10 May 2004 03:56
CHECHNYA BURIES SLAIN PRESIDENT AS RUSSIA SEEKS NEW SOLUTION TO WAR
TSENTOROI, Russia, May 10 (ONASA - AFP) - Chechens buried their assassinated pro-Kremlin president Akhmad Kadyrov on
Monday as Moscow scrambled to figure out a new strategy for winning control of the restless region after losing its main
ally there. Some 3,000 people marched through the main street of this village where Kadyrov's family is based in
Chechnya under a scorching sun chanting traditional prayers and paying their respects to a man in whom the Kremlin put
its trust. Kadyrov's two sons Ramzan and Zelimkhan -- seen as some of the most powerful figures in the republic --
helped carry Kadyrov's body on a raised stretcher in accordance with Chechen tradition. The former president's
body was covered by a white burka -- a wool cloth worn throughout the region. "This is a day of mourning for the
whole village, for the whole country," said a villager who identified himself only as Alvi. "We closed all
stores and the streets were empty of all people except for children once the news came in," he said with sorrow in
his voice. Kadyrov died Sunday in a bomb blast that ripped through a packed stadium amid a gala concert commemorating
Russia's annual Victory Day over Nazi Germany in World War II. It appeared to be a clear assassination attempt
since the explosive device was placed directly under the VIP platform where Kadyrov sat alongside the republic's
top command. Russia's top general overseeing the war in Chechnya, Valery Baranov, who sat at Kadyrov's
right-hand side was seriously injured in the attack and was convalescing Monday in hospital after having his leg
amputated. Death toll figures from the blast varied wildly. Russia's top political representative to the region
said seven people had died, while a Chechen interior ministry spokesman said Sunday the death toll had reached 32. The
attack proved a devastating blow to Russian President Vladimir Putin -- who only two days earlier in an inauguration
ceremony to his second term took pride in stamping Moscow's control on the region after more than four years of
war. Putin pushed for the candidacy of Kadyrov -- a Chechen rebel in the first 1994-96 war who switched sides and
supported Moscow in the second conflict -- in Chechnya's controversial October presidential elections. Kadyrov won
almost unanimously and Putin identified this as the final step in the Chechen political peace process. But Kadyrov had
many enemies -- both on the side of Chechen rebels and Russian troops who mistrusted and feared a massive and powerful
personal military that the new president was building and which was headed by his son Ramzan. Putin has now appointed
Sergei Abramov -- a 32-year-old former banker who most analysts agree has limited influence in Chechnya -- to head the
republic on an interim basis. Chechnya now must stage new presidential elections. The process is wrought with danger as
the various clans in the Caucasus republic fight for power. Most often these conflicts have been settled in recent years
through military confrontation. The Russian military command in Chechnya issued a regular statement Monday blaming the
assassination on the republic's former president Aslan Maskhadov and rebel leader Shamil Basayev, two figures who
they blame for almost all attacks in the republic. But Maskhadov now exercises only limited influence in the republic
and analysts agree that the attack could have been staged by a myriad of clans and military groupings that now roam
Chechnya. Kadyrov's burial ceremony was attended by Alu Alkhanov -- the Chechen interior minister who was also
slightly injured in Sunday's attack -- and the interim president Abramov.
[ONASA News Agency] |
RUSSIA IN FACTS
