Moscow bomb claims still unproved
>From Mr Jeremy Putley.
Sir, Dmitri Kosyrev (Letters, May 3) states that the Moscow subway bomb which
killed at least 39 people on February 6 was the work of terrorists associated
with al-Qaeda. Mr Kosyrev also asserts that those terrorists were Chechens,
and makes the surprising claim that Moscow was a rehearsal for the Madrid
bombings, for which there is no evidence.
The line taken by Mr Kosyrev is that of the Russian authorities, whose
purpose is to justify Russia's barbarous policy in Chechnya. But no one
yet knows who set the Moscow subway bomb and there remain several
possibilities, including that explosives were detonated by accident while
being transported. To date no one has credibly claimed responsibility and it
can be no more than a supposition that Chechens were behind the blast. The
alleged link to al-Qaeda is a completely unwarranted assumption and there is
no evidence to support such a charge.
What remains clear is that the Novosti Agency, Mr Kosyrev's employer, is
intent on propagating the line that Chechens are linked in some way to
international terrorism. This is essentially deceitful.
It remains the case that, while there has been some Arab support for the
Chechen cause during a conflict in which Russia has suppressed the Chechens
with extreme brutality, there is no evidence of any involvement by Chechens
in any conflict anywhere outside the Russian Federation. Experts on the
subject agree that allegations to the contrary are unfounded.
Jeremy Putley, Harrogate, North Yorks HG1 5JU
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RUSSIA IN FACTS
