Armed Chechens Seize Moscow Theater
Published October 23, 2002
The latest information as of 1:08 p.m. Moscow time
Chechen refugees in the city of Baku (the capital of the Azerbaijan republic) organized an action to support the act of terrorism in Moscow. The refugees demand the Russian troops should be withdrawn from the territory of the Chechnya republic. Nothing has been reported yet about the reaction of the Azerbaijan government.
The latest information as of 1:14 p.m. Moscow time
The gunmen agreed to let a group of REN TV journalists and Russian singer Joseph Kobzon in the building of the music theatre. It was allowed to bring in some medicines, but the gunmen would examine all the people. The journalists will have to have their IDs with them and no weapons at all. REN TV reported that the journalists would be allowed to go to the second story of the building.
The latest information as of 1:16 p.m. Moscow time
Russian deputy Boris Nemtsov is now inside the building. He is ready to start negotiations with the terrorists.
The latest information as of 1:30 p.m. Moscow time
The Russian State Duma believes that the first priority of the whole situation with the hostages is the preservation of their lives and health. This is mentioned in the special decree, which was approved by the Duma in connection with the state of emergency in Moscow. RIA Novosti reported that 421 deputies voted for the decree, no one was against it. One deputy abstained from the voting. The deputies stressed out that all the efforts of the authorities, society and mass media have to be aimed at keeping every hostage alive and healthy. The State Duma announced on its decisive support for consolidated efforts to overcome the critical situation with the hostages. It was also stressed in the document that federal negotiators, law-enforcement bodies will be taking professional and responsible actions. The deputies of the Russian parliament addressed to political parties, to public organizations, urging everyone to realize the seriousness of the challenge to the Russian society. The deputies urged everyone to stand up against it, despite all political differences. "The unity of all forces is vital as never before under the current extreme conditions," - runs the document.
The State Duma also addressed to those, who seized the hostages. Russian deputies urged them to show their discretion and release the innocent people, women and children, first and foremost. "No requirements can be achieved owing to illegal actions against Russian civilians and foreigners," stressed the document. The deputies say that the dramatic events in Moscow must not either raise panic in the Russian society or provoke ethnic or religious hostility. This might lead to serious negative consequences in the field of international relations.
- Armed Chechens Seize Moscow Theater
- Published: October 23, 2002
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- Section: Culture
- Writer: Eric Olsen
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Comments on this articleComments
Excellent John, thanks. You kind of figured the Russians wouldn't hesitate to characterize the situation as such.
So do the Russkies continue to oppose us on Iraq, or do we team up and get to work on removing this blight once and for all? And when we're done with the filthy French, we can go after the Islamofacists
The headline over at The Guardian is "Muslim Peace Activists Detain Russian Theatergoers in Mass Protest"
Okay, I made that up. But it's almost believable.
Why such an increase in activity (Bali, Moscow, Phillippines) when it would appear such terrorist activity would bring more allies to our side? These nutjobs need a course in game theory or marketing or something.
One thing though. Were any of us calling the Chechens 'terrorists' prior to 9/11? Probably not. I think most American right/left-wingers thought the Moscow apartment bombings were some sort of Russian conspiracy to allow Putin to re-invade Chechnya.
Actually, considering this country's isolationist bent at the time, most of us probably didn't really care.
It does cause me to rethink my view of Russian's war in Chechnya, particularly the second war. If I were the Russians, I'd pump the theater full of carbon monoxide, which is odorless and invisible, then drag out the hostages and try to revive them with oxygen. The "mining" activity described in news reports might make that impossible though, because you'd have to move very quickly after everyone passed out to save the hostages.
I certainly thought of the Chechen separatists as terrorists long before 9/11. As far as I'm concerned we should give Russia a free hand to deal with the problem in as brutal a fashion as they see fit.
Does anyone here know any Chechen/Russian history? Does it make no difference at all that Russia/USSR has treated the people there like shit since the Russian invasion and conquest of the land a century and a half ago? In this case, as in the case of Ireland post potato famine, "root causes" demonstrably exist and have little to do with religious fanaticism.
If you have a little time to read history, try
http://www.newsbee.net/moscow/chhistory.html
in which you will find the elegant solution of Stalin to the "Islamic fundamentalists" of his day (i.e. Muslims who resisted his authority): deport the whole population hundreds of miles away. Compared to the Russian war in 1995, that was pretty humane.
Everyone has legitimate grievances - what counts most is how you deal with them.
Add your comment, speak your mind
(Or ping: http://blogcritics.org/mt/tb/1478)
You may want to include what the Russians are saying about this. Check out http://english.pravda.ru/
Moscow: Chechen terrorists take theatre
Chechen kamikaze squad take theatre with 1,000 hostages in Moscow
A group of between 20 and 30 kamikaze Chechen terrorists stormed a packed Moscow theatre tonight, threatening to blow the building up unless their demands are met. It is feared that due to the fact that their demands are unrealistic, they will prefer to become martyrs, rather than prisoners. ....