Battles in Chechen Republic are on already for 5 months. After Russian forces have seized the majority of large towns, they turned to a stage of partisan war that may last for years. However, the present results of war in Chechnia are dreadful.

METHODS OF WAR

Battles in Chechnia are of great cruelty. Usual methods there are:

-- massive artillery bombarding of living blocks, using volley fire systems that indifferently strike a vast territory, that causing numerous victims among peaceful population;

-- rocket-and-bomb strikes against peaceful towns, using cluster ball bombs and spike bombs. Even hospitals suffer from bombardments and fire.

With more cruelty they do so called "pacification" of territories being controlled by federal forces. Usual events are:

-- so called "smoothing out" the territory, that is, to comb towns and look for partisans; this "smoothing out" is often done using grenades thrown into basements where women, old men and children hide;

-- internment of unarmed Chechen men to so called filtration (Grozny, Mozdok) and accumulation camps that have filtered many hundreds of people before present time. Usually men suffer there from cruel scoff and beating. We have numerous evidences about tortures, in particular, with electricity; some people who passed filtration have got serious harm;

-- pillage, often with demolition of sacked houses.

Here are some examples:

On January 2, 1995, rockets-and-bomb strikes were done to a market of Shali town. More than 100 people died, many were wounded.

On February 25 a rocket strike was done to a tourist camp 30 km near Shali town, where refugees lived. Only women and children of 3 - 12 years old killed.

Ominous symbol of that war is a world-shaking tragedy of Samashki town. Personalized list of all who died in Samashki in punitive military operation of special militia and military squads is compiled by S. Kovaliov and contains now 96 surnames. It contains 19 old men, including veterans of world war II, and 13 women. About 200 men were put to filtration camps and were cruelly beaten. Many of them suffered from baiting with dogs and tortures; they demanded confessions about taking part in armed opposition. After that they have set Chechen men free, recognizing their innocence. More than 350 houses destroyed in Samashki.

VICTIMS OF WAR

According to official information from Russia, number of soldiers and officers of federal forces killed has exceeded 1,500 people. About 5,000 were wounded. This information is shocking, but we have reasons to think that it is strongly underestimated; according to other estimations in press, the question is many thousands of killed and wounded.

According to the same official information, Chechen militia lost 9,500 people who are also citizens of Russia.

However, the main part of killed and wounded is not fighting sides, but peaceful population of Chechen Republic, this fact being concealed by official Russian propagation. Exact number is unknown, but according to preliminary estimations, 23-27 thousands of peaceful citizens were killed only in Grozny, including more than 2,000 children.

Destruction is vast and strong in the Republic. Dozens of towns and cities are partly or completely demolished, including Grozny city of 500,000 of residents (for year 1989), where, according to official information, 80 per cent of living buildings were destroyed. Many industry plants, schools, hospitals, power supply systems, transport lines, communication systems were destroyed or strongly damaged. Arable lands are dug by bomb explosions and maimed by armoured tanks' tracks. The total damage is estimated to be dozens of trillions Russian roubles. Let's add war expenses: according to calculation of Moscow Economic Analysis Institute, one day of war wastes 60 million dollars (based on information of Ministry of defense). This means, that for first four months, murders of their citizens and demolition of their economy cost Russian government 7,200 million dollars -- much more total sum of credit of International Currency Fund that Russia has recently received!

In 1991-1994, about 80 thousands of people left Chechnia, escaping from arbitrariness of national discrimination an inter-clan enmity (information of Federal Immigration Service - FIS). Since December 11 of year 1994 the torrent of refugees has increased many times. Fear of death and mass demolition of their homes have made not dozens but hundreds of thousands of people run away from their native places. At present 320,000 refugees from Chechnia plus 50,000 in Chechnia itself are registered by FIS. According to other estimations, number of refugees reached half a million of people last months, that is, about a half of total population of the Republic.

For Chechen people that war has become a terrible national tragedy that will not wipe out from memory of many future generations. However, people of many nationalities have become victims of war here, including Russians, who are about a half of population of Grozny.

LIES OF OFFICIAL PROPAGATION

Carrying on an illegal war, the power has to conceal the truth about it. Hence, it perseveres in preventing journalists work, tries to introduce censorship and to blacken those observers (including deputies of Federal Council), who provide the country and the world with authentic information directly from the battle zone. That is why governmental services distribute admittedly false information, for instance, about imitation of bombardments of their own towns and villages by Dudayev's adherents, about usage of highly toxical irritants, about castration of captives, about shooting elder men by Chechen militia, about numerous squads of mercenaries.

Having been refuted, those forgeries are replaced with other ones, of the same manner. Such a shamelessness of lies and slander remind us past times, being not less frightening feature of federal authorities than its inclination for barbarian violence.

Intending to conceal its crimes, Russian authorities declare that Grozny will be restored, and agitate refugees to return as soon as possible. According to information of FIS, 120,000 refugees would like to stay in Russia, but, it seems, they can't, because money compensation for lost homes will be paid only in Chechnia. This decision of the government is provocative and dangerous for people's lives: today one can't find even a free basement in Grozny, they have no light, water, gas; drugstores do not work. According to declaration of anti-epidemic service, probability of cholera infection is extremely high.

GOALS ANNOUNCED AND RESULTS ACHIEVED

Real results of the war in Chechnia are opposite to its declared goals.

