|
From
|
wash <wash@ecn.org>
|
|
Date
|
Tue, 29 Feb 2000 18:44:52 +0100
|
|
Subject
|
globe_l: [Fwd: Re: un truc a essayer pour lire directement les messages en cyrilliques]
|
From: "Center for the Development of Democracy and Human Rights"
<cddhr@rc.msu.ru>
Subject: report on anti-war actions
Date: Sun, 27 Feb 2000
Dear colleagues,
Attached please find a report about the anti-war demonstration in Moscow
on
February 19 and the Petition Against the War in Chechnya. Both documents
are
in English and Russian. Please accept our apologies for the large size
of
the files. We will be glad if the documents will be useful to you and/or
if
you could distribute them. Photographs can bee found at the Web site of
the
Committee for Anti-War Actions at http://www.hro.org/war/index.htm . We
would like to thank everybody who has expressed their support to our
actions.
Sincerely yours,
Yuri Dzhibladze
Center for the Development of Democracy and Human Rights
ul. Volkhonka 14, 4th floor, Moscow, 119842 Russia
tel.+fax (095) 203-9196
cddhr@rc.msu.ru
Committee for Anti-War Actions
war@hro.org
COMMITTEE FOR ANTI-WAR ACTIONS
(095) 208-49-02 (11am-7pm Moscow time), war@hro.org,
http://www.hro.org/war
MASS ANTI-WAR DEMONSTRATION IN MOSCOW ON FEBRUARY 19 MARKS THE BEGINNING
OF ACTIVE PROTESTS OF RUSSIAN CITIZENS AGAINST THE WAR IN CHECHNYA
Despite of the claims of the Russian authorities and the affiliated
media
about unconditional and unanimous support by the Russian people of the
government's policy in Chechnya, a considerable part of the Russian
population does not approve of the operation in the North Caucasus and
demands immediate stop of the military actions. Millions of Russians are
concerned about gross violations of human rights and humanitarian law in
the course of the "anti-terrorist operation" and heave political,
social,
economic, legal, and humanitarian consequences of the war which, in the
opinion of many experts and citizens, may hinder the process of rebirth
of
Russia for decades and push the country away from the path of civilized
and
democratic development for good.
A mass demonstration against the war in Chechnya on February 19, 2000 in
the center of Moscow has become an evidence of the fact that more and
more
Russian citizens are making a step from silent condemnation of the war
to
active civic resistance to militarism and lawlessness. By different
accounts, from 800 to 1200 people participated in the event organized by
the Committee for Anti-War Actions. Proponents of the peaceful
resolution
of the crisis in Chechnya gathered at 2 PM on Teatralnaya Square in
central
Moscow carrying the following slogans: "No to war in Chechnya!," "War
kills
freedom," "War bankrupts Russia," "Let's stop the war not for the sake
of
Europe but for the sake of Russia," "What if you neighbor happens to be
a
banditÖ Should your house be bombed then?," "Putin, where is Babitsky?,"
"Freedom to Dmitry Neverovsky!," No to military censorship," FSB +
militarisation of all nation = new national idea?," "The war kills both
Chechens and Russians," "Today - cleansing of Chechnya, tomorrow -
cleansing of Russia?," "Murder of one person is a crime, murder of ten
people - a terrible crime, murder of ten thousand - antiterrorist
operation?," "State terrorism is more dangerous than terrorism of
individuals."
The participants were addressed by the following speakers: Mr. Oleg
Orlov,
Chair of the Board of "Memorial" Human Rights Center; Mr. Valery
Borshchev,
deputy of the first and second State Duma and the Chair of the Chamber
on
Human Rights of the Political Consultative Council at the President of
Russia; Ms. Svetlana Gannushkina, co-Chair of the Public Committee for
Aid
to Refugees and Forced Migrants "Civic Assistance;" Ms Eliza Musaeva, a
teacher and a refugee from Chechnya; Mr. Naum Nim, Editor-in-Chief of
"Index: Dossier on Censorship" journal; Ms. Ludmila Obraztsova, member
of
the Board of the Union of Soldiers' Mothers Committees of Russia; Mr.
