The tragedy of North Ossetia, with the heart-rending images of the children of Beslan still before the eyes of the international community, monopolise the attention of the main international dailies: we cite some of them. “After the tragedy of Beslan, Europe and the United States lent over backwards not to openly criticise the Russian President”, noted La Croix of 7/9, which declared on its front page that “the confusion that reigns in Chechnya leaves no scope for a negotiated settlement for the time being”. “Beslan, Chechnya, Bush, Iraq: Putin explains himself”, is the front-page headline in Le Monde ( 8/9), which examines the “justifications” used by the Russian President in response to the massacre of 3 September. “Asserting that ‘there is no link between the Russian policy in Chechnya and the taking of hostages in Beslan’ so begins the editorial in the French daily Putin declares that there is no need for him to change his policy: ‘Ask people in the West to negotiate with Bin Laden! While offering his support to George Bush (…), the head of the Kremlin shows himself more critical towards some Western countries that seem to him to speak a double language: ‘Why are the disciples of Bin Laden called terrorists and those who kill children called rebels?’. ‘It’s a mistake, he says, affirming that the Russians are ‘sincere champions’ of international cooperation in the struggle against terrorism”. “The anguish of a faithful Muslim”: that’s the title of an article published by the Herald Tribune (8/9), in which Nassrine Azimi tells his story as a Muslim son of tolerant and open Muslims, faithful to the Koran, ready to “integrate themselves” in Western society and inimical to any form of extremism. “Who are those who perpetrated the tragedy of Beslan in the name of Islam and where are the politicians and commentators who condemn, unequivocally, their barbarism?” is the question posed by the author of the article, who declares: “ Muslims have already spent too much time accusing others for their own misfortunes. Justified or not, it’s time to stop”: just in the name of the “dead children of Beslan and the intolerable suffering of their parents”. There are numerous comments in the German press on the tragedy of Beslan. In the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung ( Faz), Thomas Schmid (5/9) writes: “ Ever since the time of Yeltsin, Moscow has pursued a hardline policy of violence against its neighbouring Chechen people. With one brief exception, it has never made the least attempt to win over the country with offers, with compromises, with aid. The other aspect of this policy of pure repression is a form of terrorism that has nothing to do with the struggle for freedom and that deliberately aims at killing en masse”. In the Süddeutsche Zeitung (7/9), Frank Nienhuysen observes: “ Reason has difficulty in supporting the immeasurable brutality of the terrorists. That’s why feelings of vengeance on the part of the families of the victims and of the entire nation are understandable. But amid the wave of emotions one can already feel a great anger against a contradictory information policy that recalls the old days of the Soviet Union. So it’s essential that Russia rapidly achieves transparency: otherwise Putin risks losing control“. “ Now there are two dominators: Putin rules Russia, but Basaiev is the lord of fear“, observes the Russian writer Viktor Jerofejew in the Faz (8/9). “ At Beslan something happened that the Islamic leader Basaiev had never been able to achieve. Finally his message reached Russia. For the first time, Russia listened to it […] Now everyone has understood that this isn’t the end, it’s only the beginning: the beginning of a new war […] the massacre of children is not a coded request for peace talks: it’s the demonstration of a power that does not know the meaning of remorse”. In its cover story the weekly Der Spiegel (6/9) declares: “ A chaotic action of liberation has given rise to the brutal beginning of a new era of international terrorism: the war against children and schools. The most barbarous terrorist attack since 11 September 2001 demonstrates that it is the Islamists who are leading the Chechen rebellion against Moscow“. The tragedy in the Caucasus also dominates the front pages in the Spanish press. “Russia will launch pre-emptive strikes against terrorists in any country” is the headline in El Periódico (9/9) in which Dimitri Polikarpov notes that “the Kremlin is offering a million-dollar ransom for the capture of Bassaiev and Maskhadov”. “Putin will launch pre-emptive attacks against terror throughout the world” is the headline in La Razón (9/9) which comments that “Russia is joining the campaign against international terrorism launched by President George W. Bush” and reveals that “Russia has decided to co-operate with NATO”. The daily ABC (8/9) gives coverage to the Spanish desire to align itself internationally in the fight against terrorism: “Democratic alliance against international terrorism” is the proposal of the Spanish Minister of the Interior, José Antonio Alonso. In his view, “the struggle against terrorism is the absolute priority in Spain, but we also need not to yield to the blackmail of terrorists”.———————————————————————————————————– Sir Europa (English) N.ro assoluto : 1322 N.ro relativo : 62 Data pubblicazione : 11/09/04
