Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/1999-09-16-Speech-4-141"
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"en.19990916.10.4-141"2
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"Mr President, I think it is only right that we should use most of this afternoon to discuss the smoking heap of ruins that the former Soviet Union has left behind. In fact, the conflict in Dagestan has to do not only with the conflict between the Russian army and militant Islamicists from Chechnya but also with Russia’s weakness, with oil in the Caspian Sea and with poverty in the northern Caucasus which is being increased by the lack of economic support from Moscow. There are perhaps 30 different peoples in Dagestan with just as many different languages. One small group consists of Chechens who are supporting the guerrilla leader Basayev in an attempt to incorporate Dagestan into Chechnya. On the other side there are these fundamentalist Wahabis who want to establish an Islamic state with support from Saudi Arabia and Osama bin Laden. So the scene is set and all the ingredients are there for a tragedy of inconceivable proportions over the next few years. The local population has so far not supported the Wahabis’ desire for an Islamic state, but things can change. They are one of the poorest republics in the Russian Federation. 80% of young people between the ages of 18 and 35 are unemployed, and the average wage is below the Russian minimum wage. And in Moscow there is not a lot of interest in the situation.
Now, the population is receiving a greeting from Moscow in the form of bombings. Moscow is supposed to be protecting the population, of course, but is instead perceived by many as the opposite of a protector, namely as the party which is bombing them. The problem is that journalists dare not travel to the place. They are kidnapped and taken hostage for cash. Nor do I think, therefore, that this Parliament is in a position to express a particularly precise opinion about this tragedy which is now unfolding. But the resolution says what needs to be said, and the most important thing is that we now promise each other to keep a sharp eye open for any means of helping, any means of contributing to stability in this unhappy part of the world."@en1
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