Posted on 09/04/2004 1:16:00 AM PDT by Walkin Man
Russia's Putin Orders Crackdown After School Siege
Sept. 4, 2004 — By Richard Ayton and Oliver Bullough
BESLAN, Russia (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin ordered a crackdown in southern Russia after a school siege killed at least 250, and warned Chechen sympathizers on Saturday they would be seen as "accomplices of terrorism."
The Kremlin leader paid a lightning early morning visit to the traumatized North Ossetia region close to Chechnya where the two-day hostage drama at the school ended on Friday in bloody mayhem with Russian forces battling Chechen militants.
"One of the tasks pursued by the terrorists was to stoke ethnic hatred, blow up the whole of our North Caucasus," Putin told local security officials.
"Anyone who will feels sympathetic toward such provocations will be viewed as accomplices of terrorists and terrorism."
The hard words suggested Putin had no intention of backing down from his tough policies of crushing Chechnya's separatist rebellion to keep the mainly Muslim region within Russia, using tactics long criticized by human rights activists.
The storming of the school by Russian forces plunged the small town of Beslan into pandemonium. Troops and armed civilians advanced on the red brick building after explosions inside. Pupils, parents and teachers, many drenched in blood, were carried out on stretchers or in the arms of local men.
No definitive figure for the number of those killed -- many of whom were children -- was available on Saturday.
Interfax news agency quoted local health officials as saying at least 250 people were killed from what might turn out to be 1,200 or so children, parents and teachers taken hostage. Hundreds remained in hospital, 92 in serious condition.
Interfax quoted the regional interior ministry as saying most of the hostages held in the school gym died because of the explosions and the roof collapsing.
"There are still dozens of explosive devices there which prevent us removing the remaining dead bodies," a ministry spokesman said.
RIA Novosti quoted health authorities as saying 60 more bodies were pulled from the school's ruins on Saturday, 36 of them children.
Officials said 27 hostage-takers were killed and three taken alive.
"I saw about 25 corpses in the schoolyard, which were not there yesterday," a Reuters witness said. "About 18 were in body bags lying in two rows. Six or seven were just outside a school window without body bags, all men without shirts."
The bloody denouement at Middle School No. 1 in Beslan made the siege one of the world's worst such episodes.
Four out of the dozen or so mass hostage sieges in the past 30 years have been in Russia. All four have been linked to the Chechnya war and all ended in huge loss of life.
Putin brusquely slapped down officials who, during his visit to Beslan, sought to commend the security forces.
"As far as the special forces are concerned, this is a separate story. We will talk about it later. There are unfortunately many losses," he said, clearly angered by the bloody outcome that came after he went on national television and promised to do everything to keep hostages from harm.
Explosives and arms used by the gunmen were smuggled into the building well in advance, during summer building work on the school, Interfax quoted an unnamed regional security source as saying on Saturday.
BORDERS CLOSED
"I have ordered Beslan to be sealed off, Ossetia's borders to be closed and checks to be carried out to find all people linked to the terrorist act," Putin said in Beslan.
Some reports said a few of the gunmen may have escaped.
Western governments offered sympathy to Putin. But the European Union said in a statement it wanted an explanation from Russia "how this tragedy could have happened."
Freed hostages described the mayhem on Friday afternoon. "Bombs were strung all over the gym," one teenage girl told state television. "Tape came unstuck on one and it blew up."
"There were two big explosions," said a women in her forties. "We started pushing all the children out of the windows ... Everyone who was there started pushing them out."
Authorities said they had been forced to launch a rescue operation when the gunmen opened fire on fleeing children.
North Ossetia is the only predominantly Orthodox province in the otherwise mostly Muslim North Caucasus. But the whole region is a tinderbox of small national groups and any crackdown carries a risk of disrupting further a delicate ethnic balance.
Putin, easily re-elected to a second term in March, must now reassure Russians they are safe from the threat of separatists.
The near-simultaneous crash of two airplanes last week, in which 90 people died, was blamed on Chechen suicide bombers as was an explosion by a Moscow metro station which killed nine. (Additional reporting by Oleg Shchedrov)
"It is time for Russia to use USSR tactics. Like the hijacker who had a plane and demanded whatever, sitting on the tarmac. A box was delivered and inside was what was left of his brother.
No more hijackings. "
Source for this, please? If true, I approve!
I once heard a story [possible urban legend?]
of the USSR days where a Russian official got kidnapped.
The kidnappers made some demands or other. The next
day, the body of one of the kidnappers' comrade-in-arms
was dropped off by car outside of the place the kidnappers
were hiding. With his severed testicles in his mouth.
The kidnapping victim was released unharmed.
Anyone remember seeing anything similar, with sources?
The Seattle had a picture of the scene at the Russian school on the front page and under that article is smaller print was the headline about four memebers of the US Special Forces being charged with misstreating prisoners, one of whom died during interrogation. The juxtaposition was amazing, it left me wondering what the liberal editors were thinking.
[Horrible pictures deleted]
"In the name of Allah, the compassionate, the merciful..."
Camel-felchers.
You wrote:
"I like the part about Lincoln's suspension of Habeas Corpus and his putting congressmen in jail if they committed sedition."
And Lincoln was a Republican, too...</g>
If HALF of what the loony left said of Ashcroft were
true...
they'd already BE in concentration camps!
You wrote:
"I had an idiot on another board tell me that religous nuts were all the same. He fully expects to see a "christian" version of this here in the US.
I replied that the only time in modern US history when people of religous faith have been slaugthered was when Clinton via Janet Reno ordered Wesley Clark's tanks to advance on the Branch Davidians in Waco."
