"You kill our children, we kill your children..."

//by WIL in Berlin-Treptow //German original in REVOLUTION #7

With these words a Chechnyan guerilla fighter explained why he had participated in a hostage-taking involving more than 1,000 children and teachers in a school in Beslan.

a few of the more than 300 victims in front of the destroyed school

The terrible hostage crisis of Beslan, which lasted three days and caused approximately (there are no credible figures from the government) 328 deaths, is condemned by REVOLUTION in the strongest terms.

But we also object to the defamations of the Caucasian resistance as terrorist or fundamentalist. The resistance is completely legitimate, especially when it's directed against the Russian colonial troops or their lackeys. For example the Chechnyan "President" Achmed Kadyrow, who was killed by a bomb earlier this year, had been elected by Russian soldiers and voters that had been invented by the Kremlin - there were no opposing candidates.

Since Russia's troops rule via a system of terror, it is clear that their aggression will be countered with similar methods. Another example: just like the German Wehrmacht in World War II, the Russian troops get revenge for guerilla attacks with random kidnappings and murders of civilians.

Often young men in fighting age are taken away and never seen again. In the Chechnyan capital Grozny this happens every day.

The hostage crisis in Beslan is being used by Russian President Putin for an anti-democratic programme, aimed at the centralisation of power in the Kremlin. No longer will the inhabitants of the Russian autonomous republics have to drag themselves to elections for governors. No, now that is taken care of by the Kremlin-loyal, corrupt parliaments. The candidates are now chosen by Russia's government, i.e. by Putin.

This is a clear violation of the Russian constitution. Even Russia's allies in the imperialist and racist "crusade against terror" reject this policy. Ironically, it was the American President Bush who cynically remarked that in the War on Terror one must pay heed to the "principles of democracy". And we all know how he practices democracy...

A 400-year war

Russian colonial policy in Chechnya has been going on for over 400 years - in the most brutal and inhuman forms. As early as the 16th century colonisation by the Cossacks began, accompanied by an invasion by the Russian military.

This was all in the interests of building the Russian Empire. In 1818 the fort Grozny was erected by the Russian commander as a base against the rebellious mountain peoples. The name means "horrible, merciless city" and up to the present day is a disgusting colonial provocation. A fifth of all Chechnyans left the country after the occupation by Russia. At the end of the 19th century the stream of emigration turned into a proper diaspora.

The Caucasus was then formally placed under the rule of Russian officers. Their power war limited into military bases on the main roads. In inaccessible areas the resistance against foreign rule continued. In Chechnya a tradition of resistance was born that lasted well into Soviet times.

But these times saw the worst crimes against the Chechnyan people. Opposition to the poorly executed collectivisation of agriculture was answered with waves of executions; the resulting insurrection was answered with mass deportations. Stalin's collectivisation drive led to the starvation of millions - the deportations caused some 100,000 deaths in Chechnya.

Only decades later were the Chechnyans able to return to their country. Again the oppression continued for decades. A month before the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Chechnyans declared their independence, developed a constitution and their own state symbols, and built their own army.

"Democratic" oppression

After Chechnya refused to sign the Federation Treaty and didn't participate in the referendum on the Russian President, once again Russia overran Chechnya with war, supposedly to restore constitutional order. Yeltsin based his actions on the constitution of the Russian Federation, which Chechnya had never joined. In this war 200,000 Chechnyan civilians were killed the the entire country's infrastructure destroyed.

Wladimir Putin

After the Russian troops were defeated, a President and a Parliament were elected. Russia signed a peace treaty, as well as 42 other agreements, of which none were kept. When Islamic fundamentalists from Chechnya attacked a neighbouring republic, Putin used this as an excuse to begin the war anew.

Today, torture, kidnapping, random acts of violence and terror from the Russian state occur every day - as has been going on for hundreds of years. Since Chechnya has fought back against Russian domination for over two centuries, it would be irrational to think it will stop now.

No, there will only be even more terrible fighting until the Russian state grants the inhabitants of the Caucasus their right to self determination.

more stuff in English from REVOLUTION germany