rooftops and
demanding instant answers. The government would find itself facing intense,
relentless criticism. This is as it should be. This is how a democracy and a
free press work. Instead, Putin is wasting everyone's time trying to silence
criticism. Fortunately, his effort might
already be a losing cause. Even Russian state television, which last week had
characteristically played down the numbers involved in the hostage-taking, by
the weekend was conceding that the government had a duty to keep the public
better informed. Shakirov, the fired Izvestia editor, said he had published the
photos to show that 'this was a war.' It is. And, as so often, the first
casualty is the freedom to print the truth."
"The Bungling Kremlin: First Chechnya, Now Beslan"
Columnist Marcus Gee observed in the leading Globe
and Mail (9/8): "First came the sorrow and the sympathy. Now come the
questions. Both within Russia and abroad, people are beginning to ask how the
hostage-taking in Beslan could have gone so wrong. Why did the Russian
government lie to its public about the number of hostages? How did the standoff
at the school turn so quickly into a pitched battle? Even more important, how
has the Kremlin managed to turn the separatist movement in Chechnya into a
terrorist threat that imperils every Russian?... Whoever the terrorists were,
the Russian government's response was marked from the beginning by
ham-handedness, secrecy and brutality.... It is always dangerous to advise
governments under fire from terrorists to look to the root causes. That is what
critics of the U.S. did after 9/11, implying that the Americans were to blame
for the deaths of their citizens. It would be equally wrong to blame the
Kremlin for the deaths in Beslan. The main responsibility lies with the brutes
who seized innocent children. But as the days go by, it is clearer and clearer
that Moscow bungled the crisis, just as it has mishandled the Chechen uprising.
It must bear some responsibility, too."
"Putin's War On Media"
The liberal Toronto Star opined (9/8):
"The Chechen-linked terrorists who killed nearly 500 people in recent
brutal attacks at a Russian school, on two aircraft and at a Moscow subway were
smart, motivated, well-trained and well-armed. Tragically, better so than
Russia's security forces. They also appear to hope to destabilize Russia by
igniting a civil war across the troubled North Caucasus. And Russians fear they
were aided by corrupt officials. At
every level - political, military and social - these attacks pose challenges
for President Vladimir Putin, who came to office vowing to solve the 13-year
Chechen secessionist crisis.... While
Putin deserves sympathy dealing with monstrous crimes, Russia will not become
stronger, or more terror-proof, by silencing journalism that questions official
bungling or exposes corruption. The way forward lies in crafting a political
solution in Chechnya that marginalizes the savage child killers and ends a
futile war, and in fighting the corruption that lets terrorists bribe their way
across the country to hit the capital, airports or schools. Russia has real
foes. The press is not one of them."
"The Barbarian Madness"
Editorialist Jean-Marc Salvet commented in the
centrist Le Soleil (9/4): "Madness is the loss of all points of
reference, the disappearance of all moral and ethical codes. Barbarity is
inhumanity. It is a plunge into an endless precipice, a bottomless abyss of
blood, of sadness and of dread. The city of Beslan in North Ossetia will be
forever marked by it. By seizing a school, by taking hundreds of children, their
parents and teachers hostage, the terrorists affiliated with the Chechen cause
were already committing not only a cowardly and inhuman act, but they were
showing that barbarity - motivated by madness or despair - could be without
limit.... Fanatical extremists, willing
to go to then end and having lost all notion of right and wrong, had, as of
Wednesday, crossed a new line. Their action was aimed first and foremost,
knowingly and in all conscience, at children; young girls and young boys. That
is why we must insist on the cowardice and the barbarity.... Russian
authorities will quickly have to launch an independent inquiry into these
events. The Moscow government has already been too secretive in this affair....
The situation in Chechnya is like gangrene, eating away at the Caucasus and,
beyond, at all of Russia.... But did the assailants who took innocent victims
hostage believe for a single moment that they would serve the Chechen cause by
targeting the students in a school? The Chechen leaders, who distanced
themselves from the hostage taking in its early hours, understood that it would
not. Those who covered the soil of Beslan with the cadavers of children and
adults are not combatants. They are barbarians, blinded by hate and having lost
all moral sense. This tragedy only worsens already fiery interdenominational
and interethnic relations in the entire Caucasus. It plunges the entire world
in a terrible dread."
