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FEBRUARY 23, ANNIVERSARY OF THE GENOCIDE OF CHECHENS: DECISION OF THE MOVEMENT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE COMMITTEE FOR ANTI-WAR ACTIONS ABOUT NONPARTICIPATION IN THE DEMONSTRATION OF THE RADICALS FOR AN INTERIM UN ADMINISTRATION IN CHECHNYA
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Statement by Nikolaj Khramov, secretary of the "Russian Radicals"
On February 2 we - I and Anna Zaytseva, in the capacity of correspondingly the secretary and the treasurer of the movement "Russian Radicals" - addressed an open letter to all participants of the anti-war movement in Russia, having called them to take part in the demonstration organized by the Radicals on February 23, the 61-st anniversary of Stalin genocide of Chechens, in support of the peace plan of Ilyas Akhmadov, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, for an interim UN administration in Chechnya.
The day before yesterday there appeared an "official" answer on the part of the Movement for Human Rights and the Anti-war Club: on the site www.voine.net the appeal of the "initiative group for realization of the rally of memory and protest on February 26" has been published which reads that "we choose February 26, 2005 as the day of united actions" and lists the slogans of the planned rally. Among an impressive set of common appeals "against war" and "for solidarity in the search of ways to the peace" there is no hint of the widely discussed and supported by dozens of thousands people worldwide (including one and a half hundred deputies of the European Parliament) Akhmadov's plan for an interim UN administration in Chechnya, but there is a "topical" and politically correct slogan - "against antinational economic policy of authorities; annul war not benefits". It goes without saying that on this site which positions itself as the "site of anti-war movement", there isn't even a slightest mention of the planned demonstration of the Radicals on February 23. Earlier, on February 7, on the forum of the same site www.voine.net the members of this initiative group informed that "in connection with some disagreements in the Organizing committee of the demonstration of February 23 and the withdrawal of the TRP from the Organizing committee, the action is adjourned for February 26" and that "the slogan which seems to irritate so many people "For an interim UN administration in Chechnya!" will be withdrawn".
In this connection I would like to declare the following.
The first. Neither the Transnational Radical Party nor the "Russian Radicals" which I represented during the preliminary organizational meeting for preparation of the demonstration of February 23, held on February 3 in the headquarters of the Movement for Human Rights, took any decisions about "the withdrawal from the organizing committee" and rejected the idea of realization of a joint demonstration on February 23. I was informed about nonparticipation of the Movement for Human Rights, the Committee for Anti-war Actions, the Anti-war Club and the Human Rights Center "Memorial" in the demonstration of Radicals on February 23 and about the realization of a separate anti-war demonstration by them on February 26, in the evening of February 7 by phone by the chairman of the Movement for Human Rights Lev Ponomaryov and the member of the Committee for Anti-war Actions Mikhail Kriger. They made this decision public having published the above-cited appeal on February 11 on the site www.voine.net.
The second. I don't think that in this case it is appropriate to take comfort in the wish that there should be "more different anti-war actions". I think, what happened is a very regrettable event indicating some serious political disagreements between organizers of these two our "competing" anti-war initiatives. The most regrettable thing is, of course, not the mythical "withdrawal of the TRP from the Organizing committee" and even not the fact that the "Organizing committee" with such readiness decided to refuse to conmemorate the day of the Chechen genocide on February 23. It is regrettable that the "withdrawal" (in fact - expulsion) of the Radicals has brought a relief to the organizers of the "anti-war" rally of February 26, having made unnecessary the slogan "which seems to irritate so many people" about an interim UN administration in Chechnya. It is regrettable first of all for Chechnya and for Russia, and not for the TRP, the Radicals, "initiative groups", "organizing committees", simply "committees", clubs or what-d'ye-call-us. At least, the things are once again clarified, however depressing it is. There will be two rallies. One - organized by those who first of all speak about the concrete political project on the termination of the war: an interim UN administration in Chechnya. The second - of those who are irritated by this slogan (I don't mean the Kremlin, of course) and who are ready to repeat again and again the slogans which are absolutely correct, absolutely "common" and contain absolutely nothing - "simply for peace and against war".
The third. I express my deep gratitude to those who already responded to our appeal and intend to take part in the demonstration on February 23, and also to the Civil Freedoms Foundation which agreed to finance this initiative. Simultaneously I repeat our already sounded appeal about participation in our initiative on February 23 in support of Akhmadov's peace plan, addressed to all citizens and groups aspiring to search concrete political ways to the termination of the war in Chechnya, to all the anti-war movement in Russia which is not limited to the Moscow leadership of several "movements", "committees" and "clubs".
