DATE=11/2/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=CHECHNYA BORDER SCENE (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-255754
BYLINE=PETER HEINLEIN
DATELINE=ON THE CHECHNYA-INGUSHETIA BORDER
INTERNET=YES
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Russia's current military offensive in
Chechnya has triggered a mass exodus of civilians --
an estimated 200-thousand people. About one-fifth of
Chechnya's people had fled from Russian air and
artillery strikes even before Moscow's troops sealed
the border nearly two weeks ago, leaving thousands
more would-be refugees trapped inside the territory.
V-O-A's Peter Heinlein went (today/Tuesday) to the
main checkpoint on the Chechnya border, where a line
of cars 15 kilometers long has been waiting for days
for the border to be reopened.
TEXT:
/// SFX: GATE CLOSING AND HORN HONKING ///
They call this Kavkaz-One. It is a makeshift border
post on the main highway from the Chechen capital,
Grozny, west to the neighboring republic of
Ingushetia. A gate has been hastily installed. On
one side, hundreds -- maybe thousands -- of Chechen
women, children and a few men jam the roadway, hoping
for an opportunity to pass. On the other side, a safe
distance away from the angry crowd, stands a menacing
line of Russians soldiers in full battle gear blocking
their path.
This is the Ingushetia side of the border. The people
here, in what seems to defy common sense, are trying
to get into Chechnya. They are among those who got
out before the road was closed late last month. Most
say they want to go back to search for missing loved
ones.
A few kilometers down the road, out of sight, is the
other side of the checkpoint, where thousands more
people are trying to get out of Chechnya. They have
been waiting since last week, when Russian authorities
promised to reopen the frontier. Those promises have
gone unfulfilled, and frustrated Chechens can only
scream their frustrations.
/// GUDEYEVA ACT IN RUSSIAN, IN AND FADE UNDER ///
Khadizhat Gudeyeva of the nearby village of
Assinovskaya says, "They want to put us on our knees,
humiliate us. Why are they trying to make us out as
terrorists? We're not!"
Every once in a while, the big checkpoint gate swings
open and a bus loaded with lucky refugees lumbers
through. They're mostly the sick, the wounded, the
elderly and pregnant women. About 100 people came
across this day. Most, like Tamara Magomedova of
Grozny, had been waiting for more than 10 days.
/// MAGOMEDOVA ACT IN RUSSIAN, IN AND FADE UNDER ///
She says, "It's pure genocide what they're doing --
destruction of the Chechen nation." Russian forces
say the current Chechnya offensive is aimed at
crushing terrorists and bandits. With the border
closed and telephone lines to Chechnya cut, there is
little independent information from the war zone, but
newly-arrived refugees say the region's major
population centers are under furious air attack.
Ausha Tatayeva left Grozny only hours earlier. She
was allowed to pass the checkpoint because her son is
paralyzed. She says conditions in the capital are
worsening daily.
/// TATAYEVA ACT IN RUSSIAN, IN AND FADE UNDER ///
She says, "They've been bombing steadily for four
days. It is civilians being killed. The situation
could not be worse."
Standing at the border, there is no doubt war is on
just kilometers away. The roar of jets or boom of
artillery can be heard every few minutes from the
direction of Chechnya. But with the border closed, a
mass exodus from the region has stopped. (Signed)
NEB/PH/TVM-T/WTW
02-Nov-1999 19:00 PM EDT (03-Nov-1999 0000 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
|
Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list
|
|
|
