Memorandum
on Closely observing the current happenings in Chechnya people of Pakistan feel greatly shocked and concerned. Since early September Russia has been carrying out a brutal war against Chechnya, first by launching air-strikes and then by sending thousands of troops into the republic. Troops armor and heavy artillery, backed by ground attack aircraft and helicopter gun-ships poured into the Chechen territory claiming to wipe out the "terrorists". However according to independent sources over 10,000 innocent civilians including women, children and elderly people have been killed so far in air-cum-artillery campaign. Heavy artillery shelling, long-range land to land and air to land missiles and continuous air raids, even using chemical weapons and cluster bombing turned the Chechen cities and villages into complete ruin. Even hospitals, maternity homes, schools and public places like mosques and markets have not been spared, killing, wounding and disabling the civilian population including women and children. By besieging and bombing Grozny and other Chechen towns, Russian army has turned Chechnya into ruins and the Chechen people are now standing at the threshold of total destruction. When in an attempt to save their lives the displaced people tried to cross the border they are not allowed and are forced to live shelter-less in the freezing temperatures. Those who were fortunate enough to reach and take refuge in the neighboring Republic Ingushtia are leading a life worse than the animal. There is hardly any medical facility available to the wounded and sick. Hunger, frost, and diseases are common in the refugee camps. Inside Chechnya things are far worse. Grozny's wounded civilians are practically getting no medical help. This is the worst kind of genocide and can not be justified in any circumstances. As a matter of fact such atrocities have very few parallels in the current human history. Russian authorities justify their actions by arguing that they are in search of terrorists involved in bomb explosions in Moscow and other cities, and that they are dealing with armed terrorist groups who are being financed from abroad. While no one can dispute the sanctity and honor of human life and we also condemn terrorism in any part of the world, nevertheless the events in Moscow without any conclusive evidence and with repeated denials by Chechan authorities and military commanders like Basayev, Rudiyyev and Khattab, do not justify counter terrorism, genocide and ruthless destruction of the innocent civilians of a small nation of Chechnya by the Russian State might. No sane person can therefore accept the lame excuse being forwarded. On the other hand there are clear indications that Russia wants to avenge the crushing defeat it suffered by the outnumbered but highly motivated Chechnians in 1996 and now a complete genocide and destruction of Chechnya and its people is the Russian objective. We take this opportunity to advise the Russian authorities not to forget the lessons from their own past. If they do not remember the last over 400 years resistance the Caucasus Muslims have offered to them they should at least keep in sight the misadventure and the disastrous result of invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. This is not a far away event to derive some meaningful lessons, curbing any expansionist designs. Precisely it is : "You cannot rule the people against their will and desire". Russia's war in Chechnya is neither the first nor the last. For over four centuries it has tried and failed to suppress the spirit of independence of the Chechens. Even this time despite Russia's two-month-old military campaign, Grozny has refused to surrender. The Russian plan to accomplish the mission by November appears most unlikely and the generals are conceding "the campaign may drag on". Even independent Russian newspapers are saying that the generals plunged Russia into an unwinable war. We sincerely believe that observance of international norms and principle of mutual existence with other nations is the only way to guarantee peace. The Russians should accept the very reasonable and prudent offer of the Chechen President Mr Arsalan Maskhadov to come to the negotiating table and resolve the differences and jointly act against terrorism and terrorists instead of choosing the bloody path of destruction. Under the circumstances we demand:
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