DATE=4/4/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=RUSSIA / ROBINSON (L)
NUMBER=2-260929
BYLINE=EVE CONANT
DATELINE=MOSCOW
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: U-N human-rights chief Mary Robinson has
wrapped up a controversial visit to Russia by urging
authorities in Moscow to launch an independent
investigation into alleged human-rights violations in
Chechnya. But as Moscow correspondent Eve Conant
reports, Russian officials are denouncing what they
call western interference in Chechnya and have labeled
her trip a propaganda offensive.
TEXT: U-N human rights chief Robinson is pressing
Russian authorities to launch an independent national
commission of inquiry to investigate what she calls -
serious and documented - allegations of human-rights
violations in Chechnya.
/// ACT ROBINSON ///
I would put a lot of emphasis on the
independence (of this commission) because it
needs credibility. The most important thing is
to bring home the scale of the human-rights
violations and that is why I am pressing for a
national independent commission of inquiry to
bring home that scale.
/// END ACT ///
Mary Robinson argued the commission would provide a
public expression of the Russian government's -
willingness to fight impunity and rebuild the trust of
the Chechen civilian population. She would not say if
she supported sanctions against Russia for its conduct
of the war, an issue the Council of Europe is debating
this week.
The U-N Human Rights chief urged Russian officials to
accept responsibility for examining the allegations,
including tales of murder, rape, and looting she says
she heard from eyewitnesses in Chechnya.
/// SECOND ACT ROBINSON ///
Yes, I do believe there have been serious human-
rights violations. I listened in Nazran to
direct eyewitnesses of mass killings, looting,
pillaging, and civilians being summarily
executed. There must be a day of reckoning
regarding the situation in Chechnya.
/// END ACT ///
/// OPT /// The High Commissioner for Human Rights
says she believes there is a growing awareness among
Russian authorities of the seriousness of the
allegations and the need to address them. But her
visit to Moscow and the North Caucasus was beset with
difficulties. Russia's top human-rights official, who
accompanied her to Chechnya, accused her of lying.
She was also denied her request for a meeting with
president-elect Vladimir Putin. /// END OPT ///
Ms. Robinson told reporters her meeting (Tuesday) with
Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov was constructive
and that he had invited her to return in several
months. But during their meeting, Mr. Ivanov defended
the military campaign and criticized what he called
her propaganda offensive against Russia's prestige.
/// ACT IVANOV IN RUSSIAN IN FULL AND FADE ///
The Foreign Minister says - we do not want and will
not allow for the problem of Chechnya to be used as a
means to interfere into the internal affairs of
Russia. He tells Ms. Robinson - this problem is too
big and painful for us to have it used by outside
forces.
A Foreign Ministry statement issued after their
meeting denied allegations of systematic human-rights
violations.
/// OPT /// International human-rights officials in
Moscow say Ms. Robinson's trip was a step forward.
But Diederik Lohman, Moscow Director of Human Rights
Watch - a watchdog group that has been conducting
extensive research among Chechen refugees - questioned
Ms. Robinson's call for a Russian-led commission to
investigate the allegations.
/// ACT LOHMAN // OPT ACT ///
We are not optimistic about the prospects of a
national commission of inquiry. We have seen
how the Russian Prosecutor's Office and (Human
Rights Chief) Mr. Kalamanov have responded to
the allegations by Chechen civilians. That
leaves very little room for optimism.
/// END ACT // END OPT///
Ms. Robinson will report her findings to the U-N
Commission on Human Rights, which is holding its
annual session in Geneva. (SIGNED)
NEB/EC/GE
04-Apr-2000 09:53 AM EDT (04-Apr-2000 1353 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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