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wash <wash@ecn.org>
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Mon, 20 Dec 1999 23:42:54 +0100
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globe_l: [Fwd: Fwd: Fw: No Financing For Russia's War in Chechnya]
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Comite Tchetchenie a crit :
> >From: "CPCD" <peacecentre@glasnet.ru>
> >To: "Comite Tchetchenie" <comitetchetchenie@hotmail.com>
> >Subject: Fw: No Financing For Russia's War in Chechnya
> >Date: Thu, 16 Dec 1999 09:56:02 +0300
> >
> >
> >-----ҞӔ ӷ-----
> >: Felix Corley <fcorley@mail.ndirect.co.uk>
> >: chechnya-sl@egroups.com <chechnya-sl@egroups.com>
> >: 15 1999 . 22:19
> >: HRW: No Financing For Russia's War in Chechnya
> >
> >
> >NO FINANCING FOR RUSSIA'S WAR IN CHECHNYA
> >Rights Group Presses World Bank to Withhold $100 Million
> >
> >(New York, December 15, 1999) The World Bank will be implicated in
> >the human suffering in Chechnya if it releases the next installment of a
> >major loan to Russia, Human Rights Watch said today.
> >
> >In a letter to World Bank President James Wolfensohn, Human Rights Watch
> >called on the Bank to withhold a pending $100 million payment under a
> >structural adjustment loan to the Russian Federation. Describing
> >indiscriminate and disproportionate bombing, looting, and extrajudicial
> >executions committed by Russian forces in Chechnya, the letter states
> >that if the Bank made the payment to the Russian Central Bank for
> >general budgetary spending, it would be implicated in these abuses.
> >
> >"The bank shouldn't finance the abusive and destructive conduct we are
> >seeing in Chechnya," said Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human
> >Rights Watch. "Russia's campaign in Chechnya violates international law
> >and undermines development, and the Bank should have no part of it."
> >
> >Roth said Human Rights Watch was equally concerned about another $100
> >million pending for payment from the Japanese government, as well as the
> >prospect of private financing for Russia's campaign.
> >
> >The International Monetary Fund recently delayed payment of $640 million
> >to Russia. Officially, the decision was based on economic factors, but
> >widely believed to be linked to the Chechnya conflict. In the wake of
> >the IMF decision, news sources reported the Russian government was
> >considering alternative funding sources, including a bond issue
> >targeting foreign investors.
> >
> >A copy of the letter from Human Rights Watch to World Bank President
> >James Wolfensohn is attached.
> >
> >
> >For more Human Rights Watch coverage of Chechnya, visit
> >http://www.hrw.org/campaigns/russia/chechnya
> >
> >December 14, 1999
> >
> >OPEN LETTER
> >
> >Mr. James Wolfensohn
> >President
> >The World Bank
> >1818 H Street, NW
> >Washington, DC 20433
> >
> >Re: Structural Adjustment Loan Disbursement to Russia in Light of
> >Conduct of Russian Forces in Chechnya
> >
> >Dear Mr. Wolfensohn:
> >
> >We are writing to you with the utmost urgency to ask you to withhold
> >payment of the forthcoming $100 million disbursement under the Bank's
> >structural adjustment loan to the Russian Federation, and to use your
> >relationship with representatives of the Russian government to press for
> >an end to the abuses being committed in Chechnya, making clear that any
> >future disbursements will be linked to the Russian government's
> >compliance with its international commitments in its conduct in
> >Chechnya.
> >
> >We understand of course that the Bank is constrained by its Articles of
> >Agreement, as well as its loan agreement with the Russian Federation.
> >As is elaborated below, however, we cannot accept that these
> >restrictions could be read to require the Bank to finance a government
> >engaged in activities that so clearly violate international law and
> >undermine the Bank's fundamental development goals as is currently the
> >case in Russia.
> >
> >We have welcomed your leadership in recent years in guiding the Bank
> >toward full appreciation of the important "human aspects" of
> >development. You spoke forcefully at this year's annual meeting,
> >envisioning a world, which the Bank can help create, where everyone
> >might say, "Today, I fear no one.'" Unfortunately, this is far from
> >the case in Chechnya, where tens of thousands of civilians are cowering
> >in the basements of Grozny. They are facing the Russian forces'
> >ultimatum that they leave the city or face imminent "destruction"
> >together with Chechen rebels, yet they have not been able to flee due to
> >on-going aerial bombardment and limited means of transportation. The
> >current lull in the shelling has allowed some Grozny residents to flee
> >to safety. However, hanging in the balance is the fate of those who
> >remain and may be unable to leave due to their personal
> >circumstancesthe elderly, the infirm, and the poor.
> >
> >The Russian government maintains that it is conducting an
> >"anti-terrorist" operation in Chechnya, prompted by the terrorist
> >bombings in Moscow and Volgodonsk, and incursions by Chechen militants
> >into Dagestan. Of course, the aspiration of fearing no one belongs to
> >Russian citizens of Moscow, Volgodonsk and Dagestan, as well as those of
> >Chechnya. No one doubts the right, and indeed responsibility, of the
> >Russian government to protect its citizens from terrorism. But the
> >actions of Russian forces in Chechnya have gone far beyond
> >anti-terrorist measures and have had a severe impact on the civilian
> >population of Chechnya. Russia is today a party to an internal armed
> >conflict, and must observe its obligations under the Geneva Conventions
> >and other international humanitarian law that regulates such conflicts.
> >To date, in Chechnya, Russian forces have flouted these standards.
