| Page 2 of 2 < |
Chechen Warns of Islamic Extremism
|
TOOLBOX
   Resize
COMMENT
 Discussion Policy
 CLOSE
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Who's Blogging  |
In recent years, Baysaev and a small staff in Grozny and Ingushetia have been putting together "A Chronicle of Violence," a record of abuses during the most recent Chechen war.
"Chechnya became the greatest humanitarian disaster and one of the greatest cases of human rights violations in Europe," he said.
Baysaev became known outside the Caucasus when he spoke at a conference in Stockholm in the fall of 2006 and caught the attention of Anna Politkovskaya, a prominent Russian journalist. She was, he said, particularly interested in his claim that Russian security services were working with Chechen criminal rings against the rebels.
"I gave names of concrete killers who are now in power in Chechnya," Baysaev said. Politkovskaya pleaded with a reluctant Baysaev to allow her to print his findings in her publication under a different name, which she did. Two days later, on Oct. 7, 2006, Politkovskaya was shot and killed in her apartment building in Moscow. Baysaev is uncertain whether the publication of his material led to her murder.
"She feared absolutely nothing," he said. "She had one great quality. When she wrote about someone, she did not forget him or her. So even when people felt disillusioned, people were willing to talk to her."
Baysaev said it is now up to the Chechens to make sure they are not forgotten.
"Our own history has to be written by us," he said.
