IWPR's Caucasus Reporting Service, No. 55: excerpts
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Subject: IWPR's Caucasus Reporting Service, No. 55: excerpts
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IWPR's Caucasus Reporting Service, No. 55: excerpts
WELCOME TO IWPR'S CAUCASUS REPORTING SERVICE, NO. 55, October 27, 2000
BABAYAN REMAINS DEFIANT The trial of its national hero is convulsing
the breakaway Armenian territory of Nagorny Karabakh. Thomas de Waal
reports from Stepanakert
BIG BROTHER REFUSES TO TAKE SIDES Both Armenia and Azerbaijan try to
win Russia's support over the Nagorny Karabakh deadlock. Ara
Tadevosian reports from Yerevan
COMMENT: BUILDING A GREATER RUSSIA In the second of a two-part series
examining the roots of conflict in the North Caucasus, Shy Zakya
blames the rebirth of Russian nationalist feeling for the gathering
tensions. By Shy Zakya in Nalchik
SCARE-MONGERING FILM CAUSES OUTRAGE A TV journalist has been accused
of letting her experiences in the hands of Chechen kidnappers cloud
her professional objectivity. Yuri Akbashev reports from Cherkessk
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BIG BROTHER REFUSES TO TAKE SIDES
Both Armenia and Azerbaijan try to win Russia's support over the
Nagorny Karabakh deadlock
By Ara Tadevosian in Yerevan
Armenian politicians have dubbed Vladimir Putin's forthcoming visit to
Azerbaijan a "diplomatic slap in the face" for Robert Kocharian's
government in Yerevan.
The move - announced during Kocharian's recent visit to Moscow - has
ruffled feathers across Armenia, which has always considered itself to
be Russia's favourite in the South Caucasus. And many observers
suspect Azerbaijan will take the opportunity to win Russia support
over the dormant Nagorny Karabakh conflict - during which Azerbaijan
lost more than a fifth of its territory.
David Shahnazarian, chairman of the 21st Century Party, said,
"Kocharian's visit to Moscow ended in total failure. Like many other
states, Russia clearly considers Armenia is not a very serious
country.
"The news that Putin would be making an official trip to Baku came as
a diplomatic slap in the face for Kocharian. I can't describe it any
other way."
Meanwhile, Russian foreign minister Igor Ivanov spent last week in
talks with his Azerbaijani counterpart, Vilayat Guliev. Both ministers
hailed the forthcoming visit as a "new page" in relations between the
two nations.
Early signs that Azerbaijan was working to improve diplomatic ties
with Moscow came last month when President Heidar Aliev's security
forces extradited seven ethnic Chechens suspected of planning the
terrorist bombing in Budennovsk last September.
Baku is clearly hoping that Russian intervention will bring the
Nagorny Karabakh peace talks to a swift conclusion. Guliev later told
reporters that he met with Ivanov "in a spirit of friendship to
discuss the existing issues between our two countries. This meeting
again demonstrated that there are no problems between us which can't
be resolved at the negotiating table."
Armenia regards such overtures with growing suspicion - especially
since Kocharian's meeting with Putin focused on many of the same
issues.
After a long discussion behind closed doors, both presidents signed a
Declaration on Allied Cooperation between Armenia and Russia for the
21st Century. Among other considerations, the document outlines plans
for a Caucasus security pact involving Russia, Armenia, Georgia and
Azerbaijan.
After the historic meeting, Kocharian was quick to tell Russian
newspapers of his new-found empathy for Boris Yeltsin's successor in
the Kremlin.
"In conversation, we understand one another on many issues by just
exchanging a few words," said the Armenian leader. "You get the
impression that we are thinking in the same terms - after all, we grew
up in the same country. And, in my view, it's impossible for members
of our generation not to understand one another."
However, in his first official announcement on the Nagorny Karabakh
conflict, the ever pragmatic Putin showed little desire to take sides
- or even take an active part in the peace process.
"I don't believe that Russia has any special rights in the regulation
of the Karabakh conflict," said Putin. "We have a clear understanding
of which boundaries Russia can't cross in the regulation of any peace
process, including the one taking place in Karabakh. I often hear it
argued that if Russia really wanted, it could swiftly resolve the
Karabakh deadlock. I don't agree with such statements and consider
them to be the last crumbs of imperialist thinking," he added.
