21.01.2007
Big Bully Communist Autocratic Russia
By SHWE BA (BURMA DIGEST)
Russia's is actually scared because they know that what the Myanmar Tatmadaw is doing on the ethnic minorities are same as what they are doing on their own ethnic minorities like Chechens, their own citizens, their political dissidents and the neighbouring countries. And the Russians know that they had killed jailed and tortured more of their citizens than in Myanmar. Myanmar Tatmadaw’s atrocities pale when compare to the atrocities of their red army. Russians had also committed unrecorded atrocities on the people of Poland and Czechoslovakia. So Russians are scared that the Myanmar case became a test case or precedent to punish the Russians for the similar atrocities they are committing.
Recently Kremlin critic and former spy Alexander Litvinenko was killed by poisoning with the polonium-210. Alexander Litvinenko accused that Russia President Vladimir V. Putin was behind his poisoning. A senior Putin aide portrayed Litvinenko — a former FSB agent who publicly accused his superiors of ordering him to kill Berezovsky and later fled to Britain — as a violent and unintelligent pawn who "made his choice and drank his poison ... when he betrayed those he worked for."
Ukranian President Victor Yushchenko was poisoned by the massive dose of dioxin while he was campaigning as a Candidate for the Presidency. He accused the Ukranian government of poisoning him in order to knock him out of the presidential race. Yushchenko stated that he believed he received came from a dinner he ate with Ukraine’s security chief three months ago. The ultimate origin of dioxin is believed to be Russia. Tests revealed that Yushchenko’s blood contained 6,000 times the normal concentration of dioxin.
According to the Reporters sans frontières - Reporters Without Borders , “through the use of powerful state companies, the government is pursuing its take-over of the nation-wide independent media belonging to the "oligarchs" of the news sector. There is no freedom of information in Chechnya, and pressure is increasing on journalists in the various republics of the Russian Federation. Journalist Grigory Pasko is back in jail.”
Mikhail Khodorkovsky was once Russia's richest man and the head of the Yukos oil company. The company's assets had been took over under the state control. Khodorkovsky was unfairly convicted of fraud and tax evasion and sentenced to nine years in a labor camp just because he supported the opposition.
According to the recent Human Rights Watch report 2007_
The murder of Novaya Gazeta journalist Anna Politkovskaia in October 2006 symbolized the further deterioration of the human rights situation in Russia. Anna Politkovskaia was known for her independent reporting, particularly about abuses committed in the war in Chechnya, Politkovskaia was a fierce critic of the Kremlin and the pro-Russian Chechen government. Meanwhile, the Kremlin has tightened its grip on human rights organizations and other independent institutions. In addition, there was a rise in the number of death threats against prominent human rights defenders.
Grave
human rights abuses persist in Chechnya, including torture, abductions, and
forced disappearances, and the conflict threaten to spill over into other
regions of the northern Caucasus.
The
Northern
Caucasus
The ongoing-armed conflict continues to claim civilian lives. Chechnya’s Prime Minister, Ramzan Kadyrov, known as the ‘Kadyrovtsy’ now dominate law enforcement and security operations and commit grave human rights abuses.
Local human rights groups reported as many as 5,000 people ‘disappeared’ since
1999 and at least 54 so far in 2006. Reports of torture, especially in
unofficial detention centers run by the ‘Kadyrovtsy’ increased in 2006.
The Russian government failed to pursue any accountability process for human
rights abuses committed during the course of the conflict in Chechnya. Hundreds
of victims of abuse have filed applications with the European Court of Human
Rights (ECHR). The court issued landmark rulings on Chechnya, finding the
Russian government guilty of violating the right to life and the prohibition of
torture with respect to civilians who had died or been forcibly disappeared at
the hands of Russia?s federal troops. Hundreds of similar claims are pending
before the court.
Civil Society
Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), activists, and independent journalists
working on human rights issues, particularly the war in Chechnya, faced
increasing administrative and judicial harassment. In some cases, these
individuals also endured persecution, threats, and physical attacks.
In November 2005 authorities in Dagestan held Osman Boliev, a human rights defender who investigated kidnapping and other abuses by police. He was tortured in custody and later acquitted and released. Boliev fled Russia in July 2006 when police charged him again with aiding the terrorists.
