No Peace in Chechnya Until All Cash Flows Cut

Anatoly Chekhoyev believes that there can be no war without money

PRAVDA.Ru had an interview with Anatoly Chekhoyev, State Duma deputy, deputy chairman of the committee for CIS affairs.

The hostage crisis took place in Moscow’s music theatre  several months ago. To which extent is it possible for such events to appear again? To which extent are our special services prepared to prevent from them?

I have been to all hotspots on account of my occupation as a deputy. Unfortunately, I can affirm that there are no efficient measures to struggle terrorism. State structures can trace channels, communication, but they are not able to guarantee that there will be no new acts of terrorism. Terrorism is the weapon of the weak. It is an uncontrollable phenomenon. It is not possible to control and to check all people.

To which extent, do you think, internal affairs corruption is lenient towards terrorism?

If we wanted to be through with the war in Chechnya, we could have done that long ago. It is an open secret that it is a black hole for the uncontrollable use of funds. For example, some money has been allocated to build a house. A committee comes to the construction site to see the house, but there is nothing built. It is impossible to find out, if that house was built and then destroyed with a bomb, or if the money was spent for something else.

Do you think that terrorists have patrons in Moscow, people like Gusinsky or Berezovsky, for example?

Gusinsky and Berezovsky are the ones that came out into the public eye. Terrorists have a lot of tiny financial organizations, small commercial structures, which keep nourishing it. There is no war without money.  A group of people cannot wage war with the Russian Army for eight years in a row. Russian troops defeated Chechen guerrillas during the first war in Chechnya. A usual military operation should have taken place there. People started leaving their homes. However, it was ordered to cancel the operation. Then there was the peace agreement concluded in Khasavyurt, General Alexander Lebed became a hero on account of that fact. So did Aslan Maskhadov, the incumbent fugitive President of the Chechen republic. After that we found Akhmed Kadyrov.

I understand that it is about the pre-election situation, one should create the semblance of the Chechen conflict regulation. However, ten soldiers in the mountains are equal to a hundred soldiers on a plain. They will definitely have their affect on the objective referendum process, won’t they?

There will be no victory until we cut all cash flows and all weapons delivery channels. We know, where those channels are. We should also realize that Maskhadov, Barayev, Yandarbiyev are the idols of  the young Chechen generation. Sergey Stepashin, the chairman of the Russian Clearing House has recently delivered a speech. He said during his speech that there were 700 millions rubles missing. He tried to make everything clear about the situation. However, one should not look for the money that is there. One should look for the money that is going to be there. This is a principal issue, for if it is possible to find someone, who makes this money here, the money will not go to Chechnya. There will be no war without any money.

I was shocked, when my confidential letter to the presidential administration regarding the conflict between the republics of Osetia and Ingushetia was printed in leaflets. The letter was signed by the Russian Security Council secretary. Yet, it was widely published in Ingushetia’s leaflets. I would like to repeat here that it was an absolutely confidential letter. It was marked as a secret document. Therefore, there is nothing surprising about the fact that the operations of the federal troops are not sudden. This makes them a lot less efficient.

Do you think that the Russian Internal Affairs Ministry is able to trace suspicious people that come to Moscow from Chechnya, for instance? Is it possible to determine, who comes to the Russian  capital, where they stay, what they do? Such things became rather actual after the hostage crisis in Moscow.

First of all, they have their own patrons – military men. Second of all, the people, who come to Moscow with a goal to perform an act of terrorism, have perfect documents, as a rule. They do not ride the metro. They drive fancy Mercedes cars with federal numbers.

Is there anyone in the State Duma to back up terrorists?

It is hard for me to throw shade on my colleagues, although I do not rule out such an opportunity.

In your opinion, which parties can run such activities?

Everyone knew that deputy Borovoy stayed in touch with Jokhar Dudayev, the previous Chechen president, on the phone. Everyone knew that deputy Berezovsky contacted gunmen directly to discuss financial issues with them. The State Duma does not make any decisions at present, save statements. However, the Duma keeps assigning money. We have given a lot of money to the Chechen republic. The sum is equal to the money that was assigned to all other republics of the Northern Caucasus. We know that all that money will vanish forever. One should look for the guilty one amid the officials of the executive power. Yet, I do not think that such people are in the presidential milieu. It is vital for Vladimir Putin to establish law and order in Chechnya, especially on the threshold of the coming presidential election in Russia.

