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DATE=7/6/2000 TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT TITLE=RUSSIA / CHECHNYA (L-UPDATE) NUMBER=2-264134 BYLINE=PETER HEINLEIN DATELINE=MOSCOW CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: Russian President Vladimir Putin has publicly criticized government ministers for the suicide bombings that killed at least 50-people in Chechnya. Moscow Correspondent Peter Heinlein reports Mr. Putin's harsh criticism came during an unscheduled visit to Russia's north Caucasus military headquarters. TEXT: Russian television showed Interior Minister Vladimir Rushailo and Defense Minister Igor Sergeyev standing uneasily at attention while President Putin charged them with failing to adequately protect the lives of their troops in Chechnya. As a group of generals and senior security officials looked on, the Russian leader first addressed his defense minister. /// PUTIN ACT IN RUSSIAN, THEN FADE TO. /// He says - no one relieved you of the responsibility for heading this military operation. So I ask you to fulfill the task until ordered otherwise. Mr. Putin had equally harsh words for Interior Minister Rushailo. /// 2ND PUTIN ACT IN RUSSIAN, THEN FADE TO. /// He says - I must warn the interior minister. We must act more decisively, consistently and forcefully." Mr. Putin told the ministers they should try to hire more Chechens for security duty, because locals are better able to distinguish between friends and enemies among the civilian population. The Russian leader's comments came during a surprise visit to the military headquarters in Mozdok, in the North Ossetia region bordering Chechnya. But as he spoke, another car bomb blast killed at least two policemen in the neighboring Dagestan region. In the wake of Sunday's suicide attacks, senior officials in Moscow blamed poor discipline among troops, including heavy drinking and bribe taking. In most cases, the suicide bombers made it past military checkpoints and into towns nominally under government control. During his brief stop at the Mozdok military headquarters, President Putin vowed to crush the rebels, who control one-third of Chechnya 10-months after Russia launched its military offensive in the region. But in separate comments Wednesday, Kremlin spokesman Sergei Yastrzhembsky said he does not expect an early end to the war. And the state-run Itar-Tass news agency quoted intelligence sources predicting a new wave of rebel attacks. An Internet website operated by the rebels reports a sharp increase in the number of people volunteering for suicide bomb missions. After Sunday's bombings, a rebel spokesman said as many as 500 suicide bombers were standing by, waiting for orders to strike. But the website says that number is now approaching 600, with more volunteers turning up daily. (SIGNED) NEB/PFH/GE/RAE 06-Jul-2000 08:33 AM EDT (06-Jul-2000 1233 UTC) NNNN Source: Voice of America .





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