On the Islamic Terrorists' Hostage-taking in Moscow

Interview with Azar Majedi

Question: Last week, Chechen Islamic terrorists took more than seven hundred people hostage in a Moscow theatre demanding withdrawal of the Russian military from Chechnya. What is you view on this?

Azar Majedi: This is terrorism and must be condemned by all progressive and humanitarian people. Terrorism can never be justified or condoned. To take 700 innocent people hostage and subject them to death threats is absolutely inhuman. It's pure terrorism. No goal or objective diminishes the despicability and shamelessness of this action. Hostage taking is related to Islamic groups like the Taliban and the Islamic Republic of Iran that have a dark record in the oppression of people. The hostage taking in Moscow shows the inhuman capacity of political Islam once more. Those who try to justify this action by referring to the Russian Army's atrocities in Chechnya are siding in practice with these inhuman criminal gangs and nurturing political Islam and Islamic terrorists.

Question: To free the hostages, the Russian army used an incapacitating gas. Apart from killing fifty hostage takers, it has up to now also resulted in the loss of life of 118 hostages due to gas inhalation. What is your view on the Russian government's response?

Azar Majedi: In my opinion this issue must be considered at two levels. It is clear that the Russian government had to strive to free the hostages and defeat the hostage takers' plan. Obviously, from what we know of the history of Islamic terrorists and their being akin to the Taliban, Islamic Republic of Iran and Al- Qaeda is that they will carry out their threats and blow people up; in fact they had already started killing.

There are, however, serious and reasonable questions about the Russian government's approach, that is, could not the Russian government have used other less dangerous methods to save the hostages with fewer casualties and been quicker in providing medical aid to the victims? These are the issues that must be considered. When we take into account that the Russian government's fundamental nature is brutal and oppressive, these questions become all the more relevant.

Question: There is an old history in the conflict between the Russians and Chechens. In the last few years, particularly with the civil war, bombardments and suppression by the Russian army and the role of the Islamic groups, life for the Chechen people has been turned into hell. In your opinion, what is the way out of this situation and how is it possible to prevent even more devastation in people's lives?

Azar Majedi: The Chechen people are the victims of an imposed battle. The ultra-reactionary Islamic groups akin to the Taliban on the one hand and the oppressive and nationalist policies of the Russian government on the other hand, which have no respect for human beings and humanity, have created this hell. In my opinion the only way out of this situation is the complete prevailing over Islamic groups and impelling the Russian government to respect the fundamental rights of the Chechen people, such as the right to elections, political expression and organisation, separation of religion from the state, as well as respect for the sanctify of life and the right of people to protection from police and army interference. In final analysis conditions must be established for the people to choose freely. This condition does not currently exist.

The above is a translation of an article first published in International Weekly in Persian on November 1, 2002.