In January President Vladimir V. Putin signed into law new regulations that
impose burdensome reporting requirements on all NGOs and grant registration
officials unprecedented authority to interfere with or restrict the work of
NGOs. President Vladimir V. Putin is acting like Senior General Than Shwe of
Myanmar SPDC.
In February a criminal court in Nizhni Novgorod handed Stanislav Dmitrievsky,
the executive director of the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society, a two-year
suspended sentence on charges of ‘inciting racial hatred’ for articles he had
published in the organization’s newspaper. A civil court liquidated the
organization, finding that it had failed to distance itself from Dmitrievsky. We
could see stunningly similar situation in Myanmar. Several Russian human rights
organizations were threatened with closure for problems with their charter or
failing to report their activities. But the International Defense Assistance
Center, a Russian group that represents people from Russia at the ECHR received
a bill for back taxes and penalties on tax exempt grants for US$167,000. Under
the tax code, money for educational, analytical, and research purposes is not
taxable and the tax bill appears to be an attempt to shut down the NGO, which
has 250 cases pending before the ECHR.
Xenophobia and Intolerance
Human rights groups reported more than a hundred racist and xenophobic attacks, an increase over last year, including at least 36 murders and 286 people beaten or wounded in the first nine months of the year. Notably, in September violent mobs in Kondopoga, in northern Russia, attacked residents from the Caucasus, causing hundreds to flee the city. Similar attacks based on race and religions are incited by the agent provocateurs of SPDC Intelligent wings.
After months of rising tensions between the Russian and Georgian governments, in
October 2006 Georgian authorities in Tbilisi briefly detained four Russian
military officers on accusations of espionage. In retaliation, the Russian
government deported hundreds of Georgians, forced Georgian-owned businesses to
close, and asked teachers for lists of school children with Georgian last names
so their parents could be investigated for visa or tax violations.
Entrenched Problems
A gruesome case of hazing in the army, which resulted in a conscript having to have his legs and genitals amputated, once again pushed violent hazing in Russia’s military into the spotlight. Violent hazing results in the death of dozens of young soldiers every year, and serious injuries to thousands more. Many conscripts commit or attempt suicide and thousands defect from their units to escape harm. If you wish to read the similar atrocities in Myanmar Army, please read this_ The Reality inside SPDC Army by Nay Thu, Captain (retired) (in Burmese language)
Russia violated its obligations under the Convention against Torture by forcibly returning Uzbeks to Uzbekistan, where they face a risk of torture. In March 2006 the government announced it had returned 19 Uzbeks. In October it returned Rustam Muminov, an asylum seeker wanted on politically-motivated charges in Uzbekistan, in violation of Russian law and after the ECHR imposed an injunction to stop the deportation.
In May 2006 Russia won a seat on the new United Nations Human Rights Council.
After refusing access for many years, Russia issued an invitation to the UN
special rapporteur on torture, but the rapporteur cancelled his visit just two
days before it was planned to begin in October. The cancellation took place due
to the Russian government’s refusal to grant the conditions necessary for the
visit, such as unfettered access to places of detention and private interviews
with detainees, citing conflict with Russian law. See the refusal of visa by
SPDC to UN Human Right rapporteur.
Chechnia
Chechnia, Chechenia or Nokhchiyn, is a federal subject of Russia (a republic). It is located in the Northern Caucasus mountains.
According to the 2004 estimates, the population of Chechnya is approximately 1.1 million. As per 2002 Census, Chechens at 1,031,647 make up 93.5% of the republic's population. Most Chechens are Sunni Muslims.
During the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the government of the republic declared independence as the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria. The current resistance to Russian rule has its roots in the late 18th century (1785-1791), a period when Russia expanded into territories formerly under the dominion of Turkey and Persia, under Mansur Ushurma – a Chechen Naqshbandi (Sufi) Sheikh -- with wavering support from other North Caucasian tribes. Mansur hoped to establish a Transcaucasus Islamic state under shari'a law, but failed. Avar Imam Shamil fought against the Russians from 1834 until 1859.
Chechen Rebellions occurred during the Russo-Turkish War ( 1877–1878), the Russian Revolution of 1905, the Russian Revolution of 1917, Russian Civil War, and Collectivization. Under Soviet Rule, Chechnya was combined with Ingushetia to form the autonomous republic of Chechen-Ingushetia in the late 1930s.
