Killing of rebel leader 'a victory for Putin'
Chechen rebel leader Aslan Maskhadov’s killing represents a rare propaganda victory for President Vladimir Putin and his hard-line approach to battling separatists.
However, it is unlikely to bring a quick end to Russia’s bloody war in Chechnya, now in its sixth year and spreading unrest throughout the south.
Russia’s Federal Security Service chief announced yesterday that Maskhadov had been killed in a special operation in northern Chechnya, where he was found in a concrete bunker underneath a house.
Russian television stations broadcast footage of a shirtless, grey-bearded corpse who resembled the 53-year-old Maskhadov, and the rebel leader’s envoy in London, Akhmed Zakayev, confirmed the news.
Maskhadov’s death came amid an upsurge in clashes between Islamic militants and federal forces in practically every republic in Russia’s Caucasus Mountains region. While the skirmishes may not be directly tied to the Chechen conflict, Russian abuses in Chechnya have certainly fuelled what many experts see as a growing chain of insurgencies growing out of the poverty and corruption that grip the region.
For the Kremlin, Maskhadov was terrorist enemy No. 2, having lost influence to radical Islamic rebels in recent years. He was overshadowed by feared Wahhabi warlord Shamil Basayev – who has taken responsibility for horrific terror attacks that have shaken Russia, from the seizure of a Moscow theatre in 2002 to the Beslan school seizure last September – and was regarded as a comparative moderate and secularist among the separatists.
But from a public relations point of view, Maskhadov was always seen as a dangerous foe for Putin.
His was the most prominent rebel voice for negotiations to end the Chechen fighting – a stand Putin has consistently rejected – and he retained respect in some Western circles pressing Moscow to conclude peace with the militants.
In a interview with Radio Liberty last week, Maskhadov said a “30-minute, fair, face-to-face dialogue” with Putin would be sufficient to end the war.
“In my opinion, for this dialogue to begin, it would be enough to reach agreement on the following issues: guaranteeing the security of the Chechen people and protecting Russia’s regional and defence interests in the North Caucasus,” Maskhadov wrote. “If we are able to open the eyes of our opponents, the Russian leaders, peace can be established.”
His foreign envoys have skilfully cultivated foreign political support and chalked up some notable successes in recent months, including bringing a prominent Russian peace organisation, the Union of Committees of Soldiers’ Mothers, to London for talks over Russia’s furious objections.
Another fruit of their efforts: the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe is due in two weeks to host a roundtable on Chechnya – bringing representatives of various sides in the conflict together in Strasbourg, France, in a meeting some European peace advocates see as a first step toward negotiations on ending the war.
Maskhadov himself had made a well-publicised announcement of a unilateral cease-fire last month, appearing to position himself on the side of those who seek peace in Chechnya and putting Kremlin officials under renewed pressure to open the way for talks.
“With his death, the possibility of a negotiating partner, which he tried to be, would be diminished,” said Aaron Rhodes, executive director of the International Helsinki Federation.
