Kavkaz Center, Turkey
July 31 2004
Jack-of-all-trades
In March 2004 some «Timur Aliyev’s Institute of Social Development»
announced the so-called ‘War Prize’ action, whose results was
supposed to be some kind of an ‘anti-award’ to a politician or social
activist of Russian Federation and Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, who
made the ‘largest contribution’ to the cause of starting and
unfolding of the Russian-Chechen war (1994-2004). The organizers of
the action stated that this ‘peacemaking project’ was «aimed at
getting the international and Russian community involved `at a new
angle’ in viewing the war operations that have been going on in
Chechnya for the past 10 years».
The ‘War Prize’ was founded by the interregional organization
mentioned above under the leadership of journalist Timur Aliyev with
active assistance and informational support of Council of
Non-Governmental Organizations (CNGO) of the Chechen Republic, Center
of Extreme Journalism (CEJ) under the Union of Journalists of the
Russian Federation, The Prague Watchdog information agency, and
newspapers Chechen Community and Voice of Chechen Republic.
They say that the organizational committee of the contest (which had
two stages) has received 216 proposals on candidacies of possible
culprits in unleashing and provoking the Russian-Chechen war. The
following contenders were named at the competition for the ‘War
Prize’: from the Russian side – Boris Yeltsin, Vladimir Putin,
Vladimir Zhirinovsky, Pavel Grachev, Sergei Shakhrai, Sergei
Yastrzhembsky, Mikhail Leontiev, Yuri Budanov and others; from the
Chechen side – Dzhokhar Dudayev, Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev, Aslan
Maskhadov, Shamil Basayev, Ruslan Khasbulatov, Akhmad Kadyrov, Dokku
Zavgayev and others.
After the final selection of candidates, which was done in June 2004
by the jury consisting of 5 members (representatives of Russia,
Chechnya, the Caucasus and the US), the following ‘winners’ of the
contest were announced:
-from Russia:
1. Ex-President Boris Yeltsin,
2. journalist Mikhail Leontiev,
3. President Vladimir Putin,
-from Chechnya:
1. First President of Chechen Republic of Ichkeria Dzhokhar Dudayev
(posthumously),
2. former «head of the Chechen Republic» Akhmad Kadyrov
(posthumously),
3. Military Commander (Amir) Shamil Basayev.
Thus, according to the stated mission of the ‘War Prize’, former
President of the Russian Federation Boris Yeltsin and First President
of CRI Dzhokhar Dudayev «were recognized as the persons who made the
`largest contribution’ into the start and unfolding of the war in
Chechnya (1994-2004)».
Columnist from PRIMA news agency Alexander Podrabinek called the ‘War
Prize’ award ceremony, organized by Timur Aliyev’s half-mythical
organization in the middle of the Second Russian-Chechen war, as
‘wartime buffoonery’ and stated that «Russia, and its politicians and
military first of all, is fully responsible for the bloodshed in
Chechnya» (07-07-2004).
The entire paradox of this really strange action under the auspices
of Chechen human rights organizations is that the ‘golden prize
winner’ from the Chechen side, President of CRI Jokhar Dudayev, has
nothing to do with the second war, because he fell with the death of
the brave in the end of the first war. But the ‘silver prize winner’
of the contest, Akhmad Kadyrov, one of the main culprits of the
unleashing and unfolding of the second war, had nothing to do with
the Chechen people, because that national traitor was fervently
defending the interests of Russian statehood in Chechnya (this is why
he should have been included in the Russian ‘team’, and not in the
Chechen ‘team’).
On the top of all that, these are the ‘Chechens’, who are just as
famous but who were left out of the contest conducted by new Chechen
human rights activists and journalists: Umar Avtorkhanov, Salambek
Hajiyev, Ruslan Labazanov (culprits of the first war), Malik
Saidulayev, Yakub Deniyev-Arsanov, the Yamadayev brothers (culprits
of the second war), and Beslan Gantamirov, who had a hand and a leg
in unleashing and further development of both Russian-Chechen wars.
Quoting the words of journalist Alexander Podrabinek, what kind of
artful ‘objectivity’ one needs to have to put Shaheed/Martyr Dzhokhar
Dudayev and Amir Shamil Basayev «in the same ranks with such paltry
persons as Putin, Leontiev or Kadyrov!»
