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Amnesty asks for inquiry into Russian slaughter

sl | 27.10.2002 15:50

The Human Rights Association Amnesty International has called for an inquiry into how the Russian government killed tens of people in a theatre by pumping in an unidentified toxic gas. The theatre was occupied at the time by an armed milita holding the audience hostage.

There are also reports that hostage takers were murdered by Russian security services while unconscious.

sl
Homepage: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/2365525.stm

Comments

Hide the following 6 comments

Overkill

27.10.2002 17:04

The BBC News called it sleeping gas, which may have contained "other" substances and said some hostages suffered adverse side-effects like heart-attacks. This sets a precedent for the use of "non-lethal" weapons against civilians, albeit to "save" them! A better resolution to this crisis requiring no loss of life, would have been for Russia to get out of Chechnya and Georgia and cease it's policy of ethnic cleansing to accomodate UNocal's pipeline.

KGB

Putout by Putin

27.10.2002 17:44

107 hostages dead and 60 or more seriously ill, all killed by "sleeping gas" - plus the rebels (freedom fighters) shot by troops, including the Black Widows, whose husbands were murdered by Russians. Is Putin yet another contender for a war crimes tribunal in the Hague, alongside Kissinger, Clinton, Bush, Blair and Sharon?

007

But...

27.10.2002 20:02

Kgb and 007:
What was the options really ?
To stop the war and get 30 000 soldiers out of Chechnya in one week and still not be sure that would have save the hostage.
I´m as left-wing as anyone else here but I don´t wanna fight for hopeless causes started by religious fanatics but as political fundamentalists you sympatize with the religious ones ?

O.P

Err..

27.10.2002 20:22

Well one option would have been to not pump the place filled with toxic gas.

Another would not to have performed extra judicial murders.

The best thing to do would have been to negotiate (properly) to have agreed to pull out Russian troops not because of the hostage taking because it was the right thing to do. Then if the hostages weren't released to have gone in with special forces who were prepared to die. Not to have killed the hostages to protect your special forces and then describe the operation as a success.

More Cold War Proganda!

27.10.2002 23:58

It seem Amnesty has forgotten the real terrorists here! If they want an investigation about the incident so badly what about the Chechen Terrorists links with Al Quada and funds coming from the USA and Britain which are only interested in one thing,Oil in the Caucaucus! As for the poor people that died,I'm afraid these kind of things usually happen so don't expect Bruce Willis from 'Die Hard' save them all okay?! Grow up some hostages are bound to be killed here and it is the sad truth. I suggest you people check out www.aeronautics.ru to find out more in Chechnya and stop using cold war propaganda for Christs sakes this is getting old!

Aris

Aris – please don’t come to my rescue

28.10.2002 20:25

I suspect your cold pragmatic views would change if your family had died - hoepfully

Haidar

UK Indymedia