DATE=12/9/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=CHECHNYA VISIT (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-257005
BYLINE=PETER HEINLEIN
DATELINE=ZNAMENSKOYE, CHECHNYA
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: As Russia's military offensive in Chechnya
gains momentum, efforts are on to re-establish
Moscow's rule in territories newly returned to federal
control. V-O-A's Peter Heinlein visited the town of
Znamenskoye in Russian-controlled northwestern
Chechnya where preparations are being made to receive
an expected influx of civilians fleeing the capital,
Grozny.
TEXT: General Vladimir Kavrov, administrative
commander of the northern military district in
Chechnya, proudly shows off the school where more than
100 children of displaced Grozny families have been
integrated into the classes.
The guided tour for journalists also includes a tent
city under construction for expected new arrivals and
an orphanage that has already moved from Grozny to
Znamenskoye, 45-kilometers to the west. These, General
Kavrov says, are evidence that Russia is restoring
normal life where chaos has reigned the past few
years.
The General fought in the last Chechen war, from 1994
to 1996. That war ended in humiliating defeat for
Russian soldiers and their withdrawal from the region
three years ago. But now, Russia has reclaimed at
least 50-percent of the breakaway region, and troops
have mounted a massive bombing and artillery campaign
to take back the rest.
This time, General Kavrov's job is to lead the effort
to restore Moscow's rule in the newly-recaptured
north. He displays model facilities that stand in
sharp contrast with those in the south in Ingushetia,
where 200-thousand plus refugees are surviving in
often squalid conditions.
The General's command includes the route Russian
troops have opened for Grozny residents trying to
escape before the bombing intensifies. Leaflets air-
dropped over the capital warn civilians to get out by
Saturday when a massive air and artillery assault is
unleashed. But General Kavrov bristles at suggestions
the warning constitutes an ultimatum.
/// KAVROV RUSSIAN ACT FADES UNDER ///
He says, "There is no ultimatum. We are providing a
corridor for safe passage, and most people have left."
The General says it is wrong to say that there is a
large civilian population in Grozny. He estimates the
number at no more than 4-thousand. That differs from
other Russian officials, who believe there may be ten
times than number hiding in shelters in the city.
General Kavrov says Grozny will eventually be leveled
and its citizens will get help from Moscow to rebuild
their homes and their lives elsewhere. But many
displaced Grozny residents clearly have other ideas. A
30-year old man standing idle in the Znamenskoye
marketplace spat when asked how he felt about the
return to Russian rule. He said, "They may beat us,
but they can not keep us down.'
Others, however, said that after so much death and
destruction, it is not so much who wins anymore as
long as they can live again without the constant
threat of bombs.
General Kavrov acknowledges as much. He says, "people
are tired of war. That's why the federal forces will
prevail." (Signed)
NEB/PFH/GE/gm
09-Dec-1999 15:02 PM EDT (09-Dec-1999 2002 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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