Chechen, Russian women hold anti-war meeting in Ingushetia

[ChrisD(RJ)]

BBC Monitoring
Chechen, Russian women hold anti-war meeting in Ingushetia 
Source: Chechenpress web site, Tbilisi, in Russian 30 Jul 02
 
30 July, Chechenpress correspondent Bakhayeva: A congress entitled "Women
for peace!" was held in Nazran, Republic of Ingushetia, on 29 July 2002. A
number of human rights and public organizations from the ChRI [Chechen
Republic of Ichkeria] and Russia attended this congress: the Lam public
organization (Zulay Badalova); the Ekho Voyny [Echo of War] interregional
peacemaking organization (cochairwoman Zaynal Garasheva); the Chechen
department of the Ekho Voyny interregional peacemaking organization
(chairwoman Toita Yunusova); the Council of Chechen Women (chairwoman
Lipkhan Bazayeva); the Memorial human rights organization (Tamara Kalayeva)
and Sakharov museum (head of the museum Samodurov).

Journalists from various countries reported on the congress: O. R. Latsis
from Novyye Izvestiya; A. [Anna] Politkovskaya from Novaya Gazeta; Grani.ru
electronic media etc.

The aim of this measure is obvious from the title of the congress. In their
speeches, female human rights activists spoke about the brutality of the war
is and how strongly it maims not only the body, but the souls of all those
involved in the Russo-Chechen conflict. They said that an end should be put
to this war by starting political talks.

Not a single report was unsubstantiated - human rights activists have
unwittingly learned to skilfully document the many war crimes by the Russian
army in Chechnya. The presence of about 60 women from various towns and
villages of the republic, who were direct victims of the arbitrariness of
the military or mothers of such victims, gave a special authority to the
speeches. In their evidence they named, gave the date and consequences of
crimes. Their stories were so picturesque that by the end of the meeting,
which lasted from 1100 to 1900 [0700-1500], a representative of Russian
journalists apologized to the Chechen mothers for the Russian army's actions
in the republic. "The Russian army is not the Russian people. Forgive us,"
he said.