press review" "
The tragedy of the Dubrovka Theatre in Moscow, after the irruption of the terrorists fighting for an independent Chechnya, and their repression by the Soviet special forces, monopolizes the attention of the main international dailies, which question the methods and scale of Putin’s reaction. “At least 115 of the hostages in Moscow have been gassed to death”, is the front-page headline of Le Monde (29/10), which dedicates its editorial to analysing the “ Soviet-style” methods used. “So nothing has changed in Moscow”, is the laconic opening sentence of the article in which the editorialist speaks of a “massacre” that “recalls the Soviet era”. This is because argues the French daily “the priority for Vladimir Putin was not the life of the hostages. The Russian president wants first and foremost to re-establish ‘order’: it’s the power of the Kremlin that has been defeated, and nothing counts more than re-establishing it”. The “brutal use of force” is evident especially in the massive “overdose” of the quantity of gas used, and the secrecy with which is still remains shrouded: “48 hours after the tragedy, the authorities still refuse to say what type of gas they used”. These, in Le Monde’s view, are salient features of the methods of Soviet repression, characterized by “opacity, obsession with military secret, State mendacity, manipulation of public opinion, and utter disdain for human life”. At the same time Putin “confirms his character as an unscrupulous autocrat”. “The current Russian president writes Alain Guillemoles in La Croix (29/10) has built his whole popularity on his reputation for intransigence against the Chechens (…). So it’s not surprising that he chose, once again, the response of the iron fist. The fact remains that in the medium term this position seems more difficult to maintain (…) For the time being, the Kremlin’s position remains unaltered. Vladimir Putin has no intention of negotiating with Maskhadov, nor of speaking of ‘conditions of surrender’ for Chechen fighters”. A Putin who “promises to hunt down terrorists and their supporters wherever they are” is also discussed by the Herald Tribune (29/10), in a front-page article in which Peter Baker and Susan B. Glasser point out that “President Vladimir Putin has beefed up the army to conduct a massive military campaign in ‘American style’ also beyond the borders of Russia, while he remains silent about the government’s use of lethal gas to end the hostage crisis in the Moscow theatre last weekend”. Numerous comments are also devoted by the German press to the Chechen terrorist attack on the theatre in Moscow. “ The most dangerous tyranny today is totalitarian terrorism. Not an inch will it give way, even in the interest of the freedom of small peoples, even in the interest of Chechnya“, writes Alan Posener in Die Welt of 25/10. And Herbert Kremp adds: “ The hatred in the war between cultures is literally boundless. The terrorist hatred of modern type does not seek a logistic of escape…. The extraordinary has become strategy, the technical and technological means give it unprecedented effectiveness“. Writing in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung ( FAZ) of 26/10, Markus Wehner notes: “ The fact that Russia must now come to terms with a generation of desperate suicidal terrorists should not be attributed just to the influence of foreign extremists but also to two wars conducted in a particularly brutal manner“. On the same day, Miriam Hollstein comments in Die Welt: “ Between the Chechen terrorists and the assassin friends of Bin Laden there is a difference. Al Qaida has declared war on the West. The Chechens, on the other hand, seek nothing more than the independence of their republic“. Writing in the Faz of 28/10, Markus Wehner comments: “ The conduct of the Russian leaders arouses the suspicion that reasons of state take precedence over the protection of citizens’ lives. It’s the bitter experience of the cynicism of those in power: in Russia human life counts for nothing“. “ When terrorism dons the guise of a battle for freedom or a political ideology writes Stefan Kornelius in the Süddeutsche Zeitung of 30/10 it defies a rapid judgement and pretends a higher consecration. But it cannot disguise that its methods are mistaken and that the excesses against innocent victims cannot be condoned even in extreme political situations“. The weekly magazine Der Spiegel of 28/10 dedicates its cover story to the same question: “ The war in the northern Caucasus has brutalized both sides. But the inhumane purges, the deportations and harassment by the colonial troops of Moscow cannot be wiped from the memory even by the hostage tragedy in Moscow“.
