22 Lithuanian Parliamentarians in a Statement to the Danish Parliament: Russia should be sued for War Crimes in Chechnya
To:
Mr. HANSEN IVAR CHRISTIAN, CHAIRMAN OF THE FOLKETINGET
To: MEMBERS OF THE FOLKETINGET
S T A T E M
E N T March 27, 2002
ON THE LEGAL SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM OF CHECHENIA
We support and appreciate the effort
of the European Parliament to raise and discuss the urgent problem regarding
Chechenia in order to put an end to the physical extermination of the Chechen
people and to evaluate the situation from the moral, historic, legal and political
point of view.
We are of the opinion that the present unjust Russiaís
war in Chechenia should be considered in the light of Russiaís unleashed
wars of colonial expansion in the 19th, 20th centuries and in 1994 against Chechenia.
The 12 05 1997 Peace Treaty concluded between the Russian Federation and the
Chechen Republic of Ichkeria signed by the President of the Russian Federation
Boris Yeltsin and the President of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria Aslan Maskhadov
should be also taken into account. In the Peace Treaty there is affirmed that
the solution of negotiations between Russia and Chechenia would be based on
the international law.
Instead of solving the present problems and implementing
peace between Russia and Chechenia the Government of the Russian Federation
preoccupied with the policy of disseminating discord, destabilisation, provocations
among the people of Chechenia, the total isolation of Chechenia in the order
to regain the lost rule over the Chechen people. The participation of some Chechens
in the Dagestan events was contrary to the policy of the President of Chechenia
and its Parliament. However, the provocative situation was skilfully exploited
to justify a new invasion of the Russian troops into the Chechen Republic of
Ichkeria and to take revenge for the lost war of 1996. The desire of the Chechen
people to live in their free and independent country the Russian authorities
treats as a criminal action and try to present their behaviour as a war against
terrorism. Such a distortion of the real situation in Chechenia cannot be tolerated
any longer.
We suggest three points for a
peaceful solution of the Chechen problem:
1. To recognize under the Organisation for Security and
Co-operation in Europe observation lawfully elected President and the Parliament
of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria and to persuade Russia to start peace negotiations
between Russia and Chechenia including a third party;
2. To assess the war crimes of the Russian army against
humanity committed in Chechenia and to require Russia to assume responsibility
for these crimes according to the international law;
3. To eliminate the previous and the present causes of
war in Chechenia by implementing the right of the Chechen people to self-determination.
(Signed by 22 member of the Lithuanian Parliament)
Source : Danish Support Committee for Chechnya
http://www.tjetjenien.dk/chechnya/