A group of Chechen refugees in Finland were on Wednesday commemorating the anniversary of the Peace Treaty between the Russian Federation and the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, which was signed in Moscow on 12 May 1997.

Some hundreds of leaflets were distributed in the Esplanade park in downtown Helsinki. Despite this Peace Treaty, Putin started the second and still on-going war against Chechnya in August 1999. The attention of the Finnish audience was drawn to the similarities in Finnish and Chechen history. Going back on one’s word regarding the Treaty of Tartu and the non-aggression pact with Finland in November 1939 was carried out as irresponsibly as breaching the treaty with the Chechens in August 1999. In both cases, the Soviet Union and its legal successor, the Russian Federation, created a casus belli by killing their own citizens: the Shelling of Mainila by NKVD in 1939 and the bombings in Moscow in 1999 by NKVD’s successor, the FSB.

The text which was presented in the leaflets:

Commemorating the signing of the Peace Treaty between Russia and Chechnya on 12.05.1997

Not worth the paper it’s written on…

Said about treaties with Russia

The Russian President Boris Yeltsin and the President of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria Aslan Maskhadov signed on May 12, 1997 in the Moscow’s Kremlin a Treaty of Peace and principles of mutual relations between the Russian Federation and the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria. This document was negotiated in the Dagestani town of Khasavyurt and gave a chance to stop the confrontation between Chechnya and the Russian people and avoid future bloodshed.

History repeats itself. November 30, 1939, Soviet Russia invaded Finland – regardless of obligations stated in the Treaty