El Periódico, a Catalan newspaper did an exclusive interview with Usam Baysayev, a member of Human Rights Center “Memorial” which was awarded with Sakharov Prize by European Parliament in this year. We present you Usam Baysayev’s interview underlined the sadistic methods which is carried out by Russian invaders and their collaborators in Chechnya.

El Periódico: What is the situation on your works in Chechnya?

Usam Baysayev: This summer, our colleague Natalya Estemirova was killed in Chechnya. After that, we decided to close up our office in Chechnya.  Of course, our activities are not like before.

El Periódico: In which case Natalya was working before her murder?

Usam Baysayev: She was working on an ordinary case which seen in Chechnya usually. Her last case was about a abduction event of a father and his son (Albekovs); later they had bring the father and killed him in front of people.

El Periódico: Do human rights violations seen everyday in Chechnya?

Usam Baysayev: Everyday something happens there. Since 2006, there were less disappearances and executions. But in the first 6 months of this year, there were more cases than whole last year. We speak about it among ourselves and concluded that the system of the counter-terrorism operation changed. We realized the Russian federal structures has a minor role now.  And pro-Moscow Chechen structures want to be more successful in their operations.

El Periódico: Can we calling it as a “civil war”?

Usam Baysayev: No, it can’t. It seems that both of sides are Chechen, but Kremlin backed Chechen forces don’t have support of Chechen people; they have only support of Russia. They have been created and financing by Russia and take orders from Russians. We may give a name to Chechnya like a country under occupation of Russia and some local forces which supports by Russians.

El Periódico: What do you think about policy of U.S. President Barack Obama on Russia and Chechnya?

Usam Baysayev: The West, includind USA, proclaims that a democratic system must be in all around of the world. But when they speak about Russia, then they just close their eyes and only interested in natural gas and petrol. I don’t think so anybody can be against the friendship between Russian and USA. It will be great, if there aren’t nuclear bombs. But how could you collaborate with somebody came to power in Russia after that exploded his houses (attacks in Moscow, 1999) and his terror policy in Chechnya during last 10 years. A person doesn’t hide that the West is enemy  always for Russia.

El Periódico: Do you think rebels can prevail in Chechnya?

Usam Baysayev: No, they can’t. They are few and poorly armed against Russia. But it is also clear that Russia will never succeed against them, because defeating a partisan power, you need to support of local people and Russia doesn’t have it. However, the conflict has ignited a process that affects the entire Caucasus. The war began in Chechnya, but now it has spread to Ingushetia and Dagestan. At that, the prospect is that Russia is going to leave from North Caucasus.

El Periódico: Could you describe some sadistic methods of pro-Moscow Chechen forces?

Usam Baysayev: The pro-Moscow Chechen security forces are a part of the Russian security forces. And all that methods were used by Russian forces, and now pro-Moscow Chechen forces use it. There are some officials from the Russian secret service, who control the activities of pro-Moscow Chechen forces. For example, in youtube, we saw that they put a scorpion inside the clothes of a member of the rebels. They use the same methods which were used for pressure the families in the Baltic countries by Soviet secret service in 1950s. Very often, members of local Chechen families were arresting and taken them as hostages. Every week, in the local Chechen television channel, you may see that how they go to the houses of rebels’ families and threaten them. If they killed a rebel, then they brought the body to his family’s house with tv cameras; they put the body down at the feet of his parents, and asked them to say: “what a motherfucker son they had!”

Marc Marginedes – 23.10.2009
Source: El Periódico/WaYNaKH