Vladlen Toupikin, representative of the Anarchist Anti-War Movement and
member of the collective of the "Utopia" journal; Mr. Lev Ponomarev,
co-Chair of the federal party "Democratic Russia" and chair of the
All-Russian Movement "For Human Rights," Mr. Nickolai Khramov, secretary
of
the Antimilitarist Radisal Association; and Ms. Valeriya Novodvorskaya,
chair of the Democratic Union party. The demonstration was facilitated
by
Ms. Irina Bogantseva, chair of Democratic Perspective NGO, and Mr. Yuri
Dzhibladze, president of the Center for the Development of Democracy and
Human Rights. A message from Grigory Yavlinsky was read to the
participants. In his message chair of the Yabloko movement promised "to
make everything possible to stop the war, senseless and cruel," and
stated
that "criminals should be punished and people should be protected," and
that "soldiers should return home safe and with clear conscience." After
the speeches the participants released hundreds of blue air balloons
with
the words "No to War" written on them as a symbol of their civic
resistance
to violence and peaceful alternative to war. Organizers announced about
a
launch of a petition signing campaign against the war. Text of the
Petition
Against the War in Chechnya addressed to acting President Putin and
prepared by the Committee for Anti-War Actions was read to the
participants. The Petition demands immediate stop of the military
actions
in Chechnya, beginning of negotiations of the Russian government with
legitimate authorities of the Chechen Republic, immediate investigation
of
all war crimes conducted in Chechnya and bringing the guilty to justice,
ending of information war waged against the Russian population;
provision
of truthful information about the situation in Chechnya, abolition of
the
illegal military censorship, immediate provision of all necessary
assistance to refugees from Chechnya, provision of unconditional access
for
international and Russian observers to the conflict zone.
After the end of the rally participants of the action walked with
anti-war
slogans to the memorial to the victims of the GULAG, the Solovetsky
Stone
at Lubianka Square. After the introductory words by Mr. Alexander
Daniel,
member of the Board of the "Memorial" Society, the participants held a
moment of silence in memory of the victims of the war in Chechnya and
laid
the flowers down to the memorial stone thus underlining that what is
happening in Chechnya today is as much a violation of human rights as
the
Stalinist repressions. After the mourning ceremony more speakers
addressed
the audience: Ms. Nadezhda Avdeeva, member of the Mothers of Kuban NGO
from
Krasnodar, Mr. Pyotr Kaznacheev, chair of the Anti-Fascist Youth
Movement,
and Dr. Alexander Krasnov, professor at the Moscow Conservatory.
Representatives of the Buddhist Order read an appeal to peace. The
organizers announced their plans for continuing actions of civic
resistance
to war.
Anti-war actions in Moscow are supported by activists in other cities in
Russia. On February 19 a demonstration against the war Chechnya and the
government's treatment of Andrei Babitsky took place in Yekaterinburg.
The
action, organized by the Committee for Defense of Andrei Babitsky,
Committee for Anti-War Actions, Memorial Center, Movement Against
Violence
and other NGOs, gathered more than a hundred activists. The city
residents
could see anti-war slogans "Murder of one person is a crime, murder of
ten
people - a terrible crime, murder of ten thousand - antiterrorist
operation?," "Yesterday's school children shouldn't be sent to
trenches,"
"Babitsky's "case" is an act of lawlessness by the government," "Freedom
to
the prisoner of conscience Dmitry Neverovsky!" Participants were signing
letters with demands to stop the bloodshed in Chechnya and conduct
official
investigation of the disappearance of Mr. Babitsky. The demonstration
was
the largest but not the last action in Yekaterinburg. Activists from the
Urals have made a decision to conduct weekly pickets in the center of
the
city - Peace Vigils against ht war in Chechnya, in defense of freedom,
democracy and the right to life. During the anti-war picket in
Yekaterinburg on February 23 passers-by were stopping at a photo display
with pictures of Chechen children wounded during the "anti-terrorist
operation" while the activists distributed leaflets of the Committee for
Defense of Andrei Babitsky and the Committee for Anti-War Actions and
information materials of the Human Rights Network and Memorial. Despite
of
the fact that the action was officially permitted, the police detained
briefly two participants and exposed their film rolls.
During the weekend after the Moscow demonstration anti-war activists in
Saint Petersburg organized a series of actions, including a
punk-hardcore
music festival against the war on Chechnya with groups from
St.Petersburg,
Moscow, Vyborg and Finland on February 25 and an anti-war picket at the
corner of the main city avenue, the Nevsky prospect, and Malaya Sadovaya
street.