Everyone wants to put an end to the war. The Chechen people realize that themselves: their nation is in danger. Who does not allow to finish the war? This is the major question in this respect. They are the people, who make billions of rubles on the Chechen war.

We have not yet paid compensations to bank depositors. Thousands of Chechen people say that they had accounts in Chechen banks. The government recommended those people to go back to Chechnya and to pick their money there. However, a sane person will never go to Chechnya to pick up his or her money. Even if someone ventures to do it, this person will inevitably be killed on a way back.

Do you think that the prime minister might not know anything about it?

I used to work as the first secretary of the communist party committee in Chechnya. I was aware of everything that was going on in the republic. Russia is definitely a lot bigger than Chechnya, but I do not think that the Russian prime minister knows nothing about such relevant financial issues as the repay of bank deposits to the population of Chechnya. Unfortunately, the prime minister only states that Chechnya is in need of money again. Yet, we do not have an efficient way to control the money still. It seems to me that someone wants to set up the president. We will see, who is going to run for presidency. They will hold up Putin to shame.

Do you mean bankers or military men?

Bankers will not run. Politicians will – such people as Boris Nemtsov, Mikhail Kasyanov. There will be a moment, when we at the Communist Party will support Vladimir Putin in order not to let someone else become the president of the country. Let’s be silent about it, though, for the situation will show that there will be such a person. Akhmad Kadyrov, the head of the Chechen administration, is the man to guarantee the Constitution in the republic at present. It is not possible to institute the presidential post in the republic. The power has always belonged to clans there, so only a parliamentary republic is possible in Chechnya. All republics of the North Caucasus are parliamentary republics.

What is a way out of the situation?

There used to be a Russian person at the head of the republics of Chechnya and Ingushetia. This factor equalized the relations between the people of Ingushetia, Osetia, Chechnya and others. A man of either Chechen or Ingush nationality was a person next to the leader. For the time being, we are able to bring one clan to power. This clan controls a certain part of Chechnya, the rest of the territory will be refractory again. I think that Chechnya is supposed to stay under the military regime for five years.

Where do terrorists take their weapons, defense technology and communication means from?

From abroad. They get all those things from the people, who gain profit from having a conflict territory in the south of Russia. Vladimir Putin started setting up the vertical of power, although he did not complete it. The exacerbation of the international relations is the base of the structure of our Federation. There is no federation of three levels in the world. We have the federation within the framework of the Russian Federation Constitution. There is the direct agreement federation: center – federation. There is also a federation within the scope of the charters and constitutions of Russian Federation units. The republic of Tatarstan claims that it is an associate member of the federation. Chechnya is a part of Russia too, although we will only assign money there. We have to unite the constitutions of Russian Federation units in order to get rid of all of those things. I initiated inquiries to the Constitutional Court. I analyzed 17 Russian Federation units, and found 4800 discrepancies there against the Constitution of the Russian Federation. One thousand and two hundred of those discrepancies were rather principal issues. Tatarstan has not acknowledged the Russian Federation Constitution still, by the way.

Everyone is afraid of Putin’s next victory at the presidential election. That is why, they keep on developing various schemes, looking for another person. They are afraid of it, because Vladimir Putin is connected with special services. The Central Intelligence Administration and the foreign intelligence service are Russian only secret services that preserved their structures. Caesar said that the state implies violence. The state passes the laws, which are supposed to make a human being work for the welfare of the state. Each person should have not only rights but also obligations to the state.

Do you believe our president?

Speaking about me personally, I have to say that I believe the president. Unfortunately, he has had a very short state activity experience. They try to set him up at the moment, both from the left and from the right. I wish he had the strength to set up the coalition government, although there were a lot of people, who were willing to work for it.

Anatoly Chekhoyev was interviewed by Ilya Tarasov
PRAVDA.Ru

Translated by Dmitry Sudakov