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Medvedev defended from the Voice of Beslan
Written by Àíàñòàñèÿ Êèðèëåíêî   
Âòîðíèê, 11 Àâãóñò 2009

On the eve of the fifth anniversary of the Beslan school tragedy, mothers of the slain children tried to personally deliver a letter to the president of Russia. This happened on August 8th, during a visit by Dmitry Medvedev to North Ossetia. Officers from the Federal Security Service snatched away signs, which read: «Beslan requests a meeting» and threatened the mothers with force. Specialists in combating extremism investigated the unarmed women.

In this undelivered presidential letter they requested a face-to-face meeting. The purpose — to discuss the need in Russia for a law on the status of victims of terrorist attacks. Ella Kesayeva, chairman of the 'Voice of Beslan' public organization, discusses this with Radio Liberty:
- We tried to deliver a letter to the president, but we were unable to meet with him. Security would not permit us any closer than a hundred meters from the area he was in — the headquarters (Radio Liberty: In the 58th Army headquarters in Vladikavkaz). There was a triple ring of security around him. We got through two rings. The third, which was made up of people in civilian clothes, would not let us in. They told us: «You don't have a pass, don't even try it.» Our 'Beslan requests a meeting' signs were taken away and ripped up. We only saved one poster, and I hope the president was able to see it from his car when he was leaving. They take these measures to protect the President from unarmed women carrying a letter and some signs. What is the purpose of this protection — to protect his life, or protect the president from the people?

What kind of letter you are trying to deliver? Could this have been delivered through the guards?

 — We offered to let them check us out and make sure that we had nothing besides the letter. Later we opened it and let the guard detail read it. In the letter were a few short sentences: we asked for a meeting with the president, complained that there were no results from the investigation into the Beslan tragedy, no law on the status of victims of terrorist attacks, and no victim assistance programs. We also requested that he receive us and listen to these issues. And that was it.

I think that the victims had a right to hope for a meeting. The President was at the spot where the tragedy occurred five years ago. After all, no president has ever failed to meet victims on this spot, except for a meeting on the first anniversary of the terrorist attack, but that was outside Ossetia, and we can now conclude that this meeting yielded no effects. We expected that they would at least accept a letter from us, but no.

There were instances when employees of the Federal Security Service accepted letters and promised to send them to the President?

 — Yes, and we were counting on this. This is normal. This is civilized treatment of representatives of public organizations and citizens of the Russian Federation. But instead, we were grabbed by the arm and warned that they would use force, and that we would not be allowed to pass.

When the president got to the (Vladikavkaz) airport — it is not far from Beslan — we drove behind him on the same road. We were chased down by three highway patrol cars, forced to the side of the road and made to wait for some leader. They even said: «We're waiting for them to explain why you were detained.» Guidance was in the form of Valery Elisayev, chief of the Center for Combating Extremism. He told us all produce our identity papers. Our driver, of course, showed his, but I refused. On what grounds must I show my passport to the chief of fighting extremism? O course I identified myself. I said: «You probably know who we were following, and who we are. I think that you held us here so long that the president has already departed, so you can let us go now.»

About the content of your letter: why do you insist on the adoption of a law on the status of victims of terrorist attacks?

 — It is very important. Terrorism is a national problem, and there are a lot of victims of terror attacks. We have been to other countries and we know that there are laws on the status of terror victim there. But there are no laws to protect us, the victims of terrorist acts in Russia. Now the Ministry of Justice has drafted a bill on compensation for victims of counter-terrorism operations, but we do not know whether or not it includes the status of terror attack victim. We made two requests for a copy of the bill, but we still have not been given one. If this law is relevant to us, then why it is being worked out without our participation, without our proposals?

Why is the status of the terror act victim not legally established? Why are mothers, who are unable to work, why do they have to wonder if tomorrow they will have anything to live on?

They are unable to work because of their physical and mental conditions. And there are many children who still need treatment. Practically none of the children held by the terrorists in the gym are healthy. All these children are sick. I know this from my girl: she has been diagnosed with a lot of problems. Five years have passed. Immediately after the terror attack, she was examined, and, except for her injuries, all her other organs were okay. Now five years have passed, and she has major problems with her kidneys, with vision, with her stomach. And a majority of the children are in such a state.

Do any international organizations offer to help the children?

 — Yes, at the very start they offered. Our children received treatment in Germany and in Israel. But now this assistance has all but disappeared. It is an internal Russian problem, and it is they who must deal with it, primarily the government of the state where the tragedy occurred.

Soon it will be the fifth anniversary of the tragedy. What do you plan on that day?

 — The first thing we want to do is make a public appeal to the parliament of the North Caucasus, so that on this day they come to Beslan School No. 1. We want to appeal to the parliaments of all the Caucasus republics, so that they would sign a joint appeal to the president on the need for a law on the status of victims of terrorist attacks.

What is new with the school building?

 — The school building is still in the same condition it was five years ago — in a broken-down state. We have been writing continuously. A year ago we wrote to all the agencies about preserving the building, because it is falling apart due to rain and snow. There will come a time when it cannot be restored. Now we are preparing another appeal to our government. A year ago we got a promise that conservation would begin, but nothing has been done, or at least none that we know of.

You would like to preserve the school in the state that it is in?

 — Yes. This is what most of the victims have decided. The law dictates that, while the investigation is still ongoing, no one is allowed to demolish it. Preserving it is the only correct solution at this time.

What is new in the investigation into the terrorist attack?

 — It is still not finished. It has once again been extended, to September 1st, as it already has been several times before. Even a formal investigation gives us hope that, eventually, someday, all the documents that we have on hand will be examined and conclusions will be drawn, if not by Russian jurists, then at least by independent ones.

Two years ago there was a brochure published: «The Truth about Beslan.» Do you continue to insist on the position set out in the brochure that the inept actions of the rescuers led to the large number of victims?

 — Our position has changed slightly.

To what?

 — Recently I received a film about the Special Forces. Before this it was absolutely unknown. I saw the families of the commandos who were killed in the school, their children and their wives. I realized that it was not possible to blame it all on them, to say that they deliberately acted to the detriment of the hostages. This has to be sorted out very carefully. In any case, the bright memory of the rescuers should remain.


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