Restoration of a "constitutional order on the territory of Chechen Republic" could not be, because the war itself was begun and is carried out by Russian government contrary to the Constitution of Russian Federation -- without declaration of extraordinary situation in the country, using armed forces for resolving internal political problems -- all this is a gross violation of Russian laws. The new administration, being supported by federal power, is, according public declaration of the leader of this administration, not more legitimate than Dudayev's administration. Is not it blasphemous to speak about "restoration of a constitutional order" by means of war, during which the population is either annihilated, or made to leave native lands massively; and the result of the war must be occupation of a part of Russia by Russian military forces?

They also can not do any "disarmament of illegal fighting groups", and certainly they could not. On the contrary, as one could expect, injection of military forces onto the territory of Chechen Republic, artillery and air bombardments, and numerous victims of peaceful population have made to raise arms those who didn't think about it before.

Before the war, Dudayev's regime and its characteristic violations of legislation and human rights had numerous adversaries in Chechnia. Now even many of them recognize that regime as a "lesser evil". The authority of Dudayev himself was strengthened by the war. Unwillingness of Russian authorities to negotiate with him tells us about unwillingness of peace.

Hardly one can speak about "strengthening territorial integrity of Russia" as a result of Chechen campaign. Peoples of Russia (not only in Caucasus) are disposed against each other, and in many republics anti-Russian spirits grow.

WHO SUPPORTS CHECHEN WAR AND WHY

In practice, all political groups, political organizations and movements, mass media (except official ones) have stepped forward more or less against the war. Both Houses of Federal Council have condemned bloodshed in North Caucasus. Finally, according all interrogations of public opinion, the majority of Russian Federation population does not approve of war in Chechnia.

It would be improper to say that Russia carries out that undeclared war. It is carried out -- by force of army that has to obey commands -- by federal executive power. The President and the Government of Russian Federation are directly responsible for that war irrespective of what is one's or another Government member's opinion in the action.

Aspiration to demonstrate their power has created an image of Russia as a prison where nations and territories are kept by violence and cruelty. All this weakens and destroys Russian Federation.

Declared goals of war did not only fail, but they become more and more hard to achieve. Nevertheless, the war goes on at cost of new and new destruction and victims.

Who approves of and supports Chechen campaign? These are a part of the generals. These are leaders of some "power" ministries and departments. These are some political figures who declared their ideology of so called "power feature", and who consider state power not as a mechanism that provides rights and interests of citizens, but as a highest value to which these rights and interests must submit. Finally, these are ultra-nationalists, like Zhirinovsky, Barkashov, Nevzorov. Press has informed many times about war interests of some influential groups of highest rank of military production system and structures of criminal business.

The interest of these powers to continue war is obvious and explicable. Referring to "circumstances of war-time", they intend to avert turn of Russia to democracy and legislative order and to plant a "police regime" in the country that could provide them control of power and property. Chechen war is on the first place a war against Russia and again its democratic future.

CONCLUSION

War in Chechnia is senseless. It may not have winners. Chechen armed resistance can not win because of keen inequality of forces. In its turn, federal forces can not plant peace by force of weapons on the land of Chechnia.

Here, in a complex of senses of national humiliation, despair and revenge, grounds develop for terrorism and extremism, that will inevitably be of cruel and barbarian forms.

But even before this the war may spread to adjacent territories of Northern Caucasus. Periodical bombardment of villages of neighbouring Ingushetia is a very alarming sign of spirits that live in military command.

For many Russian soldiers and officers Chechen war has become a drill of animosity and violence. What is society going to do with dozens thousands of young people who were taught to kill and die for knowingly false, hypocritical and criminal goals? Is it going to abandon them like veterans of another criminal campaign in Afghanistan?

War in Caucasus will certainly strengthen spirits of xenophobia and utmost nationalism, that infect a part of our society.

The president and the government should realize that just they will be responsible for the present situation and previous victims of their war. A part of responsibility will be borne by the society, that has used to be a passive observer of war, and by democratic leaders, who show an unjustified tolerance toward the war.

An immediate cessation of war is the only alternative to present terrible reality and to a threatening outlook to future. Not a hypocritical "moratorium" of one week (to wait till high foreign visitors leave the Republic), but urgent start of full peaceful negotiations just with those Chechen leaders who organize armed resistance against federal forces.

The fratricidal war in Chechnia goes on -- this is shame of Russia and insult of the great holiday of Victory that Chechens have won alone with other peoples of Russia.

Organizations members of the Agreement:

"Memorial" society;

Russian Committee of Soldiers' Mothers;

Moscow Helsinki Group;

Coordination Council for help refugees and forced settlers;

Committee for help refugees "Civic Assistance";

Direction of Discussion political club "Moscow Tribune";

Union of internationalists;

Buddhist order "Nipponjan Mekhoji"

Electors' club of Academy of Sciences

Women's Informational Project "ADL";

Independent Youth League;

Directional Committee of USCE assistance "Moscow -- Yerevan";

Public movement "Anti-Fascist Youth movement";

"Democratic Russia" movement;

"For Democracy and Human Rights" movement;

"Democratic Choice of Russia" party;

Federal party "Democratic Russia;

Peasants' party of Russia;

Social Democratic party of Russia;

Transnational Radical party;

Moscow regional organization of "Democratic Choice of Russia" party.

The memorandum is open for signing by other organizations either or not participating in the Agreement, and by individuals.

The memorandum was supported by:

Yury Burtin, publisher;

Vadim Byelotserkovsky, journalist;

Len Karpinsky, journalist;

Valery Borschiov, deputy of State Duma.

Translated into English by A.Prishchenko on May 15, 1995.