The time for reconciliation ” “has come” “

National mourning in Russia for the victims of the blitz in the Moscow theatre, while controversy continues to rage about the lack of official explanation of the type of gas used, that has so far caused the death of 119 persons. So far 418 hostages have been released from Moscow hospitals. But 265 still remain in hospital, and 16 of them are in a critical condition. All the victims, note the city’s health authorities, died due to inhaling the gas used to quell the terrorists, except for one hostage, killed by gunfire. Thousands have paid tribute to the victims, while crowds of family members of the survivors continue to stand forlornly outside the hospitals, and are prevented from seeing their loved ones. In unison with the Pope, prayers for the victims and for “peace and understanding in Russia” were recited in all the Catholic parishes in Russia on Sunday 27 October”. The archbishop’s appeal. An appeal to all Russian citizens to remain calm and avoid useless vendettas against “innocent brothers and sisters of different nationality and faith” has been made by Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz of Moscow, in a document issued by the information centre of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of the Russian Federation. “We appeal once again to our fellow citizens – writes the archbishop – to maintain serenity and moderation, not to give vent to their emotions and to avoid recrimination in their grief against innocent brothers and sisters of different nationality and faith”. “We are in the dark about everything”. “In this moment what we really need are the names of the victims and the names of the survivors and to know exactly where they are being treated”. The comment is made by Victor Khrul, director of the information centre of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of the Russian Federation. “The biggest problem now – he said – is that a lot of people still don’t know where their family members and friends are, or even whether they’re alive or dead. And if they’re alive, they don’t know in what hospital they’re being treated”. But how do people in Moscow evaluate the blitz of the special forces? “We are unable to form a view of the measures taken – replies Khrul – because so far we have no precise information to go on. We don’t know exactly what happened inside the theatre. All the details of the event have been shrouded in secrecy: we don’t know how the attack was provoked and carried out. We are completely in the dark”. The city is following the situation with “great sympathy and solidarity”. “No one feels safe any more”. “All I can say – concludes Khrul – is that there are Chechen people and Russian people who are suffering because of this situation, who are against the war and are exerting pressure on both sides to put an end to the conflict”. Rights denied. “The terrifying event of the taking of hostages is a terrible reminder of the unresolved situation of Chechnya” and “another example of the shocking lack of respect for human rights”: that’s the view of Irene Khan, general secretary of Amnesty International which has presented a report in recent days on cases of violations of human rights in Russia. Torture in police stations; cruel, inhumane and degrading conditions in prisons; racist violence against ethnic and religious minorities and foreign citizens; kidnappings, “disappearances” and torture – including rape – in Chechnya. Amnesty addresses its denunciation to the president of the Russian Federation, urging him not to “use the argument of the ‘war against terrorism’ to avoid tackling the question of justice denied, which regards all sectors of Russian society”. According to Antonio Vitorino, European Commissioner for justice and internal affairs, on the other hand, “the first lesson we must draw from the latest tragic events in Moscow is that terrorism has everyone become a global threat. Throughout the world innocent lives are being daily placed in peril by possible terrorist actions”.