Replies

Oh wait. The Germans are doing the dirty work today:

German government says political solution urgent in
Chechnya
NATIONAL » :: Oct 26, 2002 Posted: 19:06 Moscow time (15:06 GMT)

BERLIN - The German government on Saturday
expressed relief over the ending of the hostage
crisis at a Moscow theater, and the country's
foreign minister said a "political solution" to the
war in Chechnya was more urgent than ever.

"The hostage-taking in Moscow once again shows that terrorism is justified by
nothing and that the threat it poses to our societies cannot be accepted," Chancellor
Gerhard Schroeder said in a statement after Russian special forces stormed the
theater.

More than 700 captives were freed, but Russian authorities said 67 hostages died in
the crisis, which began Wednesday. Among those freed were two Germans, who were
receiving treatment in a Moscow hospital, according to the Foreign Ministry in Berlin.

Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said the German government was "dismayed that,
once again, many innocent people have become the victims of international
terrorism."

"The (German) government has long pushed for a peaceful solution to the conflict in
Chechnya," he added in a statement. "A political solution is needed more urgently
than ever." /The Associated Press/

Foreigners freed in Moscow hostage crisis with no fatalities
NATIONAL » :: Oct 26, 2002 Posted: 18:04 Moscow time (14:04 GMT)

MOSCOW - The hostage-taking crisis at a Moscow
theater ended Saturday with scores of captives
killed, but the death toll included none of the 67
foreigners who were watching a musical when
gunmen took the audience captive. Special forces
stormed the theater before dawn Saturday, killing their leader and dozens of other
gunmen and freeing more than 700 captives.

Sixty-seven hostages died in the crisis, Deputy Interior Minister Vladimir Vasilyev
said. He said there were no children among the dead, and diplomats based in
Moscow said none of the approximately 75 foreigners was killed. U.S. Ambassador
Alexander Vershbow said there were four Americans - three citizens and one
green-card holder, or permanent resident - in the audience when the Chechen
gunmen raided the theater during Wednesday night's performance of the musical
Nord-Ost.

He said he regretted the loss of life, but praised Russia's handling of the crisis. "We
congratulate the Russian authorities for the completion of the operations and for
their success in limiting the loss of innocent life," Vershbow said at a news briefing.
"As far as the American hostages are concerned, we sent consular official to all the
hospitals where hostages were taken," he said. "We are in the process of
establishing their welfare and whereabouts and providing for them to receive medical
care at the U.S. Embassy if they wish."

He did not name the Americans. Two British hostages were among those freed, and
were safe, the British Foreign Office said in London. They were identified in the British
media as Richard Low, a 20-year-old Oxford University student, and his mother
Sidica Low. Low's father, Richard, was released by the hostage-takers on Thursday
after apparently falling ill.

The foreign hostages also included Dutch, Australians, Canadians, Austrians and
Germans as well as citizens of the former Soviet republics of Belarus, Ukraine,
Azerbaijan and Latvia. An Israeli woman concealed her citizenship from the captors
out of fear for her life. Valeria Lisyanskaya, 45, has been living in Israel for 10
years, the Interfax news agency reported. She was visiting her father and had gone
to the theater with Russian friends. The Israeli Embassy lost contact with her and was
seeking her whereabouts on Saturday.

Out of fear, Lisyanskaya hid her identity and had not been included in lists of foreign
hostages until the crisis ended, Interfax said. Two German hostages were being
treated in a Moscow hospital Saturday, and were reported in stable condition, a
Foreign Ministry spokesman in Berlin said. He did not identify them, citing privacy
concerns.

Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel said on Saturday that the Austrian hostage,
Russian-born Emilia Predowa-Usunow, was in good health. Russian Foreign Ministry
spokesman Boris Malakhov told the ITAR-Tass news agency that none of the foreign
hostages freed Saturday had been hurt, but that all of them had been taken to
various hospitals for medical checkups. /The Associated Press/

Hot Topics:
Hostage Crisis »