“André Glucksmann, first and main ally of the Chechens in their fight against the state terrorism!”

A person becomes a symbol only by virtue of outstanding actions. And, as if summing up the nobility of his aspirations in life, fate sends him the farewell – also outstanding – equal to him in measure.

No sooner had died away the echo of parting words on the ashes of the prominent Frenchman of the 20th century – André Glucksmann – as France was shaken by the orgy of violence unprecedented in its recent history.

This day – 13 November 2015 – forever entered into the calendar of the Fifth Republic as the French equivalence to American 11.09.2001, forever breaking life of the French into two parts – “before” and “after”.

The terrible news caught my friends and me, as we were silently walking home from the funeral of Andre. And, though I never believe in mysticism, an immediate thought splashed in my head – for the first time in my life – that what has happened was too symbolic to be a coincidence.

And I had the clear picture of how, retained – during half a century – just by the smashing sword of Andre, the dark power of nihilism in the form of renewed terrorism (mistakenly called “Islamic”) spills out onto the streets of Paris, as soon as the remains of his formidable enemy is covered by earth!

The clearest contemporary philosopher André Glucksmann was not just an active fighter against tyranny; he tirelessly sought it out and mercilessly castigated it, reopening to the public another place its habitat.

That is the answer to the opponents of Andre Glucksmann, criticizing him for supporting the measures as against the Russian aggression in Chechnya so against the dictatorship of Milosevic, Saddam Hussein … The answer is – in the words of the philosopher himself: “… the reality of the camp does not depend on inscriptions on its gates … ” and ” … the refusal to gloss over evil can save lives. “

It was this nature of Glucksmann that brought him to the correct understanding of the Chechen question. He was one of the very few individuals in the world who strongly denied the Kremlin propaganda exposing the legitimate struggle of Chechens for the decolonization of their country as part of international terrorism. Andre Glucksmann saw in modern terrorism the most complete form of nihilism – native Russian phenomenon, that gave birth to the phenomenon of terrorism as a means of political struggle in the middle of the revolutionaries in the Tsarist Russia …

Glucksmann saw in autocracy of Putin’s Russia the same seeds of terrorism, which – under Arab robes – sow blood and pain in Europe and the Middle East.

He was vehement in his rejection of violence and went in this until the end. Everyone remembers the pictures with the Human Rights Conference in Moscow in 2001, when Glucksmann made the whole Russian delegation to stand up in honor of dying under Russian bombs children in Chechnya …

Glucksmann had no doubt that the struggle of Chechens against the colonial Russian rule is part of the global fight against injustice, terrorism and barbarism, which is, during centuries – generated by a nihilistic totalitarian culture in Moscow …

Galia Ackermann sums up the attitude to the Andre to the Chechens in the next paragraph:

“For him, the struggle of a small Caucasian people for over two centuries – from the General Yermolov to Putin – was a symbol of love for freedom and rejection of slavery. In the nineties, he repeatedly met in Paris with various representatives of Ichkeria, supporting the more moderates and seculars among them… and when the first Chechen war broke out, the Chechen civilian population did not have a more solid and consistent defender than Glucksmann. Over the years, the philosopher published hundreds of passionate articles against the barbaric methods of warfare in Chechnya. Andre was trying to help, also, to many Chechens who have received the status of political refugees in France. In particular, he took an active part in the activities of the association that helped young Chechens to enroll in French universities. “

Andre Glucksmann warned prophetically: “The real problem of our time is a growing insensitivity to evil, to violence, to the pain” – a warning to which the heart of the civilization is very muffled, still.

From the other side, Glucksmann was lucky – not to see the total madness, marching across Europe and America, ans now covering the entire planet.

Now – a year after his departure – all evil Andre Glucksmann so passionately fought against – is becoming reality, as more and more leaders of major countries of the world are expressing their admiration to totalitarian Russia of Putin – the domain of the updated state terrorism that aims life and personal freedom of any human being.

And today political refugees from occupied Chechnya – from Japan to Alaska – are recalling Andre Glucksmann and as a friend, and as a teacher, and as the last knight of Europe, aware that they are left again, it seems in front of the scourge of terrorism, alone.

Well, our people is used to it. Wherever russian terrorism reaches – we are ready to continue our fight (our common fight with Glucksmann) for a freedom and dignity of man!

14.11.2016
Adam Dervishev