[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 50 (Thursday, March 27, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E611]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       THE REFERENDUM IN CHECHNYA

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 27, 2003

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, last Sunday, while the world's 
eyes were focused on the momentous events taking place in Iraq, a 
constitutional referendum was held in the war-torn region of Chechnya. 
The referendum was held as part of the Russian Government's attempt to 
``normalize'' the situation in that tortured part of Russia's North 
Caucasus.
  For the last ten years, Chechnya has been the scene of a bloody war 
between armed Chechen rebels and Russian military forces. Hostilities 
were precipitated in late 1994 when, in the wake of Chechnya's attempt 
to secede from the Russian Federation, Russian military forces launched 
a fullscale assault on the Chechen capital of Grozny. There was a 
restive peace from 1996 until the summer of 1999, when the armed 
clashes erupted anew. The roots of this conflict go back to Tsarist 
conquests in the 19th century and Stalin's brutal deportation of the 
Chechen people to Central Asia during World War II. Unfortunately, 
certain radical Islamic militant elements linked to international 
terrorism have become involved on the Chechen side, though the State 
Department has stressed that not all Chechens are terrorists.
  Despite Moscow's repeated claims that heavy-handed Russian tactics in 
Chechnya are part of the war against global terrorism, the situation is 
far more complex. Many Chechens have taken up arms against what they 
believe is a repressive colonial power and wish to see Chechnya as an 
independent state that will be able to make the critical choice 
regarding the future of its people. As is so frequently the case, the 
civilian population has suffered terribly from the war. While both 
sides are guilty of violations of international humanitarian law, the 
Russian military and special operations units have been responsible for 
numerous and well-documented instances of gratuitous, brutal and mass 
violence against the civilian population.
  During my years in the leadership of the Commission on Security and 
Cooperation in Europe, the Commission has conducted eight hearings and 
briefings on Chechnya. Witnesses, including a nurse who was present in 
a Chechen town where some of the worst atrocities by Russian forces 
took place, have described the appalling fate of the civilian 
population.
  According to the U.S. State Department's Country Reports on Human 
Rights Practices for 2001, ``The indiscriminate use of force by 
government troops in the Chechen conflict resulted in widespread 
civilian casualties and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of 
persons, the majority of whom sought refuge in the neighbouring 
republic of Ingushetia. Attempts by government forces to regain control 
over Chechnya were accompanied by the indiscriminate use of air power 
and artillery. There were numerous reports of attacks by government 
forces on civilian targets, including the bombing of schools and 
residential areas.'' The report continues: ``Command and control among 
military and special police units often appeared to be weak, and a 
climate of lawlessness, corruption, and impunity flourished, which 
fostered individual acts by government forces of violence and looting 
against civilians.'' Among the examples of such lawlessness and 
impunity in the Country Reports were ``. . . reports of mass graves and 
`dumping grounds' for victims allegedly executed by Russian forces in 
Chechnya'' and ``cleansing'' operations directed against guerrillas but 
resulting in deaths and the disappearance of non-combatants.
  The State Department points out that Chechen forces also committed 
serious abuses: ``According to unconfirmed reports, rebels killed 
civilians who would not assist them, used civilians as human shields, 
forced civilians to build fortifications, and prevented refugees from 
fleeing Chechnya. In several cases, elderly Russian civilians were 
killed for no apparent reason other than their ethnicity.''
  Against this unsettling backdrop, with an estimated 100,000 
internally displaced persons living in refugee camps in neighbouring 
Ingushetia, and under the guns of approximately 80,000 Russian soldiers 
in Chechnya, the Chechen people have reportedly voted overwhelmingly 
for the proposed new constitution. Nevertheless, it is difficult to 
believe that a genuine assessment of the public will would have been 
determined under such circumstances. I would ask the same question I 
asked in a Helsinki Commission press release over a month ago: ``Are we 
supposed to believe that this referendum will stabilize Chechnya while 
armed conflict between the Russian military and Chechen fighters 
continue to produce death and destruction?''
  The well-respected Russian human rights group, Memorial, has charged 
that Chechens were pressured to vote with the threat of losing their 
pensions or humanitarian aid. A joint assessment mission of the 
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the 
Council of Europe stated that ``no group has been able to campaign 
officially against the referendum in the mass media or distribute 
literature arguing against the referendum,'' although some opposition 
opinions were voiced in the media. Incidentally, in the concluding 
communique of the 1999 Istanbul OSCE Summit, the Russian Government 
agreed that all sides should seek a political solution to the conflict, 
and avail themselves of the assistance of the OSCE. This commitment was 
seriously undermined when the Russian government evicted the OSCE 
Assistance Mission to Chechnya at the end of last year.
  Mr. Speaker, the Bush Administration has stated that ``. . . we hope 
[the referendum] can be the basis for a political solution to that 
tragic conflict.'' I find that rather optimistic. The Russian 
Government might better instruct its military to stop terrorizing the 
civilian population, prosecute human rights violators and rebuild 
Chechnya. Then perhaps it would not have to hold referenda in Chechnya 
under armed guard.

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