DATE=3/1/2000 TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT TITLE=RUSSIA / CHECHNYA (L ONLY) NUMBER=2-259718 BYLINE=PETER HEINLEIN DATELINE=MOSCOW CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: Russian police are preparing to take over the lead role in the conflict in Chechnya from the army, following the capture of the last rebel stronghold. Correspondent Peter Heinlein in Moscow reports Russian officials are asking for international help in tracking down Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov and other rebel leaders. TEXT: After briefing Acting President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin, Interior Minister Vladimir Rushailo told reporters the military phase of operations in Chechnya is winding down. /// RUSHAILO ACT - IN RUSSIAN - FADE UNDER /// He says Russia's army is wrapping up its operations. He added - we plan to work together to shift the emphasis in the final stage to the Interior Ministry. Mr. Rushailo's statement came one-day after army commanders announced the capture of Shatoi, considered the final Chechen rebel stronghold in the southern mountains. The commander of the western group of forces in Chechnya, General Vladimir Shamanov, said operations should be completed within two-weeks. But a senior police official confirms that federal forces failed to capture any senior Chechen commanders believed to have been in Shatoi. Kremlin spokesman Sergei Yastrzhembsky is quoted as saying Russia will soon ask the international police agency Interpol for help in arresting Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov. Reports in Moscow say Mr. Maskhadov and other rebel leaders are seeking temporary shelter across the border in neighboring Georgia. Russia's Foreign Ministry issued a statement denouncing a U-S government report expressing concern about the conduct of Russian troops in Chechnya. The 123-page State Department report issued last Friday charges Russian soldiers with using indiscriminate force that caused unnecessarily high civilian casualties. In its reply, Russia accuses the United States of basing its conclusions on biased Western-media reports. A foreign ministry statement accuses Washington of openly siding with Chechen rebels while - ignoring that the Russian military offensive was aimed at restoring human rights and the rule of law in Chechnya. In a related development, a Moscow newspaper has published an essay signed by human-rights activist Yelena Bonner and several other prominent critics urging the international community to adopt a tougher line toward Russia on Chechnya. The essay calls for, among other things, increased support from the democratic world for efforts to stop the war. (SIGNED) NEB/PFH/JWH/LTD/RAE 01-Mar-2000 11:30 AM EDT (01-Mar-2000 1630 UTC) NNNN Source: Voice of America .
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