It is even no wonder that the organizers of that shameless action
came up with these kinds of results, since three out of five members
of the jury (the majority) were biased and belonged to interested
parties: one was right from Russia (head of Center of Extreme
Journalism Oleg Panfilov from the Union of Journalists), another one
was from pro-Russian Chechnya (historian and political analyst
Edilbek Hasmagomadov), and the third member of the jury was from
Armenia, the country which is Russia’s strategic ally in the Caucasus
(political analyst of Noyan Tapan information agency David
Petrosian).
Now concerning the main thing on this subject. As it was said in the
very beginning of this narration, the ‘War Prize’ action was
organized by some Institute of Social Development, headed by Timur
Aliyev, who was assisted by Council of Non-Governmental Organizations
(Chechnya), Center of Extreme Journalism (under the Union of
Journalists of the Russian Federation), The Prague Watchdog
information agency and newspapers Chechen Community and Voice of
Chechen Republic. But hardly anybody knows that the key player in all
of these organizations and editions, who had direct influence on the
results of the contest, is the same person – Tamerlan Aliyev (Timur
Aliyev), who considers himself to be a journalist and a human rights
activist. Let me bring up some specific facts.
First, the so-called «Institute of Social Development under Timur
Aliyev» is a part of the Council of Non-Governmental Organizations of
the Chechen Republic (he is trying to avoid the official name of the
state – Ichkeria). On September 15, 2003 Council of Non-Governmental
Organizations (CNGO, a total of 44 organizations including Institute
of Social Development) made a sensational statement (also published
by Kavkaz Center, 09-15-2003). That statement deviated from its
address to the international community, which CNGO made only a week
before that (September 7). The address was about the ‘UN blacklist’,
to which Russia proposed to add a number of leaders of the Chechen
Resistance Movement (like Ex-President Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev and
Commander Shamil Basayev).
This edited version of the address by Chechen Non-Governmental
Organizations was strongly criticized by Ex-President of CRI
Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev. He immediately made a statement (Daymohk
information agency, 09-22-2003), where he quite justly called this
substitution as «inadmissible deviation from the civil and patriotic
position» by CNGO chairmanship expressed in their address on
September 7, 2003. This is the quote from Mr. Yandarbiyev’s
statement:
«I consider it necessary to state that I strongly disagree with the
fact of separating my name and my fight from the name and the fight
of Shamil Basayev and other great patriots of the Chechen Nation who
have taken up arms to defend our Freedom and our Independence, and I
demand that Chechen Non-Governmental Organizations, who signed their
receding statement on 09-15-03, cross my name out of their political
opus, for I do not imagine myself or my activities isolated from the
entire Resistance or from the entire complex of methods that Chechens
have to resort to in the unequal battle, once they were betrayed by
the so-called international community headed by the UN, while
resisting the man-hating genocidal policies of the criminal Russian
state».
«And please don’t forget that the cause of Freedom and Independence
of the Chechen Nation, objective course of our fight and its
implementation do not depend on whether the international community
understands it or not, but it is the vital cause of the entire
Chechen Nation and it is prescribed to us by the Almighty Creator of
all worlds as difficult yet enviable destiny, and He is the One who
set the price for it and the day of celebration, which we must strive
after steadfastly and with no cowardly complexes like the mentioned
statement by Non-Governmental Chechen Organizations dated 09-15-03».
Second, Tamerlan Aliyev is an expert from the Center of Extreme
Journalism (CEJ) under the Union of Journalists of the Russian
Federation. And under the auspices of this Center he prepares a
special report in December 2002. The report was called «Press of the
Chechen Republic», which is now placed on the Chechen.org website
(see section ‘Topical’, subsection `Press of Chechnya’). In his
special report this ‘extreme journalist’ divided all mass media of
Chechen Republic of Ichkeria into 4 groups: ‘governmental’
(pro-Russian), ‘non-governmental’ (independent), ‘Separatist’
(Ichkerian), and other media (based outside of the Republic). At the
same time, among the ‘separatist media’ (under the control of CRI
Government headed by President Aslan Maskhadov) the author singled
out the so-called «newspapers of Wahabist trend» (Banner of Jihad,
Way of Jihad), which are published underground and express the
«interests of some leaders of Ichkeria».
