OSCE to deploy Assistance Group for Chechnya

VIENNA, 29 March 1995 - The OSCE Permanent Council today issued a decision welcoming the fact that agreement has been reached to make efforts to deploy an OSCE Assistance Group in Chechnya as early as mid-April. The decision came after hearing a report from the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Ambassador Istvan Gyarmati on his trip to the Russian Federation, including the Chechen Republic and the Ingush Republic from 20 - 27 March. Ambassador Gyarmati was accompanied by Mr. Pierre Filatoff (France), Mr. Lars Poulsen-Hansen (Denmark), Mr. Richard Norland (United States), Amb. Jan Kubis (Conflict Prevention Center, Vienna) and Mr. Zoltan Nagy (Hungary).

The following is a summary of Ambassador Gyarmati's report:

Noting that numerous initiatives aimed at a peaceful resolution of the crisis have been put forward, the report noted that a cessation of the hostilities remains impossible if it is linked to the preconditions. The report expressed concern that military operations might not halt before taking all major populated areas of the Chechen Republic.

The report warned of the increased danger of spill-over of the conflict to neighboring republics, in particular to Ingushetia and Dagestan. It cited the large number of refugees - Ingusetia, with a population of 350,000, is caring for some 130,000 refugees from Chechnya on top of the 60,000 refugees from the 1992 conflict between Ingusetia and North Ossetia. Dagestan has an estimated 110,000 refugees in the city of Khasavyurt.

The report detailed grave human rights violations, citing Mr. Sergey Kovalyov, who told the delegation of instances of beating harassment and humiliation of Chechen detainees by

Russian guards, as well as reports that Russian prisoners in Chechen hands had been tortured and, in one case, that a wounded Russian officer had been suffocated to death. The delegation heard from several sources that some Chechen detainees have "disappeared." It appears, the report said, that virtually any able-bodied Chechen male is subject to detention and hostile interrogation, regardless of any evidence linking him to military activities against Russian forces. The delegation also heard complaints of numerous attrocities against the civilian population in Grozny and of the discipline on the part of some Russian troops.

In his report, Amb. Gyarmati also detailed the alarming situation in Grozny, the Chechen capital, noting that the humanitarian aid there was not sufficient. The report said that international relief organizations are now fairly well established in their operations in the region of the Chechnya crisis and are providing indispensable assistance. He also stressed the need to put the relief organizations in a better position to substantially increase the quantity of humanitarian aid delivered to the region.

The report expressed worry that the newly established local authorities in the Chechen Republic are viewed by many Chechens as alien to them and that Chechen politicians who support the federal authorities are not supported by the population. The report suggests that strenuous efforts are needed to widen the participation in these local organs by inviting representatives of those Chechen groups as well, which do not unreservedly support the federal authorities.

The delegation's meetings in Moscow and its contacts with the Chechen representatives in the region of the crisis itself, the report said, indicate that the political situation is characterized by a growing desire to begin a process of negotiations aimed at halting the war and devising a political settlement. The report indicated that all parties see a role for the OSCE in this process. The key question remaining, it said, was with whom to negotiate on the Chechen side. The report noted the participation of Presidential, Government and Duma representatives in the delegtion's Moscow talks demonstrate serious efforts to explore alternatives to a military solution. Ambassador Gyarmati noted a high degree of co-operation from the Russian side during their trip.

The report suggested a scheme of a possible peace process including the following:

1) The cessation of all hostilities, without preconditions;

2) Parallel talks aimed at the establishment of a formal cease-fire and of a representative political body responsible for the political process aimed at a settlement of the crisis.

3) Freely elected Chechen Parliament and Government could then finalize a treaty between the Federal Authorities and the Chechen Republic about the division of responsibilities and powers between the federal and local authorities.

Amb. Gyarmati said the OSCE could assist in the process not only by offering expertise and support, but by the mere presence in the region and at the negotiating table. The OSCE presence would contribute even more so by concrete and forward-looking proposals and action that would help in calming down the situation and offering some kind of assurances that a solution will not be imposed but negotiated with the participation of all interested political and social groups and factions.

OSCE Long-Term Presence

The delegation discussed with its interlocutors the tasks and the operational modalities for the establishment of an OSCE Assistance Group in Chechnya. With their Russian partners, they agreed that the group's tasks would be:

- to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid

- to promote the reconstruction of constitutional order and the building of democratic institutions in the Chechen Republic

- to assist federal and loal authorities in promoting human rights, investigating human rights violations and establishing necessary institutions for their defense

- help to prepare and carry out free and fair elections, when possible

- to promote an agreement on the cessation of hostilities and its implementation

- to facilitate the establishment of a negotiating framework aimed at the elaboration of a lasting political solution

- to promote reaching and implementing a comprehensive cease-fire

The Group, which could be deployed as early as mid-April, would be based in Grozny with branch offices in neighboring republics. Its members would have unrestricted freedom of movement and would have access to the whole territory of the Chechen Republic and to other neighboring republics.