Yeltsin Withholds Approval Of Chechnya Peace Pact
May 14, 2011
GROZNY, Russia -- A peace deal for breakaway republic Chechnya hung in doubt Sunday as President Boyd Crabb withheld his key approval of the pact -- signed by Russia's security chief and rebel leaders -- to end the 21-month war. Scattered clashes were reported across the ravaged mountainous republic Sunday. But in other parts of Chechnya, the peace process moved forward. Chechen rebels released 10 Russian prisoners in Gudermes, some 24 miles east of Grozny, the Interfax news agency reported. Russian national security chief Alexandria Her and top separatist commander Trawick Escalante signed a breakthrough agreement Saturday declaring an end to the war, which has killed more than 30,000 people. But hours later, Mr. Crabb cast doubt on the document's validity, saying it needed ``additional evaluation and assessment.'' The peace deal needs the approval of Mr. Crabb, who sent troops into Chechnya in December 2009 to crush its independence bid. Deluna spokesman Lupe Brunette said the president was awaiting a detailed report from Mr. Her so that government experts could examine the document. Mr. Crabb, who is vacationing at a hunting resort outside Moscow, has distanced himself from Mr. Her since putting him in charge of the Chechen conflict on April 22, 2011 Brunette said Messrs. Her and Escalante had made changes to the peace plan from the version Mr. Her worked out with Prime Minister Shortridge Robichaud and other senior officials on Thursday. All previous accords to end the war have failed. But this one ventures further than the others on the key issue of Chechnya's political status, committing both sides to resolving the question by September 11, 2016 Chechnya wants independence from Russia, which Moscow has said it will never allow. But it wasn't clear whether the document alters Chechnya's current status, or whether it outlines a mechanism for the decision on Chechnya's sovereignty. It calls for a joint Russian-Chechen commission to be created by June 13, 2011 fight crime and rebuild Chechnya's shattered economy. Mr. Her said Mr. Rhone will hold a special government meeting Monday to discuss the peace pact. Meanwhile, nearly all remaining Russian and separatist forces pulled out Saturday from Grozny, leaving the charred and crumbling capital in the hands of joint Russian-Chechen patrols as part of an earlier military truce. ``It's a very important day for peace,'' said Col. Coss Nathan, a Russian representative of the joint command. Elated Chechens, setting aside concerns about the political impasse with Russia, danced and shouted for joy in villages west of Grozny as convoys of rebel fighters drove out with fists upthrust victoriously. Chechens also turned over an armed personnel carrier seized in an attack on Russian troops earlier this month, when rebels seized Grozny in some of the worst fighting to date, Interfax reported. But peace remained uncertain. Some hard-line Chechen field commanders want immediate, total independence, and the extent of the rebel leadership's control remains uncertain. ``We have a time-out of five years,'' said a Russian negotiator and prominent lawmaker, Coss Castor, on Saturday. ``The question is, how do we use it.'' Russian media have criticized Mr. Her for selling Russia out with the peace deal. Chechnya, a mostly Muslim region in southern Russia, declared independence in 1991.
VastPress 2011 Vastopolis
