The blasting of the pro-Moscow Chechen administration in Grozny highlights Russian incompetence in containing the Chechen struggle for independence, reports Shohdy Naguib from Moscow On the afternoon of 27 December a truck and an off-road vehicle made their way through multiple security posts in the capital of Chechnya -- then two powerful blasts in the premises of the pro-Moscow government headquarters destroyed the building and killed at least 60 people. In the days that followed no one claimed responsibility for the reckless suicidal bombing, and there reigned a general air of amazement that an attack on such a stronghold could actually be carried out. Indeed, reports described a complex which resembled a military base more than civilian administration headquarters, with its minefields, multiple fences and numerous security checkpoints located miles from residential areas -- or rather the ruins of residential areas -- in what is left of a once-prosperous city after years of warfare. Information has revealed that the perpetrators, reported by the media as being of "Slavic rather than Caucasian" appearance, were wearing federal army uniforms and all their documentation was intact. Many condemned the horrendous act of terrorism. The officials in Moscow and the pro- Moscow Chechen administrator Ahmad Kadyrov who escaped the bombing immediately laid blame for the attack on Aslan Maskhadov and his men. The ousted president- elect was quick to issue a statement from an undisclosed location in which he called upon his compatriots to avoid falling into the trap of civil war which was set by the occupying forces for the sole purpose of wiping the Chechen people out of existence. In his words "the Kremlin is using every pretext to link the Chechens with international terrorism". A civil war is in full swing in Chechnya. The atrocities committed by the federal forces on an everyday basis have intensified in the aftermath of the bloody ending of the Moscow theatre hostage crisis two month ago. Extrajudicial executions and disappearances have become routine, the ugly twist in the tale being the fact that these crimes are committed by ethnic Chechens against their compatriots acting on behalf of the government of Ahmad Kadyrov. "Directed and cleansing operations" are the terms the political establishment uses to describe that which will eventually be called "crimes against the humanity". Mass graves will surface once the war is over for which the current leaders will have to answer. A "never-ending war" is a dubious way to delay the coming of that day. In an interview with radio Echo Moscow Ahmed Zakaev -- the special envoy of Aslan Maskhadov, whose extradition first from Denmark and later from UK has been denied, to Russia's huge embarrassment -- ventured to put forth a proposition that the situation in Chechnya is getting out of control and there is a risk of it evolving into a similar situation to the one which exists between Israel and Palestine. According to Zakaev, solitary suicidal bombers are people who do not take orders from the president, but are people who are simply unable to tolerate the "torrent of lies which the politicians and the media produce". Zakaev also vehemently denied the Chechen president's involvement in the Grozny blasts. "We categorically reject the use of the suicidal bombers in our struggle," he stressed. Zakaev's revelations point to the Russian federal government's adoption of "Israeli tactics" which have been employed at length by federal forces throughout the armed conflict. The results of this campaign, however, were not quite as expected, due to rampant corruption in the ranks of the military, poor discipline and a total lack of purpose. What remain in common are the ugly face of state- perpetrated terrorism and senseless vandalism. Houses of Chechen fighters are being blown up; whole blocks of residential buildings dynamited and their inhabitants scattered and driven to refugee camps. In view of the this fact, the Federal government's peace-making efforts look just like another in a series of concentric circles of desolation. A constitutional referendum planned for next March, with democratic elections to follow shortly after, have almost no chance of success. The reconstruction and conciliatory efforts initiated by the pro- Moscow Chechen government administration headed by Ahmad Kadyrov were dashed on the fateful afternoon of the blasts. The scandalous episode with the firing of General Gennady Troshev -- one of Russia's most popular commanders and a veteran of both Chechnya campaigns who publicly refused to accept a transfer from the high-profile North Caucasus Military District to a far-flung command in Siberia -- is likely to further demoralise the Federal troops and renew calls for a state of emergency in Chechnya. Such a move can hardly bring peace but may at least temporarily restore some order.
