Action Against Russia In Order example essay topic

Chechnya The Continuing Conflict. Laura Anderson PL 209 International Affairs Chechnya is situated in the Caucasus Mountains, between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. It is surrounded by Dagestan to the east, Georgia and South Ossetia to the south, Russia to the north and North Ossetia in the west. Chechnya is rich in mineral oil and produced twenty million tons per year before the disintegration of the Soviet Union. The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 created the opportunity for the Russian provinces to declare their independence. The Russian government managed to keep its control of all states apart from Chechnya, which, under the new president Dzhokhar Dudayev, declared independence in October 1991.

The Russian Government did not approve this and President Yeltsin declared war against the newborn regime in 1994. Yeltsin feared that if they had not declared war the other Caucasus states may have followed suit, to prevent this they preferred to curb it at the out set. The second Chechen war, which began in September 1999, was a result of the actions taken by Russia in the first war and was a product of the same policies. The fight for independence for Chechnya has been ongoing since the Bolshevik Revolution and is one that will be fought well into the future if something is not done about it now. The Russo-Chechen war that ended in 1996 should have given the Russian government a feel of things to come when they decided to attack in late September of last year.

Triggered by security challenges to the State, Russia decided that the democracy would be in danger if they didn't act. Russia was in a politically unstable situation right now with the resignation of Yeltsin, and the current Presidential elections looming. Also looming on the political horizon was the concern over rampant corruption in the government. If they had done nothing Yeltsin's party would have stood to lose, yet Putin, (Yeltsin's successor) succeeded in focusing the medias attention on the war rather that the domestic corruption. This war has given rise to a huge influx of racial hatred that has again helped Putin.

Because the majority of the Chechen's are Muslim, and not of the same ethnic background as Russians, racial discrimination has helped to boost the wars popularity and subsequently Putin. The security of oil in the southern Caucasus states and its transportation routes are the main influential factors in the war that is being fought at the moment. That is not to say that there weren't other very influential factors; According to Russian propaganda, Chechen gangs apparently kidnapped and ransomed hundreds of civilians and military personnel (This is however under scrutiny. ). In the first Chechen war, Russia was faced with the situation of having to maintain the legitimacy of its government. Russian provinces were threatening secession and Chechnya was to be made an example of.

The same sentiment prevailed in August 1999 when several thousand Muslim fighters, mostly Chechens invaded Dagestan, with the aim to establish a Muslim Northern Caucasus federal state from the Black Sea to the Caspian. It was in September that the Russian Government intervened. The Chechen rebels were using Grozny as their base of operations. In late November the Russian military unleashed the heaviest bombardment against Grozny, Chechnya's capital, in order to keep back the Chechens. In this bombardment alone over 500 people were killed, mostly Civilians. This caused 200,000 refugees to camp outside the state on neighbouring borders.

Many issues are at stake with this war; The Russian Presidential elections (though now decided), the presence of corruption within the Russian democracy and the Democracies control over the population, the lack of Russian control over oil pipe lines (that allowed the Chechens to steal from in order to generate a cash flow for the war), and the rise of a power that the Russians fear, the rise of militant Islam. The one factor that is almost over looked in any conflict is that of the casualties and the loss of human life. War inevitably brings about death but it is the nature in which these atrocities come about that has cause the Human rights activists to get involved in this crisis. The news reported from the ravaged cities within Chechnya is more than disturbing, but as disturbing as this is, media bias does need to be accounted for. The eyewitness accounts and the various reports from Human Rights activists are all informative but of a distinct nature, to disgrace the west into doing some thing about the disintegrating situation in the state. Russian forces have committed grave abuses, but the situation is one that needs to be rendered regardless of how it is reported.

Human Rights Watch have documented both Russian and Chechen acts of war crimes. The situation is dire in all cases from massacres, rapes and beatings, to completely ignoring the well fair of civilians. The Russians have disregarded completely the Geneva Convention obligations, with central market bombings; civilians' deaths in Chechnya weigh heavily in the total death toll of the war. This situation is unacceptable for wartime in the twenty first century. The war has taken its toll on many parts of Chechnya; most areas look more like wasteland, especially the capital Grozny.

The Russian atrocity's are documented by many individual groups, yet all say much the same thing: Russian forces have refused to allow civilians a safe passage through to neighbouring borders for refuge, men especially had trouble leaving, being beaten tortured and often subject to arbitrary arrest. The constant bombardment was only the beginning of the terror for most: Human Rights have documented three large-scale massacres by Russian forces in Chechnya. In December, Russian troops killed 17 civilians in the village of Al khan-Yurt, while going on a looting spree, burning many of the remaining homes, and raping several women. In the Aldi district of Grozny, at least 62 or more civilians were shot, who were waiting in the for the soldiers to check their documents. They have also begun arresting large amounts of men throughout Chechnya.