The Russian president also added that both parties were likely to make
compromises and concessions during the peace process - and he didn't
want to create the impression that they had been pressurised to do so
by
interference from Moscow.
In essence, Russia is adopting the same stance taken by Minsk Group
partners America and France who are "prepared to support any solution
that the warring parties can find."
Although Putin's words aroused little comment in Armenia, the Russian
media was quick to draw its own conclusions. Kommersant newspaper said
that Kocharian had tried but failed to win Russian support over
Nagorny Karabakh while another daily newspaper, Nezavisimaya Gazeta
(The Independent Newspaper), took the opportunity to hit out at the
Russian authorities.
An editorial in the latter read, "Kocharian's visit was a litmus test
for Russian policy on the Southern Caucasus. Moscow has apparently
opted to set an isolationist course in its relations with the
countries of the CIS and sees no real need to conceal this."
However, Kocharian didn't come away from Moscow empty-handed. An
inter-state agreement was signed with a view to dropping visa
regulations between the two countries while military ties were
strengthened during a meeting between the two defence ministers, Serzh
Sarkisian and Igor Sergeev.
On the eve of the visit, Sarkisian had hinted to local media that the
Armenian army would "soon be equipped with new technology". Most
observers have taken this to mean that Armenia will soon be buying
military supplies from her northern neighbour.
Armenia continues to see Russia as a guarantor of its security, says
the head of the Armenian Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Vardan
Oskanyan. He stressed that the underlying reason for this stance is
the fact that "Armenia still has unresolved military and political
tasks with its two immediate neighbours, Turkey and Azerbaijan."
Ara Tadevosian is director of the Armenian independent Mediamax agency
BUILDING A GREATER RUSSIA
COMMENT. In the second of a two-part series examining the roots of
conflict in the North Caucasus, Shy Zakya blames the rebirth of
Russian nationalist feeling for the gathering tensions
By Shy Zakya in Nalchik
The conflicts which have racked the North Caucasus over the past
decade have, for the most part, been triggered by growing
nationalistic trends in the highest echelons of Russian government.
It seems clear that the Kremlin is actively working to create a
"Greater Russia" at the expense of the federation's ethnic minorities.
The Russian passport no longer carries a "nationality" clause; the
term "Russian Federation" has almost disappeared from the state media.
Most importantly, the nation has been divided into seven "provinces"
(okrugi) which coincide with the old Soviet military districts.
In fact, this is no coincidence - many of the provinces are run by
governors with a military background who make no allowances for the
ethnic diversity of their subjects. The idea is simple: no
nationalities, no problems.
Duma deputies, government officials and the state-controlled media all
conspire to promote the concept of a unified Russian state. Ethnic
Russians represent the majority, they argue, whilst "people of
Caucasian nationality" (popularly known as "blacks") have somehow
insinuated themselves into the federation. In fact, many genuinely
believe that the Caucasian tribes originally came from abroad and
drove an indigenous Russian population from the region.
It is these "blacks" who won't leave Russia in peace, who should be
"rubbed out even on the toilet", to quote President Vladimir Putin's
immortal phrase. They are convenient scapegoats for the surrounding
chaos and the
ongoing economic malaise.
And so, history turns full circle. The Russian people are content to
look on their president as "the good tsar" and submit themselves to
his will. It is a legacy that dates back to the days of Ivan the
Terrible when the vast majority of the population were serfs who
imagined the tsar would bring order to the nation and provide for all.
The dignified and freedom-loving nature of the Caucasian peoples came
in sharp contrast to the cowed subservience of their Russian
neighbours. Naturally, the Russian empire devoted considerable efforts
to stamping out their "bad influence".
Now, once again, the Russian Federation is attempting to fulfil its
imperialist ambitions - even though it no longer has the strength of
will or the economic resources to do so. In 1994, the state was eager
to launch its "small, victorious war" in Chechnya and demonstrate the
extent of its powers. The second war is being waged to satisfy the
ambitions of generals who were denied victory in the first.
