Di Michael Van Walt

OUTLINE OF RESPONSE

BY THE TRANSNATIONAL RADICAL PARTY

TO THE ACCUSATIONS MADE BY RUSSIA

(FIRST DRAFT)

State the accusations made by Russia in its letter to the Committee on NGOs

1. Oral interventions by Akhyad Idigov

2. Activities with respect to anti-prohibitionism

With regard to 1: points which need to be made are:

The Trans Radical Party (TRP) has read with great attention the letter from the distinguished Representative of the Russian federation, Mr. Alexey Rogov, transmitted to us by the Chairman of the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations. The TRP respectfully submits that it has not abused its consultative status, because it did not knowingly engage in any acts which are contrary to the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, as stated in paragraph 57(a) of ECOSOC resolution 1996/31. The TRP moreover submits that it does not and has not acted under the influence of proceeds resulting from internationally recognized criminal activities in the sense referred to in paragraph 57(b) of ECOSOC resolution 1996/31. The TRP consequently requests the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations not to take any action against the TRP which would affect its consultative status with ECOSOC.

With respect to the interventions of the TRP during the 56th session of the Commission on Human Rights, the TRP wishes to make the following observations: Mr. Idigov spoke on behalf of the Radical Party. He was fully accredited in accordance with the rules for accreditation. He spoke about alleged human rights violations, including the right to self-determination, and of the need to end the war through negotiations. He called for respect for the peace agreement reached between the government of the Russian Federation and the representatives of the Chechen government in 1997, and recalled that President Maskhadov, his government and the parliament of the republic were elected under international supervision of the OSCE. Mr. Idigov also called for the establishment of an international commission of inquiry on human rights in Chechnya. He, and therefore the TRP, stated nothing and acted in no way that was inconsistent with the Charter of the United Nations.

Mr Idigov was not the only speaker to accuse Russia of gross human rights violations in Chechnya. A number of Member States of the UN and other NGOs did the same and, in fact, the Commission adopted a resolution concerning the grave situation on Chechnya. Mr. Idigov's identity is no secret. He was an elected member of the Chechen parliament and its Chairman until the 1997 elections. In those elections he was once again elected to Parliament and became the Chairman of its Foreign Affairs Committee. The TRP, being an NGO with a primary focus on parliamentary action world wide has members and close collaborators among parliamentarians of many countries and regions. By having Mr. Idigov speak to the Commission, the TRP believed it was doing a service to the Commmission in making it possible for it to hear the views of the TRP from a leader of the people affected by the human rights situation being considered by the Commission. Mr. Idigov may have created the impression that he was representing others than the TR

P in one of his statements. This is regrettable and incorrect. He was speaking on behalf of the TRP. However, as a Chechen and a Chechen elected leader, he was of course also as a voice of his people. This is why many delegates to the Commission expressed their appreciation that he had been able to speak. The suggestion that Mr. Idigov is a terrorist or represents a terrorist organisation is, to the best of our knowledge, incorrect. Mr Idigov has, to our knowledge, not taken part in armed hostilities, let alone terrorist activities, taking of hostages, slave labour, slave trade, burglaries, torture or summary executions. The TRP does not dispute that serious violations of human rights have been perpetrated on both sides in the war in Chechnya. But this does not necessarily implicate Mr. Idigov in those violations. Mr. Idigov has consistently called for an end to violence and for peace, and came to Geneva to do the same. In the past also, Mr. Idigov was a key member of the negotiations team that negotiated pe

ace with the Russian Federation in 1997. Thus, far from being a terrorist, Mr. Idigov is a man who has a track record of working for peace. To claim that he is a terrorist by virtue of his election to the Chechen Parliament --in elections recognised by the Russian Federation and the OSCE-- is, we are sure, not intended.

If Mr. Idigov inappropriately identified himself in his intervention, the TRP apologises for this. The TRP submits, however, that in accrediting Mr. Idigov and inviting him to speak on behalf of the NGO, the TRP has not acted contrary to the Charter of the United Nations, which calls for peace, self-determination and human rights. More specifically, the TRP has not and has had no intention to commit unsubstantiated or politically motivated acts against a member state of the UN, in casu, the Russian Federation, incompatible with the purposes and principles of the Charter. The TRP fails to see how the statement made by Mr. Idigov on behalf of the TRP could be interpreted as propagation of "ideas which are completely incompatible with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations" as stated in the letter of the distinguished Representative of the Russian Federation. The TRP is an organisation dedicated to the Ghandian principles of non-violence. This is clear even in the symbol of the organis

ation, which bears the portrait of mahatma Gandhi. The TRP does not condone violence from any quarter, whether governmental or non-governmental. The TRP has consistently campaigned for values of peace, human rights, self-determination, and international justice. It would be unthinkable for the TRP to knowingly accredit a terrorist or the representative of a terrorist organisation to represent it. To the best of its knowledge, the TRP has never done so.

The TRP therefore submits that it has not abused its status by engaging in acts incompatible with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the united nations.

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