Site of Radio "Liberty"
July 27, 2001

Oleg Kusov, Moscow:
Two full-scale wars have turned Chechnya into a territory uninhabitable for humans. According to reports by experts, the environment of this mountainous region will require at least 50 years to recover from the catastrophic consequences. This can only happen if all military actions are promptly stopped. Since there is no end of military actions in sight, we are talking about a territory that has been devastated for several generations. Speaking is a member of the Chechnya Representation Council of the Office of the President of Russia, Edi Isaev: Physicians documented cases of children born with severe birth defects - babies born without arms … with two heads. They think that this happens only in the fairy tales but we have documented cases in Kurchloevsky, Groznensko-Selskom, and Gudermes regions - there are registered facts of such babies.

Oleg Kusov:
Experts think that today it is useless to rebuild Chechnya - it still can serve as a war theater but it is impossible to live there. There are oil wells smoking, rivers are polluted by waste of private oil production, unburied poisonous waste of chemical and other production plants surround towns and villages. Physicians observe sharp increase of cancer and lung diseases among Chechens. Nobody keeps an exact record on the situation in Chechnya. We suspect that medical research in Chechnya is against the interest of Russian Authorities - they resent getting a grim picture. Medical professionals do not hide the fact that if there is no immediate switch from military actions to medical procedures, the population of Chechnya will continue decreasing at the same rate as it does now during the war.

Recently there was established an environmental agency in Chechnya with a budget that covers only its employees' salaries. Chechen ecologists don't have the means or resources to carry out any necessary measurements. But people in Chechnya know even without scientists that today in Chechnya you cannot drink water, you cannot eat meat of poisoned cattle, and polluted air is the cause of numerous lung diseases.

Chechens' households were based for centuries on natural produce. Environmentally safe practices were instilled in people since their early childhood. Chechens treat every tree with great respect. Traditions would prohibit people to enter a forest with an axe in their hands - axes should be concealed under clothes. Chechens thought that if they act differently, they would lose the benevolence of Nature. Chechens traditional life was ruined during the last two wars. Now their Nature suffers not only axe blows.

Edi Isaev:
With the exception of nuclear bombs, every kind of weapon prohibited since the Vietnam War has been used in Chechnya. Even today mountains and fresh water sources are still under massive fire. Chechnya is ranked first in the world in the number of fresh water springs… Chemical production plants that used 18 million tons of oil to produce all sorts of products have been destroyed. Where did everything go? Everything went into soil, air, forests …There are 11 oil wells smoking around Grozny, more than 1,800 cubic meters of natural gas burned. All this goes into human system. They say that 30-35% of mountain forests is comprised of pine trees. Many precious kinds of trees, like spruce and beech, are destroyed. They represent a national treasure not just of the Chechen people but also of the whole country. Chemical weapons pollute soil; fresh water springs are poisoned. 50% of springs ceased to exist.

More than 120,000 hectares of agricultural soil are unavailable because of ground mines. This means there is an enormous number of mines out there. During the sowing period last year and this year, many operators of agricultural machines died blown up on mines. As of now, we still do not have maps of the mine fileds. Both sides planted mines and nobody drew maps of the minefields, now civilians die...

Oleg Kusov:
There is no budget to deal with ecological catastrophe in Chechnya, but money is still being poured in to continue military actions there. This means new catastrophic blows to the environment. And the resolution of the problem lies completely in the hands of military, since the only right the Chechen Administration has is to state the facts.

Edi Isaev:
Ilyasov, Kadyrov mentioned not once, "Why do the respected generals continue to use long-range guns when all mass military action is over, no big groups of opposition exist, - why bomb mountains and forests? I returned recently from Sernovodsk. Samashkinsky forest is a beautiful place; there are springs that provide Grozny with drinking water. Day after day this forest is bombed by artillery under the pretext of "squeezing out the rebels." There is not a single rebel there. They have nothing to do there because federal outposts guarded day and night surround the place. They destroy forests to make things easier for them: there is no enemy but the forest is gone. And nobody cares what will happen later when they return to their headquarters, after they earn their contract salaries. Where is their consciousness? Not only a peaceful nation destroyed but also all the animals and forests and fresh water springs are destroyed - somebody should answer for this.

Oleg Kusov:
It is obvious that Chechen crises have moved beyond the boundaries of fighting terrorism. The problem became wider, now it touches upon new aspects. Using the terminology of President Vladimir Putin, one may say that Chechnya is turned into a military outpost threatening Russia. But this threat is ecological and comes as a result of two full-scale wars.

For more information-
Victoria Poupko, vpoupko@speakeasy.org