Chechens
have a pretty easy opportunity to put an end to the genocide: All
they have to do is put Christian crosses on themselves, and the men
need to put shorts and earrings on and declare that they adhere to
the Judeo-Christian values. This is the thought that permeates the
minds of many Western commentators on the Russian-Chechen war. But
they just don’t have the heart to say it openly.
This
recipe is universal and includes Afghanistan and Iraq. But they are
not being told it openly either. Bombs, hamburgers, and Hollywood
are expected to do the job.
Not
too much is needed to stop calling Chechen leaders “terrorists.”
For example, as soon as [Chechen commander] Shamil Basayev states
his support for same-sex marriages among the citizens of Russia, the
label of “Islamic terrorist” will be removed by “progressive
mankind” the same day.
The
West’s signals to the Chechen people have remained the same for
many years: “Denounce Islam and you will get the help you need.”
Russian liberals are echoing them too by wording the demands of the
Russian war criminals in a more gentle and “civilized” form:
“Stop your resistance and the slaughter of your people will be
stopped,” as if the slaughter of peaceful civilians by the
invaders is a natural disaster, an apocalypse of nature for which no
one is responsible but Chechen fighters, who “provoke” people
like Russian Colonel Budanov, who raped and killed a Chechen girl.
The
other day British parliamentarians reminded the Chechens once again
what they must do to deserve protection from the West.
The
West doesn’t want to see the Chechen people win if the
victory is won by Islamists. |
|
“Proliferation
of weapons of mass destruction and growth of Islamic fundamentalism
in Chechnya are the main threats to national security in Russia.”
This is what the report of the British Parliament’s Foreign
Affairs Committee, published last Thursday, states in the section on
Russia.
The
reports also says that the British government believes that there
are ties between the Chechen rebels and international terror
networks linked to Al-Qaeda, but that the conflict in Chechnya is
not just about terrorist movements. It also claims that Chechnya is
of vital importance to Islamic rebel movements all around the world.
The
authors of the report are recommending the British government use
its influence on Russia to get international organizations, such as
the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the
Council of Europe, involved in the Russian-Chechen conflict on a
much broader scale.
This
is just about the kind of ideology present in Western media too.
Hence, the commentators of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL),
who have been discussing the situation in the Chechen Republic of
Ichkeria for many years, keep reiterating the same clichés about
the Chechen Resistance, which allegedly consists of
fundamentalists/terrorists and separatists/nationalists.
But
the so-called nationalists, who are far removed from religion or
Jihad, found their niche in the invaders’ structures a long time
ago. And those who have taken up arms against the invaders have no
illusions concerning the “disagreements” between the West and
Russia over the war in the Caucasus.
One
European liberal, “a friend of Chechens,” defined the West’s
position most precisely when he openly stated, several months ago,
that it doesn’t want to see the Chechen people win if the victory
is won by Islamists.
 |
|
Chechen
President Aslan Maskhadov (R) and Commander Shamil Basayev
(L). |
What
they would like to see and what is acceptable to them, you can
behold with your own eyes when you visit refugee camps in Sudan or
Rwanda. When Chechens live in the same conditions, then the European
gentlemen will vouchsafe to pay attention to them, perhaps even
showing as much concern as they show for animal rights.
The
ability of the Chechen Resistance to build up its power and keep on
fighting is causing irritation and fits of animosity not only among
the Russian authorities, but among Western commentators as well. The
way they condemn Putin’s policies in the Caucasus is hypocritical,
most noticeably in the moments when the Mujahideen deal
serious
blows to the invaders.
Similarly,
the leaders of the so-called democratic states, who from time to
time express their commonplace concern about the ongoing war, start
unanimously and emotionally condemning the Chechens each time they
carry out another attack.
Let’s
note that the murder of hundreds of thousands of peaceful civilians
of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria by Russian troops was never as
ardently condemned by Western leaders as are the successful
operations of Chechen troops.
After
Russia put on another show with the “elections” in Chechnya, the
refusal of Western organizations and politicians to recognize these
elections was brought to naught. After some time had gone by, the
same politicians and journalists who were sneering at these bogus
elections had started to refer to the new puppet as “president of
Chechnya,” thereby helping to legitimize what they themselves used
to call illegitimate. Now this is hypocrisy.
The
murder of Chechen civilians is never as ardently condemned
as are operations by Chechens. |
|
Radio
Free Europe/Radio Liberty, funded by the US Congress, is a classic
example of hypocrisy. Despite the fact that this radio station is
fully aware of the real situation in Chechnya, it still prefers to
promote Russia’s propagandistic lies behind the smokescreen of
impartiality, an impartiality manifested in rare reports about
combat operations.
But
when it comes to the issue of the Islamic factor in the Chechen
Resistance, this radio station cannot help but show the venomous
gall of their animosity and hatred, which is literally heard in
every single word their journalists say.
In
a recent program about Chechnya, RFE/RL touched on the combat
operation carried out by the Mujahideen in Ingushetia, and once
again it made outright Islamophobic comments. There was not a single
word about the oppression of Ingushetian and Chechen Muslims by the
Russian invaders and their local puppets. Instead, the combat
operation was presented as Commander Basayev’s restless desire to
drag Ingushetia into the war. Then follows the traditional attempt
to discredit the Chechen Commander, supported by a poll conducted
among as many as two representatives of the Ingushetian population.
Then
there is a stupid comment by journalist Andrei Sharov, who first
repeats the KGB story that somebody declared Basayev Imam (they
should have looked up the definition of the word “imam” in the
dictionary), and then he tries to demonstrate his “knowledge” of
Islam. This is the nonsense that this expert on Islam came up with:
“By the norms of Islam, Basayev could never claim the title of
Imam once he lost his leg.”
Sounds
like one of the “astrologers” working at the Russian Council of
Muftis was consulting Sharov, because their lack of brains was not
considered an obstacle to their job. Just so long as their legs are
not missing – that’s the main thing in the work they do.
*
Originally
published by Kavkaz-Center,
an independent Chechen Islamic internet news agency. The Center is
one of the few authoritative sources on Chechen and Caucasian
affairs, and is committed to covering the war between the Chechen
Mujahideen and the Russian occupation and its proxy government. All
pictures were taken from Kavkaz-Center news agency.
