[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 14]
[Senate]
[Pages 19193-19195]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         BLOODSHED IN CHECHNYA

  Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, the Romans, said Tacitus, ``created a 
desert and called it peace.'' The Russian Government has created a 
wasteland of death and destruction in Chechnya and called it 
``normalization.''
  Over 10 years since the beginning of the Chechen war in post-Soviet 
Russia, the carnage in Chechnya continues, taking the lives of Chechens 
and Russians alike. Moreover, the echoes of the conflict are now 
stretching across the entire North Caucasus region. Given the 
information blockade that the Russian Government has thrown up around 
Chechnya, the world hears little of the violence and suffering taking 
place in those mountains far away.
  Nevertheless, some information does get out. As Chairman of the 
Helsinki Commission, I would like to share some of this information 
with my distinguished colleagues.
  According to Agence France Press, on June 4, 2005, an estimated 200-
300 armed men, arriving in jeeps, trucks and armored personnel 
carriers, staged an attack on the village of Borozdinovskaya, near the 
border with neighboring Dagestan. These villagers are not Chechen, but 
Avars, Dagestan's most numerous ethnic group. The raiders beat dozens 
of men and torched at least three houses. Eleven men vanished and are 
feared dead. The villagers have no idea who the assailants were, but 
evidence points to a battalion of amnestied former Chechen rebels 
allegedly operating under the command of Russia's military 
intelligence.
  In fear of their lives, almost the entire village has fled to the 
Dagestan side of the border, camping out in tents in a field, fearing 
to return.
  There has been no official explanation for the raid.
  This is only one example of the violence that may engulf an 
unsuspecting village that comes into the crosshairs of the pro-Moscow 
Chechen militias that operate with impunity and unrestrained cruelty. A 
number of these militias are no more than marauding gangs only 
nominally under the authority of the pro-Moscow regime in the Chechen 
capital of Grozny.
  In its March 2005 publication, ``More of the Same: Extrajudicial 
Killings, Enforced `Disappearances', Illegal Arrests, Torture,'' the 
International Helsinki Federation reports:

       ``There are a few signs of peaceful life. Compensations for 
     lost housing are slowly beginning to be paid (on rare 
     occasions, even without kick-back to relevant officials), 
     separate islands of reconstruction are appearing in Grozny, 
     and many cars are visible on the streets. The central open-
     air market is ever so busy.
       But some other things have not changed at all: Abductions 
     and illegal detentions of civilians by unknown armed persons 
     dressed in camouflage are still pervasive. The only 
     difference is that these people now do not arrive exclusively 
     in military vehicles, but in regular cars as well. As a 
     result, murders, torture, and beatings have remained 
     unchanged. And the prosecutor's office is still unable or 
     unwilling to provide effective investigation into these 
     endless cases.''

  Let me make it clear. I have no sympathy for Chechen partisans, or 
those purporting to sympathize with them, who have committed, and may 
yet commit, terrorist attacks against the innocent citizens of the 
Russian Federation, or against those Chechens who may not support the 
secessionist movement. When we speak of the terrorist attacks on New 
York, Washington, Madrid, London, Bali, and other cities around the 
world, we must not forget Moscow, Budennovsk, and Beslan. There must be 
no double standard in judging terrorism, nor is there any justification 
for people resorting to terrorism against innocent civilians.
  But I refer to one of the most perceptive editorials written on the 
subject of Chechnya. In the November 11, 2002 issue of Newsweek, Fareed 
Zacharia wrote:

       ``[The Chechens] have been ruthless warriors for their 
     cause, utterly unable to form a stable government, and have 
     indeed resorted to terror. But Russia's actions have helped 
     turn them into terrorists. Russia has destroyed Chechnya as a 
     place, as a polity and as a society. Chechnya is now a 
     wasteland, populated by marauding gangs Putin has spoken of 
     Al Qaeda's presence in Chechnya, but none existed until 
     recently when Chechens, devastated by the Russian onslaught, 
     took help from wherever they could get it.

