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Without compassion or trust
13:11 | 22/07/2005
LONDON (Svetlana Babaeva, RIA Novosti) - Since the July 7 suicide bombings in London, people in Britain have been trying to make sense of the terrorist attacks, analyzing various aspects of them, as well as the history of terrorism. Unfortunately, Moscow was not mentioned.
The British police and security services worked very hard, and six days after the explosions named the suspects, including their names, addresses and life stories, and the opinions of their parents and neighbors. The progress of the investigation was reported daily, encouraging great respect for their professional effectiveness.
However, I have a few questions for politicians and my fellow journalists. Have they spent the past four years on some other planet? Do they not remember the search for British citizens among the victims of the 9/11 tragedy in the U.S.? Have they no regard for the tragedies of Moscow and Madrid, Afghanistan and Iraq?
It turned out that there are web sites with bomb-making instructions and explanations of how these bombs can be used "to the glory of the Allah." It turned out that there are many al-Qaida cells, and it came as a complete surprise that suicide bombers could be used in Europe, too. Britain was shocked by this, and presented the explosions in London as the first use of suicide bombers in Europe. Does this mean that Russia, which has suffered from suicide bombings too, is not a European nation?
Downing Street makes two statements a day about security measures, the background of the terrorist attacks, and progress made in the investigation. But it does not mention Moscow. Only once did Tony Blair mention Russia, alongside Saudi Arabia, Kenya and Tanzania. The British Ambassador to Moscow has thanked Russian citizens who expressed condolences to Londoners. But this happened in Moscow, while London does not remember that over 40 people died in a Moscow metro explosion during the rush hour in February 2004.
In the first days after the London explosions, the public almost unanimously refused to discuss the political aspects of the terrorist attacks, allegedly "as a mark of respect for the bomb victims." Some time later, the terrorist attacks were compared to the explosions in the U.S. and Spain and on Bali in Indonesia. But the innocent victims of the Moscow metro bombings were not mentioned, as if Russia has been crossed out of the list of countries where people die in terrorist attacks. Russia was not mentioned, because this would have made London not the first European capital hit by suicide bombers.
I address this question to politicians, in particular the human aspect of politics, however small it is in this pragmatic profession. It is possible to speak in negative terms about Zakayev, Berezovsky and other "political defectors" who have found refuge in London. It is possible to discuss the proof (or lack of it) provided by Moscow when it requested the extradition of these people. It is possible to talk about the political reasons for the authorities' refusal to grant the request, and compare the level of political independence of the Russian and British judicial systems. In view of the current trends in British public opinion, it is possible to read with a degree of understanding commentaries about events and tragedies in the Caucasus. But the explosions in the Moscow metro are quite another matter.
They were horribly like the blasts in the London Underground, but happened long before them, as a kind of an alarm signal. The people who died in the Moscow metro were not very different from the victims of the explosions at Russell Square and King's Cross. The British Embassy in Moscow inquired with great alarm about British subjects among the victims in Moscow, just as their Russian counterparts in London did on July 7.
I cannot explain why Moscow's tragedies have been forgotten. Many European capitals have a cautious attitude to Russia, but human tragedy, especially such as happened in Moscow and London, should not have political aspects. Politics as a pragmatic occupation can suggest many reasons for solidarity, though they may seem inhuman in this context: The Russian money working for the British economy, the number of Russian citizens visiting the country officially and privately every year, and the profits which the British economy plans to get from energy projects in Russia, despite criticism of Russia's democratic preferences.
But the main task on the agenda now, which is also important to Russia (though from a different angle), is to maintain tolerance without undermining security. How to guarantee the basic human rights to life, freedom of religion, the inviolability of private life, and freedom of movement without infringing on them?
Russia is facing the same task. Unfortunately, every country seems to be tackling this task independently, as political interests are again overshadowing the common threat. The "common struggle against the plague of the 21st century" is on the agenda of nearly every international meeting. But we still lack simple compassion for each other, without which we will have only a political semblance of honest partnership.
Svetlana Babaeva is head of RIA Novosti's London bureau. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of the editorial board.
http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20050722/409
July 23 2005, 06:00:48 UTC 6 years ago
"But we still lack simple compassion for each other, without which we will have only a political semblance of honest partnership."
