(THIS ARTICLE IS MACHINE TRANSLATED by Google from Norwegian)
Akhmed Zakayev is Deputy Prime Minister of the legitimate Chechen government of President Aslan Maskhadov. He still believes that it is possible to tear himself away from an absolute deadlock in the Chechen-Russian war. The way to get the process started is to involve a country like Norway.
- One can object that Norway does not have the necessary resources to force the Russians into dialogue with us, he says. – But what we are experiencing on the Chechen side of the conflict is that large countries, which could have had the ability, do not have the will. They have economic and political relations with Russia that put them on a pragmatic line with President Vladimir Putin. A country like Norway does not have to take such considerations into account; at least not to the same degree. For Norwegians, freedom, democracy and human rights are not empty talk. The fact that I am sitting here is proof that Norway does not take lightly the abuses in Chechnya and the many and serious violations of human rights there.
- But what can Norway do specifically?
- Norway can raise this issue in international forums such as the UN. On the Chechen side, we have a fully-fledged peace plan that we are willing to negotiate. But such an initiative should not come from us. For Putin, it will be a political and military defeat to enter into negotiations on a plan that we have prepared and written. Therefore, the peace plan should be presented by an international body. This is where Norway comes in, says Zakayev.
- The Russians have not exactly shown willingness to negotiate with President Maskhadov's team in recent years?
- The Russians also know that this war has no military solution. They say they control Chechnya today, but that is not true. Russian soldiers are dying in droves in Chechnya, and two million have been in service there. It's a big open wound, and the Russians know we will never give up. But we, for our part, must also acknowledge that we do not have the power to drive out the Russian military. That, plus the fact that we are also unable to ensure the safety of our people, is the reason why we want this plan presented.
Zakayev believes that the lack of international involvement can have serious consequences for the entire world. He is thinking in particular of the emergence of an authoritarian and perhaps even semi-fascist Russia.
- In Europe, the focus is always on radicalization in Chechnya. But also in Russia the radical currents are strong. The brutal war has changed large parts of the countryside, primarily because the two million soldiers belong here. They return from the circles of hell, where they have been allowed to "unfold" freely, with a completely different mindset than they originally had. They enter into fascist movements and thus influence the entire political climate. These soldiers are accustomed to an environment of impunity regardless of actions, and they continue to commit the same actions when they return, often with the same lack of legal consequences for themselves. It is a dehumanizing process that the world should worry about, Zakayev believes.
And he adds: – Russia is still a nuclear power. They have nuclear weapons, and chemical and bacteriological weapons. It should worry the world that so many people in this society display such an aggressive attitude, he says.
On the other hand, Zakayev acknowledges that the war in Chechnya also cultivates local fundamentalism. – We are in the fifth year of the second war now. Our young people know no other reality than the war. As things stand now, with the Russians' brutal repression of the Chechens, it is very difficult for President Maskhadov to urge the people to restrain themselves.
But the fact that Maskhadov does not have the political power to moderate young Chechens does not mean that he is isolated, according to Zakayev. – When the Russians tell the world that Maskhadov is out of the game, this is pure propaganda. In fact, Maskhadov has more influence than the Russians. The Chechens have a legitimate president, with government, defense minister and army. Maskhadov exercises leadership in his own capacity while Putin is dependent on governing through others. And that is exactly what is going very badly, says Zakayev.