These men, numbering well over a thousand, and some women, have been taken to undisclosed detention facilities (Human Rights Watch 2000) The refugee crisis is yet another example of how badly the Chechens have been treated with inadequate shelter, food, clean water and other essential medical supplies being denied to them. This has become one of the Russian military's methods of trying to force the refugees to get back to Chechnya. However it is not only on the Russian side that abuses have been dealt. Chechen fighters, particularly Islamic, have shown little or no regard for the safety of the civilian population, placing their military positions in civilian areas. The rebels are using the deplorable tactic of using the civilians as human shields in order to dissuade Russian attacks. Not only are their direct acts of disregard for humanitarian law but also there is the Russians government's lack of intervention into the situation: Russian Authorities have failed to act to stop abuses perpetrated by their Russian troops in Chechnya.

There is simply no indication that the Russian authorities have taken any steps to prevent these abuses, to investigate them when they do happen, and to punish those responsible. Equally worrying is the lack of strong Western response to the abuses in Chechnya. (Human Rights Watch 2000) Action needs to be taken quickly before this becomes a long drawn out war, response from the west needs to be initiated and this on turn needs to be deployed within Chechnya. Unfortunately there are severe limitations on the actions within the scope of possibilities for all concerned parties to take.

The Russian government is declaring this an internal problem and not subject to the influence of such international institutions as the United Nations, etc. Any such attempts for direct intervention would be seen as interfering with the sovereignty of Russia. Putin has made it clear that the actions taken by Russia will be what are necessary for the best interests of Russia. Intervention by the United States, the European Union, the United Nations, or NATO will be considered as acts attempting to undermine Russia's sovereignty and will not be tolerated. This leaves the international community in a precarious position with few options for recourse. The European Union threatened Russia with expulsion in January if the atrocities against civilians did not cease.

Russia was given three months to resolve this issue, which it has thus far failed to do. The threat from the EU has never come about, giving Russia no reason to fear further demands. For the US, concerns over damaging the democratization process in Russia have taken precedent over the war with Chechnya. Russia's economy is weak and lacking sufficient infrastructure, making it dependent on money form the International Monetary Fund. A suggestion that has been made is that the IMF and World Bank need to suspend the loan payments until the Russians take action against their troops behaviour; the loans can be spent on the Russian war effort.

If this were an action to be taken it would have a devastating effect on the stability of the social and economic situation. If the US were to put pressure on the IMF to stop payments to Russia the result would be a collapse of their economy and resulting chaos that would severely undermine the government. The collapse of the economy would be further facilitated by the fact that the war with Chechnya would not be stopped. The supply of oil is critical to fuel ling Russia's ailing economy and the future of Russian industry. Putin, nor Russia, can afford to let it get away. The option of stopping IMF payments to Russia is not viable.

The resulting economic ramifications will be devastating to the Russian government and will not likely result in the ceasing of the war. If such action were to result in the end of the war, the Chechen rebels would be given the strong hold in this situation. Funded by Afghanistan ian and Pakistani an Islamic militant groups, the Chechens would establish an Islamic Militant state. The wealth of the oil in this state would arise in another radical power to add to the list of growing Islamic states, that the US refuses to understand, or cooperate with. Beyond economics another sort of recourse available is direct intervention.

As stated above, Putin will not tolerate any action against Russia in order to stop this internal struggle. It is not the role of foreign nations to interfere in civil wars, especially when they involve a country like Russia. Russia is still a nation that the United States and Europe need to stay on good terms with. Pushing Russia too hard on this issue will severely strain diplomatic relations and force Russia into positions contrary to US and European interests. Russia is still a militarily significant nation that is also a member of the Security Council in the UN. Taking actions that anger them can make life difficult for the US and European nations within the body of the UN and abroad.

The vested interest of the United States in this issue does not warrant such intervention that will produce such repercussions. However, it is the task of the US and their European allies to bring the case to the European Court of Human Rights; the charge, a violation of its international treaty rights. Russia should also be required to conduct peace negotiations with the Chechens under the guidance of the various European Groups with a vested interest in the preservation of the borders of the surrounding countries. Threats of this can be conveyed to Russia, but this action, and anything that may come of it will not necessarily by abide d by Russia. Russia has already shown that it will do what it wants concerning this issue. The US and its European allies are in apposition where threatening Russia with action is the only thing that they can do.

Russia will not respond to these threats and will best only give them lip service. That this conflict be resolved in a manner favourable to Russia is essential. Russia cannot permit the secession of any part of its territory because it will lead to actions by other regions and the access to Caucasus oil fields cannot be lost. Any other action taken by a third party will only result in destabilization of Russia and termination of diplomatic relations between Russia and the west.