See
http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=8207
"Based on what we know of Rudolph so far, and admittedly it’s fragmentary, there seems to be a fairly high likelihood that he can legitimately be called a Christian terrorist," says Michael Barkun, described by Cooperman as "a professor of political science at Syracuse University who has been a consultant to the FBI on Christian extremist groups."
You wrote:
"...camel asses"
No, camel felchers.
You wrote:
'I doubt the "accidental" part.'
According to some of the rescued hostages, things
went south when some of the tape holding explosives
to the basketball net came loose, and one of the
explosive charges detonated.
Search various threads on Free Republic for more info.
Huh? The bloody Islamofascist psychos plunged the small town into pandemonium not the Russian forces! And Human Rights groups criticism of Russia is nothing but a pathetic bleating of misguided fools.
Know the enemy----
TERRORISM IN THE QUR'AN
Muhammad taught his followers to oppress or kill non-Muslims. Generally, Jews and Christians were allowed to live as such, provided they paid a special tax. This tax is Jizya, a tax revenue given to the Muslims to make up for revenues they lost from no longer dealing in pagan activities. If the Jews and Christians refused to pay this extortion tax they would have to convert to Islam or be killed. Non-Jews and non-Christians, such as idolaters or pagans, had to convert to Islam or be killed. Generally they didn't have the option of paying the tax. Here is the verse that teaches Muslims to oppress Jews and Christians:
"Fight those who do not believe in Allah, nor in the latter day, nor do they prohibit what Allah and His Apostle have prohibited, nor follow the religion of truth, (which is Islam that abolishes all other religions ) of the people of the Book, (meaning the Jews and the Christians ) until they pay the Jizya (the tax imposed upon them) with willing submission and feel themselves subdued . (with humiliation and submission to the government of Islam.) 9:29."
(Commentary in parenthesis is from the Tafsir Al-Jalalein. i.e., Al-Jalalein’s Interpretation of the Koran.)
The order to subjugate or kill Christians and Jews is in that verse. It is clear that Muhammad ordered his followers to fight those Christians and Jews to convert them or pay the Jizya, and if they didn't convert or pay, do you think that he told the followers to let them go in peace? It is very clear: convert, pay with submission, or die. The background for this is found in "The Life of Muhammad", op cit, page 620,
"until they [the Jews and Christians] pay the poll tax out of hand being humbled", i.e. as a compensation for what you fear to lose by the closing of the markets. God gave them compensation for what He cut off from them in their former polytheism by what He gave them by way of poll tax from the people of scripture."
Muhammad told his followers to attack the Jews and Christians. If they humble themselves and submit to the Muslims, but choose to remain Christian or Jewish, then they had to pay the Muslims. Again, as Muhammad's circumstances changed, Allah changed. Now Muhammad was an extortionist. Also note that the tax levied upon the Christians and Jews was not to support the state in general affairs, it was to compensate the Muslims. Muhammad was exactly like Mafia crime boss, making others pay for "protection," except it was Christians and Jews who really needed protection from the Muslims! Here is the verse in the Qur'an that teaches Muslims to attack and kill pagans:
"When the sacred months are over, slay the idolaters wherever you find them. Arrest them, besiege them, and lie in ambush everywhere for them. If they repent and take to prayer and render the alms levy, allow them to go their way. God is forgiving and merciful." Sura 9:5
The background for this verse is found in "The Life of Muhammad", op cit, page 617-619. Please note that my comments are in [ ] type brackets, and that it is a very long passage, so I have only quoted a portion of it:
http://www.moscowhelp.org
MISSION STATEMENT - BESLAN
Thanks for that. I just made my donation. Just don't know what else I can do.
You wrote:
"The Seattle had a picture of the scene at the Russian school on the front page and under that article is smaller print was the headline about four memebers of the US Special Forces being charged with misstreating prisoners, one of whom died during interrogation. The juxtaposition was amazing, it left me wondering what the liberal editors were thinking."
That's just it. They don't THINK, they emote. Anything
that advances the Socialist cause is GOOD. What are
you anyway, a reactionary?
Seriously, we need a photo/quote of John Kerry "in a fashion reminiscent of Genghis Khan" juxtaposed with
this atrocity. And a tagline "who are the REAL terrorists,
John?"
That was quite enough. The terrorists take their cues from the tome of lies.
Seriously? Do you mean this explicitly i.e. you've seen recent, specfic posts to that effect, or in more general terms that DUmmies in general hate good and embrace evil?
It happens because the weenies and whinies in several of the EUs largest member countries are too busy placating terrorists instead of killing them.
A background on the "usual suspects" involved is here http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1207097/posts
Thanks. Makes sense. Hot, humid, the tape came loose. I can't even imagine the kids there.
I have seen alot of posts here basically saying "Now Russia will see the error of not joining us in Iraq." and "Now Russia will join the Coalition."
In reality, Russia has been fighting Chechen Islamic terrorists for years, long before our own War on Terror. The Chechens did this same thing to a hospital in 1995, with over 100 dead. Shamil Basayev organized that attack also. Not sure which is worse, a hospital or a school, but the point is that it is not only the Russians who need to see the error of their ways, it is America. For years most of America has refused to recognized the Chechen terrorists for what they are, allies of Al-Queda. We have repeatedly condemned Russian attacks against terrorists in Chechnya.
Why should Russia have supported us in Iraq after we supported Islamic terror militarily in Kosovo and diplomatically in Chechnya?
Both Russia and the United States need to realize that all the Islamic jihads throughout the world are really all one struggle, one war. We need to let the Serbians anhiliate the terrorists in Kosovo, since we refuse to do it ourselves, and refrain from condemning whatever action the Russians take in Chechnya, no matter how harsh. They in turn need to stop complaining about our operations in Iraq and other places in the world. Only when the civilized world unites can Islam be defeated.
Easing relations is going to be difficult with Russians busy building a nuclear reactor for Iran.
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