DATE=11/4/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=SENATE-CHECHNYA (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-255827
BYLINE=DAVID SWAN
DATELINE=CAPITOL HILL
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: A longtime Soviet-era dissident is urging the
United States to cut off aid to Russia because of what
she calls the "genocide" in Chechnya. V-O-A's David
Swan reports, Elena Bonner spoke about the war in the
Caucasus at a hearing on Capitol Hill
(today/Thursday).
TEXT: Mrs. Bonner, the widow of the late Andrei
Sakharov and a human-rights activist herself,
denounced the latest Chechen war as a crime against
humanity. Speaking through an interpreter, she called
for a halt in international financial aid to Moscow,
which she says has indirectly paid for the operation.
/// 1ST BONNER / INTERPRETER ACT ///
I believe that no loans, no aid of any kind,
either from the United States directly or from
any international organizations, can be given to
a country that is conducting such a war.
/// END ACT ///
Mrs. Bonner, who spent years opposing Soviet rulers,
harshly criticized their successors in Russia's
current government. She accused Prime Minister
Vladimir Putin of starting the war to raise his
political standing. Mrs. Bonner also told senators
her country never moved as far toward democracy as
many outsiders believed.
/// 2ND BONNER / INTERPRETER ACT ///
And today, though it is very difficult and sad
for me to state so, because I am talking about
my country and my people, both of whom I love,
but I state it that today we have not a
democratic state but a criminal-military state.
/// END ACT ///
Russian officials have sought to justify their
offensive in Chechnya, saying it is aimed at
guerrillas who are blamed for a recent rash of
terrorist bombings. The U-S ambassador-at-large for
the new independent states [the former republics of
the Soviet Union], Stephen Sestanovich, rejects that
logic.
/// SESTANOVICH ACT ///
The Russian government has an obligation to
protect itself and its citizens from terrorist
and other attacks. But this obligation does not
and can not justify indiscriminate attacks on
civilians, the closing of borders to prevent
civilians from fleeing or other violations of
human rights.
/// END ACT ///
Mr. Sestanovich also voiced concern over a steady
escalation in the attacks on Chechnya. Russia's
defense minister has said his forces intend to take
control of the breakaway region, but will not try to
storm its capital (Grozny). (Signed)
NEB/DS/WTW
04-Nov-1999 13:14 PM EDT (04-Nov-1999 1814 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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