Posted on 08/28/2005 11:34:36 AM PDT by Lukasz
It became known yesterday that Ichkerian President Abdul-Khalim Saidulaev has formed anew cabinet of ministers. The main sensation is that Shamil Basaev and Movladi Udugov as first deputy prime minister and minister of information and the press, respectively, after being dismissed from those posts by former president Aslan Maskhadov. The new Ichkerian administration intends to change both its domestic and foreign policies. Maskhadov's foreign minister, Ilyas Akhmadov, whom followers of Basaev criticized for his support of the idea of “limited sovereignty,” has lost his post. The last administration, formed by Maskhadov, who was killed on March 8, was dissolved by new Ichkerian leader Saidulaev on August 4, 2005. Saidulaev said that it was necessary to “reform the system of executive power in conditions of war. All of the representatives abroad under Maskhadov were dismissed as well. Former general representative of the Ichkerian president Umar Khanbiev told Kommersant that the decision of the new president “does not been a rejection of Maskhadov's course.” He added that it is only the technical replacement of “those who lost touch with Chechnya long ago” and therefore “are not well enough aware of the situation.”
The new personnel appointments in the Ichkerian leadership show quite the opposite, however. The structure of the cabinet was changed by Maskhadov “according to the demands of wartime” in June 2004, and the military situation remains practically unchanged since then. At that time, he reduced his cabinet of 60 (that was the number of officials in the field who, besides their own ministries, headed a variety of committees, commissions and agencies and had the status of members of the Government of Ichkeria) to 12 ministers. In particular, the post of deputy prime minister was eliminated in the reorganization. Ichkerian officials at the time called it the optimal administration for conditions of war.
The main sensation in the latest reorganization is that Shamil Basaev and Movladi Udugov have returned as first deputy prime minister and minister of information and the press, respectively. The occupied those posts in pre-war times and were dismissed from them even before the beginning of the second Chechen War. Basaev declared himself an independent mojahed and gave up his post as the commander of the central front after Maskhadov promised to “take care of him for Nord Ost.” Udugov headed the information committee of the Ministry of Culture, Information and the Press, which was headed by Akhmed Zakaev. Zakaev, who was the main voice of the Ichkerian Republic under Maskhadov, will now be concerned exclusively with culture, but as a deputy prime minister. He and the other members of the administration are forbidden to “make official or political statements in the name of the president or government.”
The personnel changes in the new administration touch on foreign policy as well. Akhmadov, the ever-present foreign minister under Maskhadov, was dismissed. He had been criticized by supporters of Basaev for his inclination toward compromise in the normalization of the Chechen conflict. Akhmadov had pushed for “limited sovereignty,” under which Ichkeria would have given up demands for full separation from Russia. Akhmadov told Kommersant that Maskhadov agreed with that plan. “He was a realist and always said that he was ready to enter into negotiations without preliminary conditions, because he considered the main thing to be guaranteeing the safety of the people,” he said.
Ichkerian officials still do not exclude the possibility of negotiations completely. “If the situation arises, a representative will be appointed immediately for negotiation contacts,” said former presidential general representative Khanbiev, who remains minister of health in the Ichkerian administration.
Official representatives of Grozny exclude any possibility of negotiations with rebel leaders. “There can simply be no negotiations with anybody. There is no place for them on the territory of Chechnya or Russia,” Ziyad Sabsabi, chief Chechen representative in Moscow said yesterday.
It would be all what we need to know about new Chechen goverment...
Yes, he is.
I think it is time to "hit" him if he comes into public life. A terrorist is a terrorist no matter what or where he is- in public or in hiding and so he should be destroyed before another Beslan happens in the name of Jihad.
I think that Kremlin doesn’t really want to catch him. From my observations they prefer to have a mythological enemy instead of kill that bastard.
Yes, and by killing Maskhadov they got what was expected.
Exactly, funny how easily they killed Maskhadov when they decided to do so while Basaev is still free despite that he married some unknown women somewhere in Russia.
and what else you expected? Everything is correct according to their plans.
The "government" is in exile with both us and the British giving assylum to various "ministers". What's interesting is this is actually a demotion for Basyov, who was Prime Minister under Mashkodov and was the man who launched two invasions of the neighboring province of Daghistan and thus sparked the second war.
Yeah, it only took four years, very easily. God, but you sound just like our leftists and the French on the issue of Bin Ladin. Reading down the posts, I was wondering how long it would take you to start the negative slant, not long.
Folks--before starting another useless brawl, let's remember a simple thing. Those who take kids as hostages in Beslan or Moscow Theatre are terrorists. Those who blew up airlines with passangers on board are terrorists. I don't care how noble or ignoble their goals are--if you deliberately attack innocent people you no longer a rebel or insurgent--you are terrorist.
Definitely, Basayev and other Chechen warlords terror is no excuse for despicable behavior of various Russian Federal/pro-Federal units (like that of Kadyrov or Yamadaev). When citizens of Chechnya are arbitrarily kidpanned and either murdered or released for ransom to their relatives often physically harmed, that means the lines between terrorists and legitimate authorities has been blurred. But terror is a terror and there can't be no excuse for this.
I’m sorry for you if you don’t see the difference between rich Bin Laden chief of Al Quaida and dirty Chechen Basaev. Basaev is moving around the North Caucasus and Russia like a king but Kremlin is unable to catch him!
And what, Bin Laden is living in a palace? Have you ever seen the Caucus Mountains? Considering he crosses into Pankisy at will, you could drop the Mongol Horde into Pankisy and never see them.
Bin Laden may be everywhere and Basaev sitting all the time in Chechen neighborhood.
Yeah, the terrorist butcher and child-murderer Basayev is in the Chechen "government".
At the same time, the Kosovo "government" is infested with KLA terrorist butchers!!!!
You arm-chair strategists/conspiracy theorists never fail to amaze me. Sure, the Russian government really wants Basaev to roam free able to strike at will (/SARCASM). Explain to me, oh great theorist, exactly why the Russians, who are worried about factionalism in the rest of the Russian Federation (Tatarstan, Kalmykia, Buryatia,etc.) would want to be seen as inept and unable to quash a mutinous republic? This sort of "logic" boggles the mind.
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