Consequently, the Russian people are caught in a vicious circle. The
politicians and bureaucrats continue to finance imperialist wars while
they secretly ransack the state till. In compensation, they give their
subjects "a great idea" - the belief that they are the "chosen people"
who will one day inherit a powerful empire.
Russia's imperialist policies are largely responsible for the growth
of religious extremism in the North Caucasus. And, to a certain
extent, Wahhabism and Islamic fundamentalism are reactions to the
dramatic rise of the Russian Orthodox Church as an official state
body.
In a bid to fill the ideological vacuum left by the collapse of
Communism, the Kremlin has resurrected the old formula of "Orthodoxy,
Autocracy and Nationality" - a belief encapsulated in the words "Holy
Russia" which have begun to figure widely in speeches, newspaper
reports and political manifestos across the Russian Federation.
Consequently, after 80 years of suspended animation, the Orthodox
Church has finally come to its own. Now, the Church takes an active
part in state politics, refusing to condemn the war in Chechnya and
often sharing the public stage with Kremlin politicians.
A TV report from Chechnya on the eve of the Orthodox Christmas well
illustrates the point. The footage showed a Russian artillery officer
cheerily yelling, "Merry Christmas" as he ordered his battery to fire
on a rebel-held Chechen village.
Equally disturbing are the falling standards in education across the
Russian Federation. Many young people are being fed conflicting
information about religious groups and persuasions, with the result
that some later embrace highly subversive religious movements which
prey on the na<ve and gullible.
And ignorance is not confined to the darker reaches of the former
Soviet Union. Recently, a television host on the programme Play the
Harmony interviewed delegates from the Greek Cultural Centre. "What,
are you Russian Orthodox too?" asked the TV host in astonishment. The
delegates patiently explained that it was the Greeks who bought
Christianity to Russia 10 centuries ago.
The situation is much more serious in Islamic religious circles where
philosophy, history and culture have been severely eroded by the years
of Soviet rule. Today, extremist groups have gained a wide following
amongst the Chechens, the Karachai and the Balkars, especially in
remote mountainous regions.
In some areas, religious beliefs have become blended with the idea of
Pan-Turkism - the creation of an Islamic state which would embrace all
the Turkic peoples from Siberia to the shores of the Mediterranean.
Pan-Turkism was given a new lease of life by the breakdown of the
Soviet Union and today continues to inspire many disaffected North
Caucasian peoples looking for new ideological banners under which
resistance to Russian rule can be united.
The change in the balance of power that has taken place in Russia has
serious implications for the whole of the North Caucasus. Peace and
stability cannot be achieved through force or political manoeuvrings.
Any diplomatic initiatives in the region must take into account the
specific nature of the Caucasian peoples - their mentality, traditions
and historical legacy.
Shy Zakya is a political commentator in Nalchik, the capital of
Kabardino-Balkaria
SCARE-MONGERING FILM CAUSES OUTRAGE
A TV journalist has been accused of letting her experiences in the
hands of Chechen kidnappers cloud her professional objectivity
By Yuri Akbashev in Cherkessk
Despite a furious outcry across the North Caucasus, Russian state TV
is continuing to broadcast a controversial reportage which claims the
region has become a hotbed of religious extremism.
"The Caucasian Crescent" is a serialised documentary by Yelena Masyuk,
the former NTV journalist whose reports from the frontline during the
first Chechen campaign incensed the Russian authorities. Masyuk hit
the headlines herself in 1997 when she was kidnapped and held for
ransom by a Chechen crime gang.
"The Caucasian Crescent" focuses on the rise of Wahhabism - a doctrine
which promotes a return to traditional Islamic values - in the
republics of Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachaevo-Cherkessia.
The film's message is unambiguous - it sets out to show that the
extremist groups are actively recruiting disaffected young people
across the region and thus "pose a real threat to security in Russia
today".
One of the main centres of Wahhabism is named as Tyrnyauz, a town west
of Nalchik, which was recently devastated by a series of mudslides and
is still counting the costs of the tragedy.
The first part of "The Caucasian Crescent" was screened in September
and sparked mass protests in Karachaevo-Cherkessia. Thousands of
people from the Malo-Karachaevsky and the Adyge-Khablsky regions
staged public meetings to demand intervention from the Kremlin.
Ethnic leaders made a formal appeal to President Vladimir Putin,
complaining that the Karachai and Balkar people had been slandered and
the reports had grossly distorted the facts. They also asked for a
public retraction from RTR, the television station which is
broadcasting the series.
Meanwhile, the government in Cherkessk lodged an official complaint
with the Russian prosecutor's office, saying that the series was
deliberately aimed at causing ethnic unrest in the North Caucasus and
therefore contravened the Russian Criminal Code.
Prominent politicians claimed Masyuk's predominantly "negative tone"
had been motivated by her own experiences in Chechnya. Together with a
two-man camera team, she was taken hostage in Dagestan and held
captive in a mountain cave for more than four months. All three were
released after NTV paid an undisclosed sum to the kidnappers.
However, although the prosecutor's office has promised an
investigation, it has made no effort to suspend broadcasting while the
legal process is under way. In fact, RTR promptly launched a powerful
advertising campaign to promote the second instalment.
Local observers speculate that "The Caucasian Crescent" was in fact
commissioned by the Kremlin in order to fan the flames of ethnic
unrest in the North Caucasus. The logic, they say, is simple: by
creating phantoms in the south, President Putin's government can
divert attention from economic problems at home.
For the North Caucasus republics, this information war is nothing new.
The Kremlin has always kept tight controls on reports coming out of
this sensitive region. Most of all, this policy has affected Chechnya
- an outcast since Soviet airforce general Dzhokhar Dudaev declared
independence there in the early 1990s.
The Balkar academic and Duma deputy, Mikhail Zalikhanov, recently told
Nalchik journalists of a trip he made to Grozny in 1994 in a bid to
persuade Dudaev to avoid all-out war with Moscow.
On hearing Dudaev's defiant reply, Zalikhanov asked, "But how do you
intend to fight a war against such a huge military armada and 110
million Russians?" Dudaev thought for a moment, then showed him a
large gold ring on his finger. "You see this ring?" he said. "It was a
present from the President of America, Bill Clinton, and he told me
then that he would always help the Caucasus."
Not a single editor in the North Caucasus dared to print the story.
Yuri Akbashev is a regular contributor to IWPR
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IWPR's Caucasus Reporting Service provides the regional and
international community with unique insiders' perspective on the
Caucasus. Using our network of local journalists, the service
publishes objective news and analysis from across the region upon a
weekly basis.
The service forms part of IWPR's Caucasus Project based in Tbilisi and
London which supports local media development while encouraging better
local and international understanding of a conflicted yet emerging
region.
IWPR's Caucasus Reporting Service is supported by the UK National
Lottery Charities Board. The service is currently available on the Web
in English and will shortly be available in Russian. All IWPR's
reporting services including Balkan Crisis Reports and Tribunal Update
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Asia Reports, in the coming months. To subscribe to any of our
existing or forthcoming news services, e-mail IWPR Programmes Officer
Duncan Furey at
[email protected].
For further details on this project and other information services and
media programmes, visit IWPR's Website: <www.iwpr.net>.
Editor-in-chief: Anthony Borden. Managing Editor: Yigal Chazan;
Assistant Editor: Alan Davis. Commissioning Editors: Giorgi Topouria
in Tbilisi, Shahin Rzayev in Baku, Mark Grigorian in Yerevan, Michael
Randall and Saule Mukhametrakhimova in London. Editorial Assistance:
Felix Corley and Heather Milner. To comment on this service, contact
IWPR's Programme Director: Alan Davis [email protected]
The Institute for War & Peace Reporting (IWPR) is a London-based
independent non-profit organisation supporting regional media and
democratic change.
Lancaster House, 33 Islington High Street, London N1 9LH, United
Kingdom.Tel: (44 171) 713 7130; Fax: (44 171) 713 7140. E-mail:
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The opinions expressed in IWPR's Caucasus Reporting Service are those
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Copyright (c) IWPR 2000
IWPR'S CAUCASUS REPORTING SERVICE, NO. 55
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