Topic awaiting preservation: Understanding Beslan - and where do we go from here?

i'm saying 'WE' because of the international repercussions bound to follow such a horrifying tragedy, and because of the part - as small as it might be - that we could play in influencing a turn of events...

like i said somewhere else, i've been following the story since it broke last week and am still trying to understand the political situation that has led to this.

one question i find morbidly intriguing though is: what was the breaking point for them? what singular event, if it can be narrowed down to one, triggers such a hopeless desperation in a person that they decide it's a good idea to strap on a bomb and hop on a plane ... or detonate yourself on a busy street... or commit the most unfathomable offence of slaughtering innocent children?

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no. damn it.

It might be something to do with the fact that they live with the same horror themselves as part of their day-to-day lives - we just don't get to hear about it so much because it isn't in our national interests.
We have the luxury of the media, powerful millitary forces, national prosperity, and the advantage of living in aggressive countries who's main ageenda seems to be controlling extra-national resources (like oil, land, and passage-rights).

These people can't count on the generosity and support of their buddy-buddy super-power allies, simply because they don't really have any.

It's a little like the child-abuse paradox - the fact that those who are abused are more likely to abuse later in life.

I wouldn't, for even a second, support or sympathise with these terrorists in their actions - but I can't say that I don't understand just a little of the desperation their nation's people must be feeling.

The tragedy in Beslan, as with so many other recent (and not-so-recent) events has been force-fed to me through Western media - yet I rarely see much on the continual slaughter in the countries that these terrorists come from.

I know why too:

In a war, you don't spread your enemy's propoganda.
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The sickness I feel at senselessness of the Beslan tragedy is beyond my ability to adequately express. My heart goes out to those children, parents, relatives, friends and spouses that have lost their loved ones in such a cruel and protracted manner.

To have your loved ones killed suddenly must be terrible. To be forced to stand and watch their demise unfold over a matter of days like that must have been unbearable.

In the same situation, I feel the agony would have killed me before the event reached its conclusion. Just thinking about their pain shortens my breath and makes my gut ache.

In light of world events, I just feel powerless.

I think it's Russia's problem, and Russia wants to solve it without any outside influence or help.

Simply offering it and letting them know they have 'back up' as it would be, I'm sure that would be a nice gesture of neighborly respect. If we start barking orders and insisting on helping, it'll get touchy with Russia. They do -not- want us to help.

From how I understand it.

Cell # 551
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I think Russia needs to solve this problem on their own. There's been a lot going on over there since the USSR dissolved, and there's a lot of political sorting out that still has to happen. I think the US wants to be Russia's ally, we need all the allies we can get at this point, but I really think that it will add strength to the Russian people if they come up with their own resolution of the matter. The US takes far too much interest in what's happening outside our borders these days... I'd rather our government spent more time focusing on the problems within our borders...

Foreign relations are important, but with the current upheaval at home, it becomes difficult for the US to present a united front to the global society...

Russia, hasn't been able to "solve" this problem for over 400 years! Chechnya has been fighting Russia for that long.

It would be nice, to see the situation solved. That will not bring back all the lost lives, but it would save all the lives, that will surely be lost, if it is not solved.

WebShaman | Asylum D & D | D & D Min Page

every true war, it seems, is fought in the media. from that perspective, the Chenyans have won a huge victory at Beslan. it's a damned shame that the most innocent of civilians had to pay such a senseless price for Chenya's few moments at the pulpit.

as for outside countries getting involved, i see the benefit there only if the mediation is a well calculated, international effort that weighs all the arguments carefully, and makes sound provision for taking care of the country for the long run.

i know that UN and NATO have copped some flack in recent decades for a perceived inadequacy, but the last thing we need is our self-proclaimed 'Watchdog' pouncing on russia, and then Putin sitting in a holding cell with Hussein (hmmm..) while their countries are spun into further chaos dealing with, 'now what?' issues.

russia still hasn't recovered from the last time that happened....

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no. damn it.

Before we can go somewhere, we first need to know where we have been, and where we currently are.

So, let us examine Chechnya a bit more closely.

A short history of Chechnya

Here is a short time-line from the 1800s to now.

quote:

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Recognized as a distinct people since the 17th cent., the Chechens were the most active opponents of Russia's conquest (1818?1917) of the Caucasus. They fought bitterly during an unsuccessful 1850s rebellion led by Imam Shamyl. The Bolsheviks seized the region in 1918 but were dislodged in 1919 by counterrevolutionary forces under Gen. A. I. Denikin.

After Soviet rule was reestablished, the area was included in 1921 in the Mountain People's Republic. The Chechen Autonomous Region was created in 1922, and in 1934 it became part of the Chechen-Ingush Region, made a republic in 1936. After Chechen and Ingush units collaborated with the invading Germans during World War II, many residents were deported (1944) to Central Asia. Deportees were repatriated in 1956, and the republic was reestablished in 1957.

In 1991, as the Soviet Union disintegrated, the Chechen-dominated parliament of the republic declared independence as the Republic of Ichkeria, soon better known as Chechnya. In June, 1992, Russia granted Ingush inhabitants their own republic (Ingushetia) in the western fifth of the territory.

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from A short History of Chechnya

Human Rights Abuses

quote:

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Human Rights groups raised concern at the rampage that the Russian forces were on after having issued what appeared to be an ultimatum for citizens in Grozny to evacuate. (The previous link is to a report that admits that the Russian government tried to give an opportunity for citizens to leave but criticized how Russia would assume that those left behind would be considered terrorists.) The Russian troops were accused of looting and burning homes and buildings, even executing those who resisted. The rest of the G8 and the European Union had even threatened to isolate Moscow if they continued their campaign.

As Human Rights Watch further reported, in April 2001, ?the U.N. Commission on Human Rights adopted a resolution on Chechnya that condemned serious human rights violations by Russia's forces, and raised concern about forced disappearances, torture, and summary executions. Sponsored by the E.U., and with strong U.S. backing, the resolution called for U.N. special rapporteurs to investigate these abuses in the war-torn republic and for credible criminal investigations by domestic agencies into all human rights and humanitarian law violations. Russia rejected a similar resolution adopted by the commission last year, and refused to comply with its requirements. It has vowed to do the same this year.?

In May 2001, they also reported that Russian authorities covered up evidence of extra-judicial executions.

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From Global issues, Chechnya.

So, that leaves Chechnya in an ideal state for the breeding of terrorism as we know it. Alarming is that even women are willing to sacrifice themselves (as we have seen in Beslan). As long as the current situation continues, the violence and terrorism will continue. It is a circle of violence, without end.

The Road to Peace

Obviously, force of arms and violence is not going to solve anything in Chechnya on both sides. As the past has shown, only a diplomatic solution will work here. And that means opening up dialogs. That may be an unpleasant option, but it is the only sane option.

I believe the solution here lies in this direction.

WebShaman | Asylum D & D | D & D Min Page

thank you for the brief and those links, shaman ... i'm going through all of them now.

a recent publication reports that Putin's first televised statement after the event echoed Stalin:

quote:

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Time Magazine 13 September:

Putin wasted no time declaring he would crack down even harder rather than negotiate a political solution to the Chechen conflict. . .

"We have shown weakness. The weak ones get beaten."

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i wonder if this president ever stepped foot in a history classroom. and, judging by past reactions to terrorism, his general attitude towards the people he presides over seems to be that they are dispensable. what, i wonder, are his governing values? his greater objective?

the most disturbing thing is that, as far as rulers go, Putin is hardly unique.


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Photo Essay on Beslan





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no. damn it.

(Edited by LaSun on 09-10-2004 12:24)