ARGENTINA:
"Weakness"
Claudio Mario Aliscioni, leading Clarin
international columnist, held (9/6):
"'We show weakness and weak people are beaten,' said Putin
regarding the Beslan hostage tragedy.... The phrase marks a strategy and a
perception of the direction of global affairs. First, it shows that a large
part of global power - Bush and Putin himself -- insists on defending the idea
that force will defeat force. Certainly, this idea would prove right if it
weren't that empirically, it's obvious that force wasn't able to solve a single
problem since 9/11."
"Putin's Image, Damaged by the Tragic
Ending of the Hostage Crisis"
Julio Alganaraz, leading Clarin
Rome-based correspondent, noted (9/5): "President Putin is criticized by
international public opinion due to his very tough and implacable policy
against the Muslim secessionists in Chechnya that privileges the use of force
to suppress the rebellion without any flexibility aimed at seeking alternatives
for a negotiated solution. The humanitarian catastrophe of Beslan, last Friday,
showed that the tough option only fuels the ferocity of Ultra-Islamic terrorism
in the small republics of the southern Caucasus..... The Russian people support
this repression style at any cost, and this is why many experts believe that,
immediately, Putin won't change his strategy with Chechnya and that his power
of 'modern czar' isn't jeopardized. But criticism inside and outside Russia as
a consequence of the way he solved the Beslan crisis, is growing, and has begun
to erode his image."
BRAZIL:
"Putin's War"
Liberal Folha de S. Paulo (9/7)
editorialized: "The Russian government is making even more intransigent
and implacable the repression against Chechen separatist rebels. By speaking about an 'international
terrorism' attack against Russia, mentioning al-Qaida, and urging tougher
[anti-terrorism] legislation, Putin is trying to reduce local participation in
the Chechen question to insert it in the war on terror being waged by the
U.S.... As a result, terrorism is following its sinister script of sowing hate
and creating an environment of war in which military actions by nations hit by
the phenomenon are enlarged and prospects of political negotiation, reduced....
Other world leaders facing rebellions will feel free to intensify the use of
force against a problem that is increasingly assuming global proportions.
Certainly there is no solution at sight for terrorism.... Even possibilities of
action in the political front are limited, although they should not be
neglected. If in the al-Qaida case the aspirations are diffuse and based on
insane fanaticism, the same does not apply to Chechens and Palestinians. It is
not a matter of yielding to blackmail, but rather one of not renouncing
politics, because it is exactly this that the terrorism strategy wishes."
"The Triumph Of Barbarism"
The lead editorial in center-right O Estado
de S. Paulo (9/6) observed: "The Beslan tragedy is the triumph of
barbarism because it confirmed that no nation - from pseudo-democratic Russia
to ultra-democratic Spain - has managed to find an adequate response to at
least restrain terrorism."
"Tragedy In Russia"
An editorial in liberal Folha de S. Paulo
(9/4) opined: "International terrorism has climbed to a higher level of
savagery, if that was still possible. There is no doubt that the Chechen rebels
and their supporters are responsible for the tragedy in Beslan, but that must
not serve as a pretext not to criticize President Vladimir Putin's
anti-terrorism policy. Russia's record in dealing with hostage crises is
disastrous.... The images of bloodstained children desperately running were the
sinister climax of a terrible week when the terrorist rage attacked
worldwide."
"The Putin Style"
Center-right O Globo (9/4): “The tragic outcome of the hostage
situation...in Beslan has once again exposed the risks of Putin’s style.... The
fear of looking weak may have shortened the Kremlin authorities’ burning fuse
even further. Incapable of dealing with
situations in which dialogue is essential, the 2002 Moscow tragedy was
repeated.... Russia maintains two extremely hostile traits from the Soviet era:
the love of secrecy and the belief in solutions with force…. If it depended on
Putin - who keeps almost all media gagged - the false, official version would
be that Chechnya is pacified..... It is a fact that no society would be able to
hide a crisis of the dimensions of the Chechnya war under the carpet.… The recent
facts have demonstrated that Putin’s country continues to be violent and has
lost the impulse of its march towards democracy.”
