[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 101 (Tuesday, June 20, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1302]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



[[Page E 1302]]

                  CHECHNYA VIOLENCE SPREADS TO RUSSIA

                                 ______


                       HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 20, 1995
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, in the New Testament, the book 
of Galatians, we read that ``whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he 
also reap.'' How true that is today, and how true it is not only of 
individuals, but also of societies and governments.
  In response to the secession attempt by the region of Chechnya, the 
Russian Government has used massive and indiscriminate force to regain 
control of the region. At one point, at least half of the population of 
Grozny, the capital of Chechnya, a city of about 400,000, had been 
killed or driven from their homes. Entire families have been wiped out. 
Neighborhoods and livelihoods have been annihilated. Thousands of 
refugees have been displaced throughout Chechnya, and into neighboring 
Ingushetia and Dagestan.
  According to a spokesperson from the respected international relief 
organization, Doctors Without Borders, Russian military assaults 
against villages south and southeast of Grozny were accompanied by 
massive abuses against the civilian population. During the attacks 
against these villages, the number of women and children killed or 
seriously wounded was over 50 percent of the total casualties. The 
shelling of the town of Samashki, for
 instance, has been compared to the bombing of Guernica during the 
Spanish Civil War.

  And now the killing has come to Russia. According to press reports, 
about 100 people died when Chechen guerrillas stormed the southern 
Russian city of Budennovsk last Wednesday and took about 2,000 hostages 
at a local hospital. Dozens more were killed or wounded Saturday when 
Russian troops tried to free the hostages by storming the hospital.
  Ironically, this action takes place when the head of the Mission of 
the Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe in Grozny 
reports that Russia is trying to reduce civilian casualties in Chechnya 
and has tightened up discipline in Russian military ranks to avoid the 
brutality that took place earlier. Moreover, I note also that an 
official representative of Chechen political leader General Dudaev, 
speaking in The Hague, has condemned the Chechen raid on Budennovsk and 
the taking of hostages.
  Thankfully, the fury in Budennovsk has been settled without further 
bloodshed. But, Mr. Speaker, the legacy of violence and hatred cannot 
be easily extinguished. I am informed that the leader of the Chechen 
guerrilla force that attacked Budennovsk lost most of his family to the 
Russian onslaught in Chechnya. How many other desperate and vengeful 
persons has the Chechen War begotten?
  In a recent message concerning the Budennovsk tragedy, Dr. Elena 
Bonner writes:

       The policy of physical destruction of the Chechen people 
     together with attempts to deprive them of any dignity has in 
     a natural way led to the tragedy in Budennovsk. Under [these] 
     circumstances, any solution by means of force will only 
     result in new victims and will become a stimulus for further 
     spreading of the bloodshed over greater territory of Russia.

  I am certain that all my colleagues in the Congress join me in urging 
all concerned to end the cycle of violence in Chechnya and Russia. And 
once again, as Chairman of the Commission on Security and Cooperation 
in Europe, I urge the Russian government and the Chechen opposition to 
work with the Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe toward 
a permanent cease-fire and a just settlement of the conflict.