> >
> >Human Rights Watch researchers in the northern Caucasus have interviewed
> >hundreds of civilians fleeing Chechnya. Our findings confirm that the
> >conduct of Russia's military campaign in Chechnya continues to take a
> >terrible toll on civilians. Russian forces have bombed and shelled
> >dozens of towns and villages still inhabited by civilians, actions that
> >have killed and maimed untold numbers of people and shown contempt for
> >international humanitarian law. They have consistently failed to provide
> >civilians safe exit routes out of the conflict zones, forcing them
> >either to remain in villages under siege or risk getting shot on the
> >road. Civilians able to reach the border crossings often face long
> >waitssometimes up to daysin freezing weather while Russian border
> >police "process" them and extort bribes as a condition for permitting
> >them to cross. Displaced persons in Ingushetia face serious protection
> >problems and acute - sometimes life-threatening - lack of basic
> >humanitarian assistance.
> >
> >Soldiers in Russian-controlled areas of Chechnya apparently have carte
> >blanche to strip homes of household goods and valuables; many people
> >have returned briefly to their homes to find them looted bare. In the
> >village of Alkan-Yurt, Russian forces went on a rampage, killing several
> >of the homeowners who resisted the looting and burning some homes in the
> >village after looting them. The testimony of displaced persons from the
> >town summarized in the attached statement indicates that at least
> >twenty-three persons, and possibly many more, were summarily executed in
> >the town between December 1-9, 1999. The Russian military authorities
> >appear to have little interest in stopping abuses by their forces, and
> >have allowed a culture of impunity to develop in Chechnya.
> >
> >If the Bank pays the forthcoming installment on its structural
> >adjustment loan, it will be implicated in this human suffering and held
> >accountable by citizens of the world who are in fact its ultimate
> >shareholders. As a direct payment to the Russian Central Bank for
> >purposes of general budgetary spending, there is a clear danger that
> >World Bank funds will fuel the military engine at work in Chechnya.
> >Even were there agreed restrictions imposed on the use of Bank funds in
> >order to safeguard against such allocation, the Bank would nonetheless
> >be complicit in abuses in Chechnya, as its support would free up other
> >Russian government resources to fund the war effort. For this reason
> >alone, the Bank must refuse payment on the loan.
> >
> >Moreover, the Bank should withhold payment and press the Russian
> >government to cease the violations in Chechnya, because they only serve
> >to exacerbate the already considerable development challenges facing the
> >country. As you have frequently recognized, achieving sustainable
> >economic development is only more complicated and difficult in a
> >post-conflict situation. The current conflict in Chechnya is at least
> >in part a function of the failure of post-conflict reconstruction in the
> >province following the 1994-96 war. As the current Russian assault
> >escalates, the prospective cost of physically rebuilding Chechnya, not
> >to mention creating credible and effective governmental structures
> >capable of assuring good governance and security to its citizens, mounts
> >to staggering proportions.
> >
> >Finally, the Bank should take a stand against the Russian government's
> >actions in Chechnya, because they violate international humanitarian law
> >and reflect a broader disrespect for Russia's international
> >commitments. A government should not be considered a reliable
> >investment partner if it undertakes specific commitments and then
> >blatantly abrogates them, as the Russian government has done at the OSCE
> >summit in Istanbul and in subsequent weeks, with respect to the promised
> >visit of the Chairman-in-office to Chechnya and the role of the OSCE
> >Assistance Group. There is a global system of international law that
> >encompasses the Geneva Conventions and other humanitarian norms as well
> >as international financial agreements; the Russian Federation should not
> >be allowed to pick and choose among its commitments.
> >
> >The Bank's Articles of Agreement and its loan agreement with Russia must
> >be interpreted in the context of this broader international legal
> >framework. Given the Bank's origins and purposes, there must be an
> >implied understanding in any Bank undertaking that it cannot be allowed
> >through its financing to become complicit in the kinds of violations of
> >international law being perpetrated by Russian armed forces in Chechnya,
> >nor for that matter, to underwrite conduct that is so contrary to its
> >fundamental development goals. Put another way, the Bank is required to
> >weigh only "economic considerations," but it is further required to do
> >so in a manner consistent with its core purpose.
> >
> >Much has been made of the risk of alienating the Russian government from
> >western institutions if a strong stand is taken against the violence in
> >Chechnya. As we emphasized at the outset, however, a stand can be taken
> >against the methods used in Chechnya, without objecting to the
> >legitimate and politically popular goal of eliminating the scourge of
> >terrorism.
> >
> >Moreover, allow us to observe in closing that the Russian misperception
> >that they are being treated unfairly by the international community is
> >only likely to be worsened by obvious obfuscation such as that
> >undertaken recently by the IMF, which withheld funds for one set of
> >stated reasons when everyone including the Russian people knows well
> >that it is another. The more credible and effective course is to
> >clearly articulate the real conditions for continued financial support,
> >which should in this case be a clear and verifiable commitment on the
> >part of the Russian government to abide by international law in
> >Chechnya, specifically desisting from attacks on heavily populated
> >areas; implementing well-publicized cease-fires along exit routes to
> >allow civilians to flee; and allowing unfettered access and necessary
> >security for international observers and that of humanitarian
> >organizations seeking to provide relief in Chechnya.
> >
> >Thank you for your attention to these urgent concerns. Please do not
> >hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.
> >
> >Sincerely,
> >/s/
> >Kenneth Roth
> >Executive Director
> >
> >/s/
> >Holly Cartner
> >Executive Director, Europe & Central Asia Division
> >
> >enclosure: Human Rights Watch Press Release: "Russian Troops Rampage in
> >Chechnya Village." (http://www.hrw.org/campaigns/russia/chechnya/)
> >
> >
> >_____________________________________________________________
> >
> >
> >
> >------------------------------------------------------------------------
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> >
> >
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