I must admit I am confused by this statement though.
July 23 2005, 06:46:49 UTC 6 years ago
I think she is asking whether Russia's dealings with EU member nations are strictly business, an economic opportunity, or is Russia regarded as a true member of the European community?
That's my take, any way, and as a non-European I could be completely wrong.
July 23 2005, 09:57:28 UTC 6 years ago
It floors me when I think of how much of what is happening around the world is not considered newsworthy enough by the media powers-that-be for us to hear about.
Sometimes I learn more from my LJ friends than I do on the news.
July 23 2005, 10:58:09 UTC 6 years ago
Moscow metro blast kills 39
From CNN Moscow Bureau Chief Jill DoughertyFriday, February 6, 2004 Posted: 12:14 PM EST (1714 GMT)
MOSCOW, Russia (CNN) --A blast tore apart a train car in the Moscow metro Friday, killing at least 39 and wounding at least 129 others, the Russian deputy interior minister said. Prosecutors said they were treating the blast as a suspected suicide bombing and had opened a terrorism investigation.
The blast ripped apart the metro train car during morning rush hour as the train was traveling from Paveletskaya station to Avtozavodskaya station, southwest of the city center, around 8:40 a.m. (12:40 a.m. ET), Moscow's Vice Mayor Valery Shantsev said. "It (the train) moved 300 meters (from the metro station Avtozavodskay) when there was an explosion by the first door of the second carriage," he said. "The bomb was not packed with bullets but the blast damaged the metal parts of the carriage and blew out the windows. The third carriage was also damaged."
Russia's deputy interior minister, Alexander Chekalin said the bomb may have been placed in a briefcase or backpack. There may be surveillance video showing two "suspicious" people -- a man and a woman -- boarding the train with briefcases, Russia's Interfax News Agency reported, citing police sources. Putin condemned the blast, calling it terrorism.
"Only with the united efforts of the world community can we deal with this plague of this 21st century," Putin said, according to Interfax. The president said he would not exclude the possibility that terrorists were trying to pressure the Russian leadership ahead of March elections, and restated his position that the government would never negotiate with terrorists, Interfax reported.
In Grozny, Chechen separatist leader Aslan Maskhadov denied that Chechen rebels were behind the blast. U.S. President George W. Bush called Putin to offer American assistance if needed. Bush also condemned the attack "in the strongest terms," the White House said.
Bush offered "deepest condolences on behalf of the American people," White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan told reporters. The two presidents reiterated their desire to work closely together in the global war on terrorism, McClellan said.
Earlier, blood-covered witnesses told CNN's Anastasia Anashkina how they walked through the dark tunnel shortly after the explosion to the Paveletskaya station's exit. They said the powerful force of the blast shattered the windows of the connecting train cars.
"After the blast they couldn't open the doors for some time," said one woman who was in the second train car at the time of the blast. "Then the operator opened the doors and we walked for about two kilometers." Some 50 ambulances and firefighters were on the scene, the ministry spokesman said. The explosion caused a serious fire, and smoke filled the underground metro tunnel.
Russian emergency officials had been bracing for a possible terror attack ahead of the March 14 presidential election. Days after the December parliamentary elections, a female suicide bomber killed six people in central Moscow outside the National Hotel, near Red Square. Russian officials said the attacker wanted to send a political message by exploding a bomb at the center of the Russian government.
Moscow has also been the target of terror attacks blamed on sympathizers with the breakaway republic of Chechnya. A double suicide bombing at a Moscow rock concert in July 2003 killed the female attackers and 15 other people, and an explosive device a woman brought into central Moscow less than a week later killed an expert who tried to defuse it. Putin blamed Chechen terrorists for the suicide attack.
In October 2002, Chechen rebels raided a Moscow theater, taking hundreds hostage. A total of 129 people died in the 57-hour siege, after Russian security forces used a narcotic knock-out gas to subdue the Chechen hostage takers. Russian troops have fought a separatist movement for most of the past decade in Chechnya, which Putin has made a central issue in his presidential re-election campaign.
http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/europ