| Russian liberal Yabloko party leader Grigoriy
Yavlinsky urged President Vladimir Putin to put an end to the
war in Chechnya, which he described as pure "bloodshed"
and a "political adventure", and launch negotiations
with rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov. He also said that Russian army
colonel Yury Budanov, accused of murdering a Chechen girl, should
be convicted. The following are excerpts from Yavlinskiy's interview
to Russian Channel 3 on 3 October:
Presenter: Our commentator Andrey
Dobrov will ask [Russian Yabloko party leader] Grigoriy Alekseyevich
Yavlinsky some questions about Budanov's case and about Chechnya
in general.
Dobrov: Russian market reformer and
Union of Right-Wing Forces co-chairman, Anatoli Chubais said in
1999 that Chechnya was a revival of the Russian army. Do you agree
with this judgment?
Yavlinsky: In 1999 and subsequenlty
I repeated that Chechnya was a tragedy for the Russian army. The
army is corrupted there: it has been betrayed and sustains terrible
losses. I do not expect the Russian army to survive this blow.
Dobrov: Have you ever been to Chechnya?
Yavlinsky: Yes.
Dobrov: But you didn't fight, did
you?
Yavlinsky: I was there during the
first war [1994-96]. I went there to evacuate wounded soldiers.
Dobrov: Are there many officers like
Colonel Budanov? I mean people whose mentality has been affected
under the influence of war.
Yavlinsky: I think there are lots
of people like him. I think that such incidents happen there almost
every day. I think that both Elsa Kungayeva [the murdered girl]
and Budanov are victims of the Chechen war, which is a military
and political adventure... However, if Budanov were to be acquitted
by court, this would mean that women can be raped and murdered
in this country...
Dobrov: People have the impression
that you are not a patriot. Even [Russian emigre tycoon and fervent
opponent of President Vladimir Putin] Boris Berezovsky has become
a Russian patriot, living in London. People believe that Russian
soldiers in Chechnya are actually containing a gradual offensive
by Chechens against Russia.
Yavlinskiy: I have my own view of
patriotism... The people sending the Russian army to wage a guerrilla
war, are actually destroying it... A peace conference on Chechnya
under the chairmanship of the Russian President should be held
in Moscow sooner or later. I hope that this will happen as soon
as possible. The conference should involve all political forces
participating in the conflict, including [Chechen rebel leader
Aslan] Maskhadov, whether we like him or not...
Dobrov: Do you believe that Maskhadov
can influence the situation? You suggest that we should talk with
a man who is sitting somewhere in the mountains on a green blanket
and has no idea about developments ....Do you think that we can
reach any agreement with this person?
Yavlinsky: There is no alternative.
Dobrov: There is an alternative. We
should kill all the rebel leaders and bring a normal person to
power...
Yavlinsky: As far as we can see, nobody
is managing to achieve this goal, so we should stop the bloodshed.
We should separate terrorists and military criminals from the
political leaders of Chechnya, whether we like this fact or not.
We don't know how influential Maskhadov is, but it's absolutely
clear that he will be a partner at negotiations sooner or later...
I believe that the Ppresident [Vladimir Putin] understands this
as well.
See also:
War
in Chechnya | 