  Some residents of Chechnya, having despaired of finding justice in 
the Russian judicial system and rejecting terrorism, have applied to 
the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. They are seeking 
redress for human rights violations committed under cover of Moscow's 
``anti-terrorism campaign.'' Many of these applicants have been 
harassed and detained by the authorities.
  One applicant, Zura Bitieva, had filed an application with Strasbourg 
regarding the abuses at the notorious ``filtration'' prison at 
Chernokosovo. Subsequently, she was killed in May 2003 along with her 
husband and son during a raid on their home.
  The world recoiled in horror from the murderous attack on children in 
Beslan, North Ossetia. This is but one example of the spread of the 
cancer of violence emanating from Chechnya. A few days ago, President 
Putin made an unannounced visit to Dagestan to review the deteriorating 
security situation in that unquiet Russian republic. Unrest and 
violence have occurred also in Ingushetia and Kabardino-Balkaria.

[[Page 19194]]

  Russia is entitled to protect its territorial integrity and to 
preserve order within its borders, but Moscow's methods hark back to 
the practices of the Middle Ages. It is as if the principles of the 
Geneva Accords, the UN, the Council of Europe and the OSCE are 
completely unknown let alone apply--in Chechnya.
  To the best of my knowledge, no one in the Russian Ministry of 
Internal Affairs has had to answer for the brutality that has taken 
place at the Chernokosovo prison. When horrific practices at 
Chernokosovo became known to the international community, Moscow merely 
shifted the facility's jurisdiction to the Ministry of Justice. 
According to human rights activists, ``filtration'' procedures simply 
moved to smaller, less visible places.
  Does no one in the Kremlin stop to consider that continued 
brutalization of the population and corrupt governance will likely 
increase the appeal of Islamic radicals in the region? Is Russia's 
policy in Chechnya the strategy of a serious partner in the war against 
international terrorism? Or is Russia fighting a fire with an 
extinguisher filled with gasoline?
  Next year Russia will chair the G8. Many informed observers doubt 
whether Russia should remain a member of the G8, given the downward 
trajectory of human rights and civil liberties in Russia today.
  The Russian Federation's policy in Chechnya reinforces those doubts.


