DATE=12/17/1999
TYPE=U-S OPINION ROUNDUP
TITLE=RUSSIA VOTES AS CHECHNYA BURNS
NUMBER=6-11600
BYLINE=ANDREW GUTHRIE
DATELINE=WASHINGTON
EDITOR=ASSIGNMENTS
TELEPHONE=619-3335
CONTENT=
INTRO: In the latest news from Chechnya, guerrilla
fighters from the Caucasus republic have apparently
carried out a successful ambush against Russian
forces. At least 100 troops have reportedly been
killed, and several tanks destroyed in fighting within
Grozny.
The Chechen war and the pending Russian elections,
which are inextricably linked, according to many U-S
analysts, continue to draw substantial comment in this
country's editorial columns. We get a sampling now
from ___________ in today's U-S Opinion roundup.
TEXT: A few days ago, Russia's ailing President,
Boris Yeltsin, caused a flurry of editorials when,
while visiting China, he pointedly reminded President
Clinton that Russian has a full nuclear arsenal. It
was a response to earlier White House criticism of the
war in Chechnya, especially about Russian air strikes'
deadly effect on civilians.
However, Russian attacks continue, and in one of the
first forays by Russian armor into Grozny itself, the
Russians have apparently suffered a setback, according
to Associated Press and Reuters reporters on the
scene. All of this is providing plenty of fodder for
U-S editorialists. We begin our sampling in
Cleveland, Ohio.
The Plain Dealer says no one in this country should
forget that the unspoken, deeper reason for this
violence is not Muslim terrorists, or apartment
bombings in Moscow, or even Chechen independence.
VOICE: ... This is about much more than
outlaws. There's oil here, one of Russia's last
enduring, salable natural resources. To
preserve its hold on these oil fields,
impoverished Moscow will stop at nothing. The
Chechnya campaign is playing very well among
most Russians. Sick unto death of their reduced
place in the world, rampant crime, a country
that no longer seems to work and their own
general powerlessness, Russians are praising
[Prime Minister Vladimir] Putin's
aggressiveness. As Boris Yeltsin fights illness
after illness and the scheduled June
presidential election draws nearer, [Mr.]
Putin's star shines ever brighter in a dim
political firmament.
TEXT: In Florida, the Miami Herald gives an
indication of its thoughts, with this lead line from a
recent editorial:
VOICE: A good war makes great politics. That's
an old political nostrum, most famously uttered
(and more elegantly) by the war strategist Karl
von Clausewitz. But in the winter of 1999, it
also explains why Russia continues mercilessly
to pound Chechnya in the face of good judgment
and even better advice. Russians will vote in a
parliamentary election ... Sunday -- and come
spring, they'll vote for a new president. Too
bad for the Chechens that recently-appointed
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, the chief
architect of the Chechen campaign, is putting
the old canard to the test -- and thus far with
positive results. // OPT // ... The only
certainty is that the war is paying political
dividends. That may be great for Mr. Putin and
his mentor, President Boris Yeltsin; but it's a
lousy way to run a country. // END OPT //
TEXT: The New York Times is also upset that the
violence in the Caucasus is being used for political
gain in Moscow.
VOICE: The last-minute attempts to use the new
Russian assault on Chechnya for political gain
are disturbing. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's
iron-hand politics in Chechnya, as well as his
defiance of Western criticism, have given him a
bounce [a rise in popularity] in early polling
for the presidential race. Other potential
candidates have used the ravaged Caucasus region
as a political backdrop. Sergei Shoigu, head of
the new, Kremlin-backed Unity Party, recently
swept through the area searching for civilians
to lead to safety. Protecting civilians should
be more than a photo opportunity. ... If opinion
polls prove correct, the new Duma may look very
much like the old one, dominated by Communists
and nationalists. That will not advance the
cause of economic and political reform, nor help
the Kremlin improve relations with the West.
TEXT: Lastly, the Los Angeles Times points out that
so far the war has produced relatively few Russian
casualties. But if the reports of the latest ambush
are correct, suggests the Times, and if there are more
wins by the rebels, the Russian public may tire of the
battle sooner, rather than later.
VOICE: Until now, Russian public opinion has
backed the war. ... But popular backing could
quickly erode if army casualties mount, as they
did in the 1994-95 war. ... A political solution
could be crafted to reaffirm the de-facto
autonomy within the Russian union that Chechnya
won in 1996, while saving face for Moscow.
Absent that, many more Chechen civilians and
Russian soldiers seem destined to die in an
open-ended conflict that defies a military
solution.
TEXT: That concludes this sampling of current
editorial opinion in the United States on the pending
Russian parliamentary election, and how it relates to
the current fighting in Chechnya.
NEB/ANG/WTW
17-Dec-1999 14:32 PM EDT (17-Dec-1999 1932 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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