Russia 090813 Basic Political Developments

Chechnya leaders and rebels to meet for peace talks

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/aug/12/chechnya-rebels-talks-russia

Exiled separatist Akhmed Zakayev invited to join congress convened to rebuild war-ravaged nation

David Hearst

guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 12 August 2009 19.06 BST

A senior member of the pro-Moscow government in Chechnya and an exiled leader of separatist rebels said today they would convene a peace conference as a first step to ending the conflict that has been raging in the republic for 15 years.

After talks mediated by Norway, the Chechen parliamentary speaker, Dukhvakha Abdurakmanov, said he would convene "a world Chechen congress" with Akhmed Zakayev, the man Moscow has been trying to extradite from the UK for armed mutiny, kidnap and attempted murder since 2001.

Adurakmanov said: "The objectives of my meetings and official dialogue with Akhmed Zakayev are to strengthen political stablility with the ultimate goal of consolidating the Chechen nation."

Asked whether he was speaking for the Russian government, which has branded Zakayev a terrorist, Adurakmanov said the president, Dmitri Medvedev, and the prime minister, Vladimir Putin, were aware of the talks.

Last year Putin lambasted Britain for refusing to hand over Zakayev. He accused Britain of allowing itself to be used as a launch pad for attacks against Russia. "If we were to give safe haven to militants of the IRA, with arms in their hands, what would you do?" he said.

Neither the date, venue, nor remit of the congress appears agreed, although delegates will include representatives from the government of the Chechen president, Ramzan Kadyrov, as well as Russia, the rebel movement and the Chechen diaspora.

Zakayev said: "We cannot say the war is finished. The conflict in Chechnya will not be solved without Moscow's political will. We do not conceal that the congress will have hard issues to resolve, but we need to show patience to move the process forward."

Last month Zakayev called on the rebels to lay down their arms, but within days this order was defied by one of his former deputies, Doku Umarov, whose forces attacked a police convoy, killing five officers.

Zakayev, a former foreign minister of the separatist goverment of Aslan Maskhadov, has been denounced by the military wing of the Chechen resistance, leading analysts in Moscow to conclude that talks with him are symbolic. But having persuaded Moscow to end the counter-terrorist campaign in Chechnya, Kadyrov himself is under pressure to stop the attacks on his police and consolidate his hold over the republic.

Kadyrov is pressing for the charges against Zakayev to be dropped and has suggested he could be a minister in his government. A former rebel himself, Kadyrov has offered a series of amnesties to rebel fighters.

Important differences remain between Kadyrov and Zakayev. Each deny the legitimacy of the other's government, and Zakayev continues to style himself as the prime minister of Maskhadov's government. He remains influential among the Chechen diaspora, whom Kadyrov wants to entice home.

Both Abdurakmanov and Zakayev condemned the killings this week of human rights workers, which they claimed had been organised to discredit Kadyrov, although Zakayev said the Chechen president bore "political but not criminal responsibility" for the murders.

World Chechen Congress may meet before end of 2009 – envoy

http://www.interfax.com/3/510753/news.aspx
MOSCOW. Aug 12 (Interfax) - A session of the World Chechen Congress

that is to be held under an agreement between the head of the Chechen

parliament, Dukvakha Abdurakhmanov, and Chechen separatist envoy Akhmed

Zakayev may be convened before the end of 2009, Zakayev said in a radio

program on Wednesday.

"We need to convene the World Chechen Congress to work out a single

political platform, and we have decided to file an appeal with the

leadership of this congress so that we are able to organize and carry

through such a congress before the end of the year," Zakayev told the

Russian News Service radio.

"[A session of the] World Chechen Congress was held in Copenhagen

in 2002, after that this congress was registered in Brussels, and it is

an absolutely independent institution," he said.

"The principle of forming such a congress is that delegates from

all over the world must be represented - from America, Russia, Britain,

Chechnya, from anywhere where there is a [Chechen] community, - they

must all be represented at this forum," Zakayev said.

"For me the main point in this issue is that Moscow has confirmed

its essential consent to these consultations and to the further search

for political solutions and [solutions to] disputes, it is the greatest

source of encouragement for me," he said. "It is a very positive step

toward lasting peace."

Zakayev confirmed that he wants to return to Chechnya eventually.

"It is true that I am doing everything under my control to return, to

live in Chechnya and to change the situation in Chechnya for the

better," he said.

However, he said, the fact that he is a member of the separatist

Chechen government elected in 1997 is an obstacle to his return.

"It is a matter of time, and I think time will come when all these

problems that we are talking about get solved and I have a real

opportunity to return home and live at home," Zakayev said.

"Naturally, there are different positions, different views, and it

is at the congress that we should work out a common political platform

on the basis of which we would deal with tasks relating to the present

and future of the Chechen people and Chechen society," Zakayev said.

Zakayev and Abdurakhmanov reached the agreement on the next session

of the World Chechen Congress at talks in Oslo.