INITIATING GROUP "COMMON ACTION"

STOP THE ESCALATION OF WAR IN THE NORTH CAUCASUS!

Appeal of the initiating group "Common Action"

The absence of constructive and stable politics by Russian authorities towards Chechnya has not given the opportunity for the creation of political mechanisms for the peaceful regulation of crises. The August-September military actions in Dagestan and terrorist acts, which took place in Russian cities, have become the detonator of a new war in the North Caucasus. Attacks on bases of armed extremists served as the cause for the mass bombings of civilian objects and densely populated regions of Chechnya. In the North Caucasus, a humanitarian catastrophe is developing--a huge stream of displaced people from ruined Chechnya is filling Ingushetia. It should be stressed that this is happening on the eve of winter.

We insist on the immediate creation of adequate conditions, which will allow the reception of refugees escaping from Chechnya because of the bombing!

We are convinced that the fight against terrorists must be conducted exclusively by highly qualified specialists. The tactics of destroying Chechnya through bombing is leading to a significant number of victims among the peaceful population; people of different nationalities, including Russians. This will literally add thousands and thousands of new fighters in Chechnya to the ranks of the terrorists. The mass invasion of Chechnya will again force the Russian Command to use rank and file solders, hardly trained, which will bring about huge losses. The new war will be long lasting and bloody, and it is clear that it will not be confined to Chechen territory.

Taking into account all the above mentioned, we appeal to the President of Russian Federation and the Government of the Russian Federation to stop the escalation of war, to stop the bombing of any objects located in inhabited areas of Chechnya. We call for immediate negotiations with the legitimate Chechen authorities on the basis of the agreement on the political regulation of the conflict "On the Principles of Peaceful Joint Relations" signed by Presidents Yeltsin and Maskhadov in Moscow 12.05.97, taking into account that the President of Ichkeria Aslan Maskhadov has condemned terrorist actions and expressed condolence to the victims of the terror.

30.09.99.
Lyudmila Mikhailovna Alekseeeva, Moscow Helsinki Group;
Vyacheslav Ivanovich Bakhmin, Moscow Helsinki Group;
Larisa Iosivna Bogoraz, Human Rights Activist;
Valeriy Vasilievich Borshev, Deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation;
Public Committee on Human Rights;
Lyudmila Vsevolodovna Vakhnina, Human Right Centre "Memorial";
Svetlana Alekseevna Gannushkina, organization "Civic assistance";
Sergey Ivanovich Grigoriants, Public Fund "Glasnost'';
Elena Leonidovna Grishina, Information Centre of the Human Rights Movement;
Piotr Feliksovich Kaznacheev, Russian Public Movement, Anti-Facist Youth Action;
Tatiana Ivanovna Kasatkina, Human Rights Centre "Memorial";
Victoria Vasilevna Malikova, Moscow Helsinki Group;
Malva Noevna Landa, Human Rights Activist;
Karina Akapovna Maskalenko, Centre for International Defense;
Lev Semenovich Levinson, Responsible Secretary of the Public Palace;
Rustam Ramzievich Maksudov, Public Centre "Legislative Reform";
Vladimir Naumovich Oivin, Human Rights Activist;
Oleg Petrovich Orlov, Human Rights Centre "Memorial";
Lev Aleksandrovich Ponomarev, Movement "For People's Rights";
"Hot Line"";
Yurij Vadimovich Saamodurov, A.Sakharov Museum and Centre;
Marina Evgenievna Salie, "Free Democrats of Russia";
Sergey Egorovich Sorokin, "Movement Against Violence"; Coordinator of "Common Action";
Gleb Pavlovich Yakunin, Committee for the Defense of Freedom of Conscience

WOMEN IN BLACK

Women In Black New York stand in silent vigil to protest war, rape as a tool of war, ethnic cleansing and human rights abuses all over the world. We are silent because mere words cannot express the tragedy that wars and hatred bring. We refuse to add to the cacophony of empty statements that are spoken with the best intentions yet may be erased or go unheard under the sound of a passing ambulance or a bomb exploding nearby.

Our silence is visible. We invite women to stand with us, reflect about themselves and women who have been raped, tortured or killed in concentration camps, women who have disappeared, whose loved ones have disappeared or have been killed, whose homes have been demolished. We wear black as a symbol to mourn for all victims of war, to mourn the destruction of people, nature and the fabric of life.

Women in Black is an international peace network. Women in Black is not an organization, but a means of mobilization and a formula for action. Women in Black vigils were started in Israel in 1988 by women protesting against Israel³s Occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. Women in Black has developed in the Italy, Spain, United States, England, Azerbaijan and in FR Yugoslavia, where women in Belgrade have stood in weekly vigils since 1991 to protest war and the Serbian regime³s policies of nationalist aggression. Women in Black New York have been standing in solidarity with the women of Belgrade since 1993.

We stand in silent vigil in front of the New York Public Library at 5th Avenue and 41st Street the last Wednesday of every month from 5:30 Õ 6:30. Come join us.

For information, please visit our website at http://balkansnet.org/women
Tel: Indira at 212 560-0905.
E-mail: 074182@newschool.edu to get on our mailing list.
Donations may be sent to P.O. Box 20554, New York, NY 10021, and should be made payable to RACCOON, Inc., with WIB in the memo line.
See also http://wib.matriz.net.