           FIRST ANNIVERSARY OF THE MURDER OF PAUL KLEBNIKOV

  Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, I would like to engage in a colloquy 
with my colleague from New York and fellow member of the U.S. Helsinki 
Commission, Senator Clinton.
  Mrs. CLINTON. Mr. President, I am pleased to join in a colloquy with 
the senior Senator from Kansas, and my chairman on the Helsinki 
Commission, Mr. Brownback. We are united in believing the subject we 
will address is of great importance to this body. I appreciate my 
chairman's willingness to present these issues to our colleagues.
  Mr. BROWNBACK. Mr. President, 1 year ago this month a tragic crime 
occurred on the streets of Moscow. On July 9, 2004, Paul Klebnikov, the 
41-year-old American editor of Forbes Russia, was murdered in a 
gangland-style shooting near his Moscow office. His death was an 
enormous loss for investigative journalism and for efforts to establish 
the kind of transparent civil society that the Russian people so want 
and deserve.
  Mrs. CLINTON. The most plausible explanation for his murder appears 
to be the power of his investigative journalism, which explored the 
connections between business, politics, and crime in Russia. His murder 
has galvanized those who care deeply about justice, as well as the fate 
of democracy and the rule of law in Russia.
  Paul Klebnikov was a descendant of Russian emigres and a New Yorker. 
His widow Musa Klebnikov and children still live in New York City. 
Paul's murder shows us in tragic terms one of the threats faced by the 
press and civil society in Russia. The silencing of Paul Klebnikov's 
voice is a direct challenge to independent journalism, democracy, and 
the rule of law.
  Mr. BROWNBACK. Reading his reporting from Russia, one could tell that 
he was deeply troubled by the crime and corruption that plagued his 
ancestral homeland. His personal association with his subject, combined 
with an educational background in economics, his excellent command of 
the Russian language, and 15 years experience with the Forbes 
organization, made him uniquely qualified to report on the nexus of 
business, politics, and crime in today's Russia.
  Paul Klebnikov's killing epitomizes the brazen lawlessness that still 
plagues Russia even after the ascension to power of a putatively ``law 
and order'' ex-KGB official. For all the talk about stability in Russia 
today, it is sometimes a stability based on not asking the wrong 
questions about the wrong people.
  Mrs. CLINTON. Paul Klebnikov's widow Musa has explained that Paul, 
through his journalism, sought to foster hope in the hearts of the 
ordinary Russian citizen, bring corruption to light and focus attention 
on positive models of how a democracy ought to operate.
  Chairman Brownback and I have sought to keep the attention of the 
United States Government focused on reinforcing with Russian 
authorities the vital need to hold to account all those responsible for 
Paul Klebnikov's murder. I was pleased to join with nine of my 
colleagues on the Helsinki Commission in writing to President Putin and 
calling for an aggressive investigation into the killing.
  I also wrote to President Bush to ask him to raise the issue of 
Paul's murder with President Putin during their meeting in Bratislava, 
Slovakia on February 24th. That meeting with President Putin presented 
an opportunity to make clear that all those involved in instigating, 
ordering, planning and carrying out the murder should be prosecuted to 
the full extent of the law.
  The Helsinki Commission and my office have been assured that 
representatives of the State Department have expressed to the 
Government of Russia the United States Government's desire to see a 
thorough and complete investigation of this murder.
  Mr. BROWNBACK. Yes, State Department and other administration 
officials have raised the issue frequently with their Russian 
counterparts. Furthermore, State and other relevant Government agencies 
have formed an interagency working group to follow the case and consult 
on strategy. Secretaries of State Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice met 
with Klebnikov family members to keep them informed on progress. In 
addition, Secretary Rice's public remarks during her February 5 visit 
to Warsaw are heartening. She said it ``is important that Russia make 
clear to the world that it is intent on strengthening the rule of law, 
strengthening the role of an independent judiciary, permitting a free 
and independent press to flourish. These are all the basics of 
democracy.''
  Mrs. CLINTON. For their part, Russian law enforcement authorities 
have made arrests and filed charges. While Russian authorities should 
be commended for the energy they have shown to date, there are 
additional steps that would increase the chances that all those 
responsible are held to account. I hope that the United States 
Government will continue to make clear to Russian authorities that 
resources such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation are available to 
assist Russian authorities in the investigation.
  Mr. BROWNBACK. Earlier this year, Russian authorities charged two 
Chechens, Musa Vakhayev and Kazbek Dukuzov, with killing Paul 
Klebnikov, and subsequently announced that the man who ordered the 
murder was one Khozh-Akmed Nukaev a former official of the rebel 
Chechen government. Klebnikov had interviewed Nukaev extensively in his 
book ``Conversations with a Barbarian,'' and supposedly Nukhayev wanted 
revenge for the journalist's critical portrayal of him in the book. Mr. 
Nukaev's present whereabouts are unknown. I should add that relatives 
and friends of Paul have expressed their doubts about this accusation, 
which raises more questions than it answers.
  Mrs. CLINTON. These recent developments underline the fundamental 
importance of transparency. I hope the Russian authorities will share 
as much information as possible with Paul Klebnikov's family. Without a 
transparent process, doubt will remain that the person or persons truly 
responsible for ordering Paul's murder will be brought to justice.
  Mr. BROWNBACK. Paul believed that the press was the last outpost of 
freedom of speech in Russia. The fear and self-censorship generated by 
killing journalists benefits corrupt government officials and 
businessmen, as well as organized crime figures.
  Solving the murder no matter where the investigation leads--will send 
the signal to other malefactors who seek to muzzle free speech that the 
days of impunity and lawlessness are over. As we wrote to President 
Putin, this case is not just about one person, but about what he 
represented to a new and democratic Russia. I would note also that at 
least two more journalists have

[[Page 19195]]

been killed in Russia since Paul's death.
  Mrs. CLINTON. Paul Klebnikov's work continues to serve the people of 
Russia and the cause of democracy. We should continue to press 
authorities to find everyone who was involved in Paul's murder and hold 
them to account.
  Mr. BROWNBACK. I agree with my colleague from New York. And as 
Members of the Helsinki Commission, let us work to achieve the goal of 
freedom of the press, transparency and democracy in Russia.
  Mrs. CLINTON. That would be an appropriate gesture in honor of Paul 
Klebnikov. I look forward to continuing my work with the senior Senator 
from Kansas and chairman of the Helsinki Commission, and I thank him 
for his leadership.
  Mr. BROWNBACK. I commend the active interest the junior Senator from 
New York has taken in the Klebnikov case, and I look forward to our 
further collaboration on other vital OSCE issues before the Helsinki 
Commission.

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