Chechnya: response to Russian invasion?

[Chris Burford]

At 14:42 01/10/99 -0400, you wrote:
>At 02:07 PM 10/1/99 +0100, Peter van Heusden wrote:
>>I was wondering what listers' feelings about the impending Russian
>>offensive in Chechnya are. It seems clear to me that Russian actions
>>should be opposed. Does anyone know of any movement to protest against
>>Yeltsin's ambitions?
>>
>
>
>Why should we want to support Islamic militants?  Look what happened in
>Afghanistan after Russian pullot - women being denied the most basic human
>rights, public executions.

That sounds terrible to me. Surely it is a touchstone of the
internationalism of people living in western "Christian" countries that
they should be able to recognise the right of muslim people to
self-determination.

I am not in favour of the west getting involved in Chechnya even though it
looks as if Yeltsin is having his revenge, almost having his own Kosovo.
But the Russian Communists for all their weaknesses did try to impeach him
for starting the war against Chechnya. What would Wojtek say to them?

Chris Burford

London