Third, journalist Timur Aliyev is an employee of The Prague Watchdog
information agency (Czech Republic). For example, only in the year
2004 the following articles written by that ‘extreme journalist’ for
that Czech information agency exclusively were published on the
website of The Caucasus Herald (kvestnik.org): «Attorney Abdullah
Hamzayev awarded the Peace Prize’ (03-12-2004), `Fliers with
Obituaries in Memory of Yandarbiyev Spread in Chechnya» (03-23-2004).
Fourth, Tamerlan Aliyev is the editor-in-chief of independent (as it
calls itself) social and political newspaper ‘Chechen Community’,
founded by Timur Aliyev’s Institute of Social Development mentioned
above. I.e., the editor-in-chief and the founder is the same person
(‘Chechen Community’ newspaper is registered with the Ministry of
Press, TV and Radio Broadcasting of the Russian Federation in
occupied Chechnya, Certificate No. 21-0088, issued November 5, 2003.
Registered at the address: 52, Mutaliyev Street, Nazran, Ingushetia).
When I was preparing this article, I got a hold of one of the recent
issues of that newspaper: No. 14 (28) dated July 6, 2004. The front
page of that newspaper had the material on the results of Aliyev’s
contest: «Yeltsin and Dudayev Recognized as Winners of ‘War Prize’»,
and the third page had an article by member of the jury of that
contest, Edilbek Hasmagomadov – `Civil Society in Chechnya’ (with a
photo of that «Chechen historian and political analyst» attached).
Fifth, articles by journalist Timur Aliyev get published on the pages
of the Voice of Chechen Republic newspaper on a regular basis
(editor-in-chief Satsita Isayeva). This newspaper also published the
article «Yeltsin and Dudayev Recognized as Winners of ‘War Prize’» on
its front page (issue No. 13, July 2004).
On the top of all that, journalist Tamerlan (AKA Timur) Aliyev
cooperates with the information service of British Institute for War
and Peace Reporting (IWPR) and his materials get published in the
English version of The Moscow Times. He is also a freelance reporter
for Russian newspapers ‘Russky Kurier’ (‘Russian Currier’) and
‘Moskovsky Komsomolets’ («Moscow Communist Youth League Member» –
this is what that newspaper is literally called). His materials are
also published by ‘Kavkazsky Uzel’ (‘The Caucasus Junction’), which
also provided its informational and moral support to the ‘War Prize’
action.
So, there is no doubt that the so-called Institute of Social
Development of Timur Aliyev (who is also a member of Non-Governmental
Organizations (CNGO) of Chechen Republic [without the word
‘Ichkeria’] and the founder of the ‘War Prize’), as well as Center of
Extreme Journalism (CEJ) (Russia), The Prague Watchdog (Czech
Republic) and newspapers Chechen Community and Voice of Chechen
Republic, who assisted Institute of Social Development in conducting
this bogus contest, had at least 3 votes (ethnic Russian, Russianized
Chechen and pro-Russian Armenian) out of 5 votes of members of the
jury, and from the very beginning plotted a usual dirty provocation
in the attempt to discredit the First Chechen President Dzhokhar
Dudayev (posthumously) and one of the Leaders of the Chechen
Resistance Commander Shamil Basayev (inter vivos).
In this particular case, ‘extreme journalist’ Timur Aliyev, — that
‘wartime buffoon’, who appeared as the official slanderer of heroes
of the Chechen nation, who attached himself to this nation, and who
is an employee on staff and a freelancer of all of the ‘human rights
organizations’ and ‘information editions’ listed above, may also be
(or almost is for sure) an employee on staff and a freelancer of
other ‘authoritative agencies’ that usually hide behind three-letter
abbreviations (FSB/KGB). It seems to me that the author of the
‘peacemaking project’ and the ‘War Prize’ even went overboard in his
desire to become a ‘jack-of-all-trades’.
Vizirkhan Mahmadov, citizen of CRI.
For Kavkaz-Center news and information agency