[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 16 (Tuesday, February 6, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Pages S996-S997]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                CHECHNYA

 Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, the bloody events that took place in 
the regions of Chechnya and Dagestan in recent months have alarmed us 
all. Terrorist acts by Chechen separatist rebels were answered with 
brutal shelling of rebel, hostage, and civilian positions by Russian 
troops. Although it is unclear how many people were killed during the 
fighting, Russian President Boris Yeltsin estimates that 153 Chechen 
separatists, 42 hostages, and 26 Russian soldiers died during the 10-
day crisis.
  In October 1991, Dzhokhar Dudayev, a Moslem Chechen leader, was 
elected president of Chechnya and soon declared independence from 
Russia. This decision was met with immediate resistance from Moscow and 
President Yeltsin declared a state of emergency in the region. Over the 
past several years, Russian military forces clashed repeatedly with 
Chechen nationalist forces loyal to Dudayev. After considerable 
bloodshed on both sides, a unilateral cease-fire was declared in April 
1995. Unfortunately, it did not last and fighting soon resumed.
  On January 6, 1996, the fighting in Chechnya again reached the world 
stage. Chechen separatists attacked a Russian airfield in Chechnya and 
destroyed two helicopter gunships. The rebels, under the command of 
Salam Raduyev, the son-in-law of Dudayev, withdrew from the airfield 
and proceeded to take more than 2,000 innocent men, women, and children 
hostage in a hospital in the town of Kizlyar in the neighboring region 
of Dagestan.
  After negotiating with the Russians, Raduyev released the majority of 
the hostages in return for safe passage to Chechnya. The rebels and 120 
hostages boarded buses bound for Chechnya, but the convoy was stopped a 
short distance from Chechnya by Russian forces near the town of 
Pervomayskoye. Negotiations to end the stalemate failed, and the rebels 
dug in for a siege. Rather than continue to work toward a peaceful 
solution to the crisis, the Russian military opened fire on the rebel 
positions in the town with tanks, howitzers, rockets, and small arms 
fire. Pervomayskoye is now totally destroyed.
  I do not condone the terrorist acts employed by the Chechen rebels 
and abhor their use of civilians as shields. Terrorism is never a 
legitimate negotiating ploy, and I hope that those who are responsible 
for these acts are brought to justice.
  I am, however, outraged about the use of excessive force by the 
Russian military against the rebels and the remaining hostages as well 
as the restrictions imposed on humanitarian groups who attempted to 
assist the wounded in Pervomayskoye. Humanitarian groups such as 
Doctors Without Boarders and the International Red Cross were not 
allowed to enter the town to aid injured civilians. At the same time, 
Russian soldiers were helicoptered out of the area to the nearest field 
hospitals.
  The exact number of casualties remains in doubt because members of 
the Western press were not allowed near Pervomayskoye and the casualty 
reports from both sides are not reliable. The New York Times reported 
as late as January 21 that Russian soldiers confiscated film from 
Western photographers that were attempting to photograph the smoldering 
ruins of the town. 

[[Page S997]]

  In response to the Russian shelling of Pervomayskoye, Turkish 
nationalists sympathetic to the Chechen cause highjacked a Russia-bound 
ferry in the Black Sea. The highjackers threatened to kill the more 
than 200 passengers and blow up the ferry in the Straits of Bosporus if 
the Chechens were not allowed to go free. After 3 days at sea, Turkish 
negotiators convinced the highjackers that they had gained the world's 
attention and nothing would be achieved by carrying out their threats. 
The highjackers then released their hostages and surrendered to Turkish 
authorities.
  I applaud the Turkish Government for patiently working to find a 
peaceful solution to this crisis.
  The United States Government is committed to promoting democracy in 
the New Independent States of the former Soviet Union and is investing 
millions of taxpayer dollars to help the NIS on the path toward 
democracy. I strongly support this goal. But, the Russian military 
campaign against the Chechens, especially during the past month, 
demonstrates to the world that Russia's transition to democracy and 
human rights remains fragile and unpredictable, and that Russian 
nationalism is on the rise.
  The war in Chechnya is far from over and a solution is not likely to 
be found in the near future unless both sides are willing to abide by a 
cease-fire and negotiate in good faith. President Yeltsin should not 
view the defeat of Raduyev's small force as a victory. All sides 
lost.

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