DATE=4/2/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=RUSSIA/CHECHNYA UPD L)
NUMBER=2-260858
BYLINE=EVE CONANT
DATELINE=MOSCOW
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: The French news agency reports Russian
authorities have denied U-N Human Rights Chief Mary
Robinson access to five detention camps. Moscow
Correspondent Eve Conant Mrs. Robinson had requested a
visit to the camps as part of her investigation into
alleged human-rights abuses in Chechnya
TEXT: After a delay of several hours, Ms. Robinson
traveled to Chechnya. But the French news agency
reports Russian authorities denied her access to the
detention camps she had listed as top priorities to
visit.
Russian authorities were not available for comment.
Her spokesman, Jose Luiz Diaz, said Ms. Robinson's
hosts had reportedly granted her access to the
Chernokozovo facility, where witnesses had said
Russian troops repeatedly tortured and raped inmates.
But the camp is now a regular stop on visits to
Chechnya by journalists or international observers.
Ms. Robinson had requested access to five lesser-known
camps, including two centers believed located inside a
car factory in the Chechen capital. The camps had
been highlighted in a recent report by Amnesty
International and are yet to be visited by human
rights workers.
/// OPT /// Russia's human-rights chief, Oleg
Mironov, who is travelling with Ms. Robinson, has
urged Russian authorities to allow observers into
Chechnya, saying it would force Russia's army to
improve its treatment of Chechens. But he said any
abuses would be worse on the Chechen side. ///END
OPT///
Ms. Robinson will report her findings to the U-N
Commission on Human Rights, which is holding its
annual meeting in Geneva.
She is scheduled to meet top officials Monday and
Tuesday in Moscow. Her visit also comes on the eve of
a Council of Europe debate about whether to suspend
Russia's membership, due to alleged human rights
abuses in Chechnya.
Ms. Robinson has stressed the need for an
investigation into the alleged atrocities, calling for
- full ownership and a credible response to the scale
of violations. She told Russian authorities she
understood there were violations on the Chechen side
as well. But the U-N Human Rights Chief said - a
pattern of violence - had emerged in Chechnya that
could implicate top Russian commanders. (SIGNED)
NEB/EC/DW/RAE
02-Apr-2000 14:45 PM EDT (02-Apr-2000 1845 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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