Russia and Chechnya – The Lies
On the 23rd of October this year in the
Russian capital Moscow a group of discontented and violent Chechen Rebels
stormed a Moscow theatre house and took the 800 people in the theatre hostage.
In the media this became known as the Moscow Theatre Siege. The Chechens
declared that they would kill themselves and the hostages if the Russian
Government did not end the war and violent rule over their country Chechnya.
Unfortunately, for the Chechens, the Russian
President, Vladimir Putin, refused to do a deal with the terrorists. Russian
Special Forces were set in to storm the theatre and free the hostages. However,
these forces used a poison gas to knock out the Chechens, unfortunately they
did not take into account the effect of the gas on the hostages as well. In the
process over 100 hostages were killed by the gas. Putin refused to give doctors
and relatives the information about the poison gas, so the people who had
survived could receive no care from medics, as they did not know what they were
dealing with.
This is not all the Russian Government has concealed
from their people. The true horror of their war against Chechnya has not been
fully revealed. 150 years ago Chechnya was invaded by the Russian army and
became part of the Tsarist Empire against the will of the Chechen people. In
the 1930s the leader of the USSR Joseph Stalin deported the whole Chechen
nation to slave labour camps in the cold wastes of Siberia, where ultimately
millions would meet their deaths either by execution or famine. In this evil
regime the ordinary Russians were lied to by and lived in fear of Stalin and
his totalitarian apparatus. His propaganda machine portrayed anyone in his
labour camps as enemies of the people and anyone who even breathed a word
against his dictatorship was executed. The Chechens were particularly
segregated because they were a minority group and part of the many
nationalities that made up the USSR.
When Communism collapsed in Russia 10 years ago the
Chechens hoped that they would be given their own country to rule for
themselves. This has not occurred because Chechnya is strategically important
for Russia, as it is a gateway to important oil fields in south of the Caucasus
Mountains.
In Chechnya today a war is raging that many Russians
and other citizens of the world are completely unaware. The capital of Chechnya
Grosny has been completely demolished by Russian troops and bombing. This
picture shows the main streets of Grosny today. (Picture called Grosny today)
The tales of the atrocities committed by Russian soldiers are horrific.
According to the Observer rape and brutality by the Russians are rife
especially on Chechen teenagers and young boys and girls as young as five. This
picture shows a mass grave of Chechen rebels, their families will never know
where their relatives have gone or whether they are still alive. (Picture
called mass grave) This picture shows a Chechen woman looking at the charred
face of her dead sister after a Russian Napalm bomb attack. (Picture called Napalm
attacks) The most important thing to remember is that if the Russian government
gave these people their own country the killing would cease. The rebels would
not feel the need to siege Russian citizens and Putin would not have to lie to
the people about poison gas. The Russian government chose to conceal their
brutal treatment of the Chechens and other nationalities for over fifty years.
Do you think this is right?
Do you think Putin was right to use dangerous poison
gas against the rebels in the Theatre Siege?
Do you think governments in general should lie to
their people?
If you are interested in this or any topic relating
to it you can email me, Rob Clarke on yor_kie@hotmail.com