It always surprised me why Russia doesn’t let Chechnya exist as independently as it let many other states to exist that once used to be part and parcel of USSR federation. Whether it is because of Chechnya’s Muslim ethnic background or is it due to the fact that Chechnya exists in Caucasus, a major Oil-producing region, remains to be decided. Pakistan has always maintained an ethical stand on Chechnya issue supporting Chechnya’s struggle for independence and urging rest of the world to understand the difference between terrorism and fight for independence. We Pakistanis are extremely sympathetic towards all those nations who are fighting for their independence because we completely understand how valuable independence is. After all we also won it 55 years ago…. More than 30,000 Chechnians are dead by now and I name this thread to Chechnya’s complete independence and for that matter I pray for a complete independence of all those who are currently suppressed by brutal state terrorism.
Chechnya at a Glance
By The Associated Press
August 28, 2004, 1:08 PM EDT
A glance at Chechnya and its conflict:
GEOGRAPHY: Oil-producing region in Caucasus Mountains in southern Russia; 5,000 square miles.
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POPULATION: Preliminary figures from official 2002 census put population at more than 1 million, about same as estimated 1994 prewar population. Tens of thousands of refugees live in neighboring Ingushetia region. Population mostly Muslim.
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HISTORY WITH RUSSIA: Conquered by czarist armies in 1859 after decades of war, but Chechens never accepted Russian rule. During World War II, dictator Josef Stalin ordered Chechens deported en masse to Kazakhstan. Many died. The rest returned in 1950s after Stalin’s death.
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CURRENT CONFLICT: Chechen President Dzhokhar Dudayev declared area’s independence in 1991. Russian troops invaded to oust Dudayev in December 1994, setting off 20-month war that killed up to 30,000, including Dudayev. Afterward, Chechnya was de facto independent and plunged into lawlessness. Fighting resumed in 1999, when Russian troops invaded again following raids by Chechen rebels into neighboring region and bombings that killed some 300 at apartment buildings in Russian cities. Russian leaders blamed bombings on Chechens. Akhmad Kadyrov, a former separatist, was elected president in an October election that was widely criticized. He was killed May 9 at age 52 in a bomb blast at a Victory Day parade in Grozny.
Copyright © 2004, The Associated Press