MEXICO: "Violence In Chechnya "
The lead editorial in the nationalist Universal stated
(9/7): "The cost of inflexibility and intolerance is making it unbearable
for Russia.... It's clear that the
politics of repression, and of not negotiating with the Chechen rebels, does
not discourage them; and each time they are more prepared to attack Russian
interests in the deepest parts of their territory. As is the case with other hostage-taking
rebels, the answer from the armed forces and Putin's anti-terrorist forces has
been as inefficient as it is brutal, and the cost in innocent lives has been
monstrous and contemptible. As Bush
commented last Monday in an interview-even though he retracted his assertion
later-you cannot win a war against terrorism, and confronting it aggressively,
without paying attention to its historic and social causes, condemns those who
try to an endless war against a tireless enemy with a thousand heads. This
flash of lucidity from Bush should open the eyes of those who believe that one
can destroy such a complex phenomenon as Islamic terrorism by force."
“Strength And Dialogue”
Peggy Marshall comments in the independent El
Norte (9/9): "The images of the massacre of Russian children the first
day of school shocked the collective conscience of the world due to its cruelty
and dislike toward life.… Nevertheless,
as human beings capable of incredible advance and achievements, we have to try
the road of dialogue and of ideas in order to search for solutions to the
terror that is lived. But that road has to leave margin for strength, to defend
our life and freedom. Strength and dialogue do not cross each other out.”
CHILE: "The Dark Faces
Of Global Terrorism"
Leading-circulation, independent daily La Tercera held
(9/5): "The war on terror, which
this week punished Russia, is a comprehensive...clash of 'global ideas'. Although it is true that the 9/11 attacks
opened a new era, one can find Cold War elements in this war on terror. During the decades of East-West confrontation
most conflicts resulted from an ideological struggle while in the era
symbolically inaugurated by the New York and Washington strikes something
similar happened with respect to the components of civilization.... Unlike
Huntington’s suggestion, terrorists mistakenly believe they are participating
in some kind of an apocalyptic final combat....
How can we overcome this? Maybe
a...multidimensional and global strategy like what the U.S. Senate's 9/11
Commission concluded in its final report.
In short, not only a plan focused on a frontal armed fight.... This
requires that Washington, which leads this war, combine foreign policy elements
such as diplomacy or cooperation to overcome conditions of great misery. In
fact, it requires greater emphasis on the advantages of multilateral action....
In many cases, each terrorist is a reflection of marginal realities and unsolved
historic conflicts that must be resolved.
"Bloody Caucasus"
Libardo Buitrago reflected in financial daily Diario Financiero
(9/6): "Terrorism has struck again
in a barbaric way.... The Russian government is certain there is evidence of an
al-Qaida connection behind the attacks.
Because of it and after the bloody Beslan event, the U.S. stands next to
President Putin. Once again, terrorism has left its deep scar."
"The Face Of Horror"
An editorial in government-owned, editorially independent La Nacion
(9/6): "The deaths of the children
in the Beslan School should become a calling for rationality, not revenge. As
has been sufficiently proven, the dynamics of reprisal lead nowhere but toward
Hell. Respect for human rights comes first, and then the rest."
GUATEMALA: "Fight Fire With Fire: Chechnyans Have No Other
Resource"
Influential El Periodico published a column by Gustavo
Berganza stating (9/7): “Even when I cannot justify the death of hundreds of
innocent people, I believe that the Russians are harvesting in these days, the
fruit of over 100 years of humiliation, abuses, murdering and indiscriminate
repression that has been placed on the Chechens. The region has the
disadvantage of being vital in the geopolitical interests of Russia, China and the
U.S. It is a necessary spot for the oil
pipelines that lead to the Caspian Sea....
For that reason the Russians don’t have the luxury of letting it go like
they have with ancient sovereign republics of the Caucasians."
"Terrorism Does Not Rest"
The financial Siglo Veintiuno editorialized (9/5): “If this ethnic-political conflict is seen as
a Russian internal affair, it has also demonstrated the link between separatist
Chechnyan groups with the international terrorists al-Qaida. The international
cooperation against terrorism is crucial, now more than ever, to fight against
an enemy that has no precise geological location; it moves from one place to
another using the most unsuspecting medium and is prepared, in the name of
supposed legitimate causes, to commit such atrocities. "
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