Is Journalism Worth Dying For__ Final Dispatches - Anna Politkovskaya [44]
That is the fate facing my people. God forbid that we should lose. In order to save our people from genocide our only option is to defend ourselves. Only that. And defend ourselves we shall.
Who, in your view, is the principal enemy of peace negotiations between you and the federal side? Are negotiations possible at all? What might they yield?
My representatives are constantly putting out feelers to the Russian leaders, to the top officials, and my people tell them, “There’s been enough fighting. It’s time to sit down at the negotiating table.” Immediately we hear triumphalist yelling: “What do you mean negotiations?! Negotiations spell political death for us! How could we explain it to our people?” and so on.
My representatives then say, “But the war has to be stopped. Do you not realize that?” They reply, “Yes, the war needs to be stopped.” And the next question is, “But how?”
… In my view the overriding problem is that there is no official in the Kremlin we can talk to soberly and reasonably. Not even about the interests of Russia, about things that are primarily of benefit to Russia. You need to understand, there is nobody there to negotiate with!
But do you believe that negotiations are nevertheless possible? Or has the train already left the station and all that remains is for you to fight it out with each other to the bitter end?
Negotiations are both possible and inevitable. Wars are ended only by negotiation, and I am sure that is how this war will be ended too. Our proposals for a peace settlement are clear to everybody: sit down at the negotiating table without any preconditions and there, at the table, decide what to do next, how to improve relations. I believe it is crucial to found our mutual relations on the basis of the Peace Treaty signed on May 12, 1997. The second point in it states, “Mutual relations between the Russian Federation and the Chechen Republic will be built on the universal norms and principles of international law.” That is the most important requirement. Lack of clarity about mutual relations is the cause and excuse for all sorts of provocations and wars.
This defines my approach to the supposed negotiations and contacts with Nemtsov [Leader of the Union of Right Forces political faction]. I know nothing about them. I have given no authorisation for them to anybody for the very good reason that you cannot conduct negotiations with Nemtsov if he would like to build a Great Wall of China on the Baku highway.
What do you know about the causes of the recent much-publicised murder of Adam Deniev in Avtury? From early spring this year Deniev was presenting himself as the Deputy Head of Akhmat-hadji Kadyrov’s Chechen Administration, but after his death even members of the personnel department of the Administration were unable to find documentation of any such appointment.
I have no idea whose deputy Deniev was supposed to be among that lot. It is of no interest to us. The first possibility that comes to mind is that, realising the war is already lost, the Russian intelligence services are doing away with unwanted witnesses, as happened in the last war.
Another possibility: Deniev had 11 blood feud enemies in his native village of Avtury alone. They were likely to take revenge on him at any moment.
The Chechen side had no particular need of Deniev’s murder, although our intelligence services have him listed as a traitor and for that he would at some point have had to stand trial before a sharia court, in accordance with the Criminal Code of the Chechen Republic.
I see no sense in shooting at these people from the shadows or