What's Being Done On . . . Democracy NGO Participation in Formal Peace Negotiations?

Introduction General Resources Women's Organizations Resources Democratic Republic of Congo: A Short History of the Conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo Profile of La Ligue des Electeurs Liberia: A Short History of the Conflict in Liberia Profile of the Mano River Women's Peace Network Sri Lanka: A Short History of the Conflict in Sri Lanka An Interview with the National Peace Council of Sri Lanka Chechnya: A Short History of the Conflict in the Chechen Republic An Interview with the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society in Europe

An Interview with the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society in Europe
www.uic.nnov.ru/hrnnov/rus/friend/2003e/indexe.htm

The Russian-Chechen Friendship Society in Europe (RCFS) is an NGO based in Finland that monitors human rights violations in Chechnya and other parts of the North Caucasus. RCFS had its main office in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, until the Russian Government ordered its closure in October 2006. The Society has since then registered in Finland and is continuing the projects of the RCFS when it was based in Russia. The organization interacts with social, political, humanitarian, and religious organizations, as well as with government institutions, whose principles, goals, and actions do not contradict those of the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society in Europe.

RCFS disseminates information about human and citizen rights by producing daily press releases on serious human rights violations and publishing a human rights newspaper, and is currently working on the implementation of a tribunal on war crimes and human rights abuses in Chechnya. The organization supports the right of every person, regardless of his or her nationality, religion, worldview, language, culture, or social standing, to receive objective and up-to-date information on issues concerning problems of securing rights and citizens' legal interests. RCFS' goals include overcoming distrust and hostility between the peoples of the Chechen Republic and Russia, both on the level of federal politics and on the level of everyday life; assisting national diplomats and negotiators in finding a political resolution to the conflict in the Chechen Republic; a quick end to military actions; and the acceleration of the negotiation process.

We wish to thank Oksana Chelysheva, Editor of the Russian-Chechen Information Agency, for responding to our interview.

Please tell us briefly about your organization, your work, and your interest in the promotion of civil society involvement and democratic values in formal peace negotiations.

The RCFS as an inter-regional public organization was established in 2000, almost immediately after the second Chechen war. Since its establishment, the organization has focused on providing informational coverage of the situation in the area of the Russian-Chechen armed conflict. The focal point of the RCFS has been its Information Agency, which published a newspaper, the Pravo-Zaschita, and ran the Web site. Daily information was collected by our network of local reporters and then disseminated to our subscribers. The RCFS did not limit its activities to reporting on the situation in Chechnya and Ingushetia.

We have also organized regular vocational and rehabilitation programs for children from Chechnya in the Nizhny Novgorod region. Children from refugee camps and the boarding school for deaf children in Groznyy participated in such programs. RCFS also helped to get adequate medical help from abroad for a number of children who were traumatized by the war. In cooperation with schools and public organizations, the organization has also initiated a number of programs for children who live in Nizhny Novgorod that aim to promote tolerance between them and children from Chechnya.

However, during the past two and a half years, the organization has had to operate in extremely tough circumstances, including continuous harassment, and even persecution, of several of its members. As a result of the campaign launched by the authorities, the RCFS was liquidated in January 2007 as a Russian legal entity.

In spite of this, the organization continues its work by disseminating information on the human rights situation in the North Caucasus and other regions of Russia, and carrying out a legal project aimed at raising the issue of an international tribunal on war crimes in Chechnya at the international level. We strongly feel that the NGO sector has remained the only stronghold of democracy and liberal values in Russia under the current regime. By cracking down on the election system, dismantling Russia as a parliamentarian republic after the implementation of the "vertical of power" doctrine, curtailing basic freedoms such as the right to free expression, assembly and association, and eliminating the independent court system, the Kremlin has de-facto established a semi-authoritarian state. It has become systematic and can be regarded now as the basis of the regime. As a result, goals such as monitoring and reporting on human rights abuses have become extremely hard to achieve, but very important.

What obstacles did your organization face in attempting to accelerate the peace process while still based in Russia, and how did you attempt to overcome them?

RCFS faced all forms of harassment by all state bodies, including the Federal Security Service, the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Justice, and the office of Tax inspection. The media engaged in a defamation campaign, and anonymous "individuals" issued threats against us. Most recently, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has harassed the RCFS by attempting to block its participation in events organized by inter-governmental bodies.

To overcome these obstacles, the RCFS has had to develop a strategy of competent legal defense; organize public campaigns of support, both in Russia and in countries of the free world; establish and develop existing contacts with embassies, inter-governmental bodies and journalists working with foreign media; and apply international mechanisms of protection.

If the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society in Europe were to be invited to formal peace negotiations between the Russian Federation and the Chechen Republic, which we recognize is not likely, how do you think it would benefit the peace process?

We don't recognize this as likely either. However, if it happened, we would be able to come up with suggestions. We have proven our impartiality and a number of people who belong to different sides of the conflict recognize us as objective arbiters. We would thus be in a position to help negotiate a peace that benefits the people of Chechnya, and not either "side." We attempted to mediate during the tragic days of the school siege in Beslan by terrorists.

Taking into account the political situation in Russia nowadays, it is important to point out that we are absolutely sure that it is possible to expect real positive changes in the situation in Chechnya only after a political regime change has taken place in Russia.

Are there examples of other civil society groups advocating for involvement in the Chechen peace negotiations, and do you consider it a possibility that NGOs might be asked to participate in future peace negotiations?

First and foremost, it is the Memorial human rights center. The organization has been carrying out its activities in the area of the conflict (including the adjacent republics of the North Ossetia and Kabardino-Balkaria) since the first Chechen war. Another effectively working Chechen organization is the Chechen Committee for National Salvation. The organization is run by Ruslan Badalov. However, this organization has to operate from Ingushetia.

It seems that in countries where NGOs were involved in formal peace negotiations, such as in the Democratic Republic of Congo, civil society organizations were very well organized and coordinated their strategies to ensure that all their opinions and ideas were heard during the peace talks. What level of cooperation or collaboration have civil society groups in Russia and Chechnya achieved in developing strategies to promote their involvement in the peace negotiations?

The level of cooperation and coordination within the human rights community in Russia leaves much to be desired. It constitutes one of the most crucial problems for promoting the involvement of civil society groups in peace negotiations, regardless of its extremely low level of probability. As for contemporary Chechnya, there is no civil society there. Its existence is impossible under the circumstances of the established dictatorship in Chechnya. The only reliable source of information from inside Chechnya is produced by Memorial, but it cannot influence the state of things there. The circumstances compel Memorial to constrain its activities to simply registering human rights abuses, and it is only able prove the abuses by having the victims speak out, but this occurs very rarely. Our organization also has to curtail the work of the Information Agency on Chechnya as it is becoming more and more problematic to ensure the safety of the people who report on the most recent cases of human rights violations, which are often committed by forces subordinate to the present Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov.

Thank you very much for your time and sharing your insights with us.