On February 2 we - I and Anna Zaytseva, in the capacity of correspondingly the secretary and the treasurer of the movement "Russian Radicals" - addressed an open letter to all participants of the anti-war movement in Russia, having called them to take part in the demonstration organized by the Radicals on February 23, the 61-st anniversary of Stalin genocide of Chechens, in support of the peace plan of Ilyas Akhmadov, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, for an interim UN administration in Chechnya.
The day before yesterday there appeared an "official" answer on the part of the Movement for Human Rights and the Anti-war Club: on the site www.voine.net the appeal of the "initiative group for realization of the rally of memory and protest on February 26" has been published which reads that "we choose February 26, 2005 as the day of united actions" and lists the slogans of the planned rally. Among an impressive set of common appeals "against war" and "for solidarity in the search of ways to the peace" there is no hint of the widely discussed and supported by dozens of thousands people worldwide (including one and a half hundred deputies of the European Parliament) Akhmadov's plan for an interim UN administration in Chechnya, but there is a "topical" and politically correct slogan - "against antinational economic policy of authorities; annul war not benefits". It goes without saying that on this site which positions itself as the "site of anti-war movement", there isn't even a slightest mention of the planned demonstration of the Radicals on February 23. Earlier, on February 7, on the forum of the same site www.voine.net the members of this initiative group informed that "in connection with some disagreements in the Organizing committee of the demonstration of February 23 and the withdrawal of the TRP from the Organizing committee, the action is adjourned for February 26" and that "the slogan which seems to irritate so many people "For an interim UN administration in Chechnya!" will be withdrawn".
In this connection I would like to declare the following.
The first. Neither the Transnational Radical Party nor the "Russian Radicals" which I represented during the preliminary organizational meeting for preparation of the demonstration of February 23, held on February 3 in the headquarters of the Movement for Human Rights, took any decisions about "the withdrawal from the organizing committee" and rejected the idea of realization of a joint demonstration on February 23. I was informed about nonparticipation of the Movement for Human Rights, the Committee for Anti-war Actions, the Anti-war Club and the Human Rights Center "Memorial" in the demonstration of Radicals on February 23 and about the realization of a separate anti-war demonstration by them on February 26, in the evening of February 7 by phone by the chairman of the Movement for Human Rights Lev Ponomaryov and the member of the Committee for Anti-war Actions Mikhail Kriger. They made this decision public having published the above-cited appeal on February 11 on the site www.voine.net.
The second. I don't think that in this case it is appropriate to take comfort in the wish that there should be "more different anti-war actions". I think, what happened is a very regrettable event indicating some serious political disagreements between organizers of these two our "competing" anti-war initiatives. The most regrettable thing is, of course, not the mythical "withdrawal of the TRP from the Organizing committee" and even not the fact that the "Organizing committee" with such readiness decided to refuse to conmemorate the day of the Chechen genocide on February 23. It is regrettable that the "withdrawal" (in fact - expulsion) of the Radicals has brought a relief to the organizers of the "anti-war" rally of February 26, having made unnecessary the slogan "which seems to irritate so many people" about an interim UN administration in Chechnya. It is regrettable first of all for Chechnya and for Russia, and not for the TRP, the Radicals, "initiative groups", "organizing committees", simply "committees", clubs or what-d'ye-call-us. At least, the things are once again clarified, however depressing it is. There will be two rallies. One - organized by those who first of all speak about the concrete political project on the termination of the war: an interim UN administration in Chechnya. The second - of those who are irritated by this slogan (I don't mean the Kremlin, of course) and who are ready to repeat again and again the slogans which are absolutely correct, absolutely "common" and contain absolutely nothing - "simply for peace and against war".
The third. I express my deep gratitude to those who already responded to our appeal and intend to take part in the demonstration on February 23, and also to the Civil Freedoms Foundation which agreed to finance this initiative. Simultaneously I repeat our already sounded appeal about participation in our initiative on February 23 in support of Akhmadov's peace plan, addressed to all citizens and groups aspiring to search concrete political ways to the termination of the war in Chechnya, to all the anti-war movement in Russia which is not limited to the Moscow leadership of several "movements", "committees" and "clubs".