The Chechens, again rose up against Soviet rule during the 1940s, resulting in the deportation of the Chechen population to the Kazakh SSR (later Kazakhstan) and Siberia during World War. Stalin and other Soviet Russia leaders argued this was necessary in order to stop the Chechens from providing assistance to the Germans during the Second World War. Although the German front never made it to the border of Chechnya, an active guerrilla movement threatened to undermine the Soviet defenses of the Caucasus. The Chechens were only allowed to return to their homeland after 1956 during the de-Stalinization which occurred under Nikita Khrushchev.
The Russification policies towards Chechens continued after 1956, with Russian language proficiency required in many aspects of life and for advancement in the Soviet system. Myanmar Ethnic Minorities are also facing the similar dilemma. During the Military rule, all the Hindi, Tamil, Chinese and Rohingya language broad cast and newspapers are banned. Even Bollywood, Hindi fils are banned from Myanmar TV.
Russia's recent role in Chechnya
With the impending collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990, an independence movement, initially known as the Chechen National Congress was formed. This movement was opposed by Boris Yeltsin's Russian Federation, which argued:
1. Chechnya had did not have a right under the Soviet constitution to secede;
2. Other ethnic groups inside Russia, such as the Tatars, would join the Chechens and secede from the Russian Federation if they were granted that right; and
3. Chechnya was at a major chokepoint in the oil-infrastructure of the country and hence would hurt the country's economy and control of oil resources.
The First Chechen War occurred when Russian forces attempted to stop Chechnya from seceding in a two year period lasting from 1994 to 1996. Despite overwhelming manpower, weaponry and air support, the Russian forces were unable to establish effective control over the mountainous area due to many successful Chechen guerrilla raids. Widespread demoralization of the Russian forces in the area prompted Russian President Boris Yeltsin to declare a ceasefire in 1996 and sign a peace treaty a year later.
The war was a humiliating defeat for the Russians and, despite their victory, a disaster for the Chechens. Conservative casualty estimates are 7,500 Russian military, 4,000 Chechen combatants, and no less than 35,000 civilians—a minimum total of 46,500 dead. Others have cited figures in the range 80,000 to 100,000. See the similar events with the rebellions in Burma.
The Second Chechen War is the military campaign initiated by Russia in 1999 that recaptured Chechnya, which had briefly gained de facto independence as the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria following the First Chechen War. Although sporadic fighting continues to this day, the Russian military and political campaign has succeeded in installing a pro-Moscow Chechen regime, and eliminating the most prominent Chechen separatist leaders including former president Aslan Maskhadov and leading warlord Shamil Basayev.
Political background in Russia and Chechnya
Since 1990, the Chechen Republic has had legal, military, and civil conflicts involving separatist movements and pro-Russian authorities. Some Chechens are or were controlled by regional teips, or clans, despite the existence of pro- and anti-Russian political structures.
Chechnya and Caucasus map
There are different groups within Chechnya fighting the Russians who have different political, economic and/or ideological motivations for doing so. Some of these derive from hatred and a desire for the revenge of past Russian military and political action in the region. Most notably the forced relocation in the 1940s of the entire population to Siberia, resulting in the estimated death of a quarter of the population.
On June 17, 2006, it was reported that Russian special forces killed Abdul Khalim Saidullayev in a raid in a Chechen town Argun. According to The New York Times, Russian television channels showed gruesome images of a body that appeared to be Saidullayev, and a Web site linked to the Chechen rebels, the Kavkaz Center, confirmed his death and declared him a martyr. The successor of Saidullayev became Doku Umarov. On July 10, 2006, the FSB announced that agents had killed Basayev and up to 12 Chechen separatists in Ingushetia by detonating a truck bomb near cars carrying the separatists. Chechen separatists denied this announcement and claimed that Basayev was killed when a truck carrying explosives in a convoy blew up by accident.
Actually, Russia and Burma were all in the same boat not long ago, as both of them were Socialist or Communists under dictators. However, nowadays both of them tried to change their image into the open market economy because they know that their previous system is failing them. However, they could not let go their previous privileges so they all are practicing or maintaining their monopoly or controlling the economy with strict rules and regulations to go well with their needs.
Russia is selling weapons, arms, ammunitions and nuclear technology to Myanmar Government. Russia is helping Uranium mining, extracting and Uranium enrichment programmes. Russia is also helping Myanmar to build the nuclear reactors. Many Burmese people including students and monks are oppressed; maimed and killed using those bastards-communists’ weapons.
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