The Committee for Anti-War Actions plans continuation of weekly pickets
in
Moscow, a petition-signing campaign, organization of a "Joint Wave" - a
series of simultaneous anti-war actions in different cities in Russia
and
other countries in mid March, anti-war concerts, collection of
humanitarian
aid for the civilian population of Chechnya, etc. Anti-war actions are
also
being planned in Chita, Sakhalin, and other regions of Russia.
Committee for Anti-War Actions is a coalition of Russian NGOs and
movements. Established in 1995, it conducted anti-war pickets and
demonstrations during the first war in Chechnya, and renewed its
activities
in January 2000. The Committee is comprised of representatives of the
Human
Rights Center "Memorial," the Union of Soldiers' Mothers Committees of
Russia, Democratic Perspective, Antimilitarist Radical Association,
Center
for the Development of Democracy and Human Rights, Youth Human Rights
Center, Anarchist Anti-War Movement, Human Rights Network, Movement
Against
Violence, Democratic Union party, Anti-Fascist Youth Action, Youth Human
Rights Movement, Information Center of the Independent Women's Forum,
Nonviolence International and other groups as well as individuals not
affiliated with any NGOs or movements.
PETITION AGAINST THE WAR IN CHECHNYA
To: Acting President of the Russian Federation
Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation
Moscow, Kremlin
Mr. Acting President;
We, the undersigned, are sending you this petition; by doing so, we
realize
our right to appeal to organs of state power guaranteed by Article 33 of
the Russian Constitution.
We declare our strong protest against the continued military hostilities
in
Chechnya. We can see that behind the veil of official rhetoric about
"the
fight against terrorism" a real war against all Chechen people is going
on.
We do not believe that the mysterious explosions which occurred in
living
quarters of some Russian cities - regardless of who, in fact, caused
these
explosions - can justify the destruction of dozens of towns and
villages,
the deaths of thousands of peaceful civilians, as well as Russian
soldiers
and officers, and the plight of thousands of refugees, given that no
known
terrorists have been detained and prosecuted as of now.
We express our strong protest against the increasing militarization of
all
aspects of life in Russia, and the crackdown on the media freedom which
are
taking place in the context of the new Chechen war.
We demand that you take all measures required
… To put an immediate end to hostilities waged by the federal armed
forces
in Chechnya;
… To start negotiations between the Russian federal authorities and the
legitimately elected government of the Chechen Republic, in particular,
with the Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov whose legitimacy is
recognized
by the Council of Europe, and was recognized, until recently, by the
Russian Government;
… To initiate an immediate investigation into all military crimes
committed
in Chechnya, and to prosecute offenders;
… To end the information war against the Russian society by the federal
authorities, to provide accurate information about the events in
Chechnya
to the Russian public, and to prohibit the illegal military censorship;
… To provide, without delay, all types of assistance needed to refugees
who
have fled Chechnya;
… To ensure free and unconditional access to the conflict zone for
international and Russian observers.
This petition was initiated on February 19, 2000 by the Committee for
Anti-War Actions which includes representatives of Russian NGOs:
Memorial Human Rights Center, Union of Soldiers' Mothers of Russia,
Democratic Perspective, Antimilitary Radical Association (ARA), Radical
Party, Center for the Development of Democracy and Human Rights, Human
Rights Youth Center, Anarchist Anti-War Movement, Human Rights Network,
Antifascist Youth Movement, Democratic Union, Independent Women's Forum
Information Center, Non-Violence International, Human Rights Youth
Movement, and other organizations, as well as individuals not associated
with NGOs and movements.
Committee for Anti-War Actions
103045 Moscow, #6 Pechatnikov Pereulok, the Radical Party
phone. (095) 208-4902, fax (095) 208-1805; E-mail: war@hro.org; Web
Site:
www.hro.org/war
-
-
G L O B E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
s a m i z d a t . n e t
european counter network
bureaucratie : samizdat@samizdat.net
messages sur la liste : globe_l@ecn.org
archives web : http://www.ecn.org/lists/globe_l
envois restreints aux abonnes
http://www.samizdat.net/infos
![[<--]](/icons/prev.gif){kind=icon}
![[-->]](/icons/next.gif){kind=icon}