Open appeal of the President of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeriya to the Russian National Anti-War Committee for a Peaceful Resolution in Chechnya

First of all, I would like to sincerely thank the representatives of the National Anti-War Committee for a Peaceful Resolution in Chechnya who signed this appeal, and who at the same time are world-prominent human rights activists, for the their courageous and staunch civil position. I thank them above all for striving for their human and civilized point of view on the situation.

In my appeal I wish once more to draw the attention of Russian President Vladimir Putin above all as well as of the general public in Russia and in the world to the fact that nobody has or can profit from this war or the many years of confrontation. People are dying on both sides and instead of creating, everything is being destroyed and wiped out. Then, supposedly, everything is restored, colossal material expenditures are made but nobody knows on what, and then it starts all over again. It is a kind of vicious circle, and we cannot - nor do we have any right - to pretend that we don’t notice this. I am deeply convinced that we can solve these problems in the interests of our peoples, and very little is still missing – this is the sincere willingness of both leaders to do so and tolerance to listen to each other.

This war to date has not brought any good to either the Russian or Chechen people, but only makes our already rather difficult relationship even worse.

I assure you that this war does not bring us any joy either. We keep struggling only with the aim of once more saving our people from genocide and the barbarian “scorched-earth” policy which has been held by Russia against the Chechen nation for more than 300 years.

I am the president of this republic, legitimately elected by my people in the presence of international observers and observers from Russia.

Neither I nor the true sons of our Fatherland, who along with me resist this aggression - this unlimited and regular violence against the Chechen nation – are bandits or terrorists. Even saying so is to me blasphemy and cynicism. I ask for and demand that the choice of my people be respected and that they be given the opportunity to decide for themselves who should be their leader and what kind of state they should have.

Already at the very beginning of the military actions I said repeatedly that we are not moving in the right direction in building up our relationship. We have done it this way before and it didn’t bring us any good.

Revenge, hatred and punitive measures lead nowhere. In this way, no problems between nations and peoples can be solved, as has been proven many times in the history of humankind. This brings grief, suffering, enormous losses on both sides and, most importantly, leads to even more anger and violence against one another.

I have already suggested sitting down at the negotiation table in the course of this full-scale military campaign that Russia has waged against my people under the name “antiterrorist operation.” I suggested even then that we try and resolve all disputed questions in a civilized manner and was ready, given appropriate evidence, to fight together against terrorism, bandits and drugs, which have overwhelmed not only the Chechen territory.

I, as President, needed a dialogue with Russia before and naturally need it now as well. I am sure that today former Russian President Boris Yeltsin also has a different point of view on many questions in our relations.

Many things could be have been done differently, but the scales were tipped in favor of force, and we know why. It was because this chaos and unlawfulness make it easier to enrich oneself, to rise in the ranks, etc.

Our historical and territorial position obliges us to search for compromises in our relationship, but the bloody history of this relationship is the best proof that this way has not been taken.

Until now, as strange as it may be nobody has yet tried to build relations with Chechens on the principles of good neighborliness, mutual respect and the acknowledgement of their legitimate rights to this land. I know my people, and I am sure that with the appropriate attitude Russia would gain a reliable and loyal neighbor.

But up to this day nobody in Russia has tried yet to solve these problems completely from the point of view of good neighborliness. On the contrary, what was wished for was taken for reality. Twisting facts and reality, presenting them with a nationalistic, imperial hue, the generals and politicians, adherents of war and massacre, provoked the first and second Russian-Chechen war.

After the first war the Republic was in ruins, people were in a disastrous state, and we strove to build up our relations with Russia, as both I and Boris Yeltsin know. Instead of help and support we have gotten full-scale activity on the part of the Russian special services, according to all the rules of subversive activity. We needed very different help then, and today we need another approach. There was Dudaev and Eltsin, and now there is Putin and Maskhadov. But what has brought these wars to our peoples is commensurable with what was striven for and planned by former presidents and present ones, with what we have come to in the end. We rouse up more and more confrontation and hatred between our peoples. This path is not acceptable to me.

For the sake of the future of my nation, sincerely believing in spite of everything that there is a future for the relations between the Chechen and Russian peoples, I officially confirm my readiness to sit down at the negotiating table with the Russian leadership, to begin peace talks without any preconditions. Wherever it will lead us I am sure that the future of our peoples can only be found in mutual respect and understanding, and if we do not succeed in this, future leaders will, and whoever does so will be known in history as wise politicians and leaders.

Respectfully,

President of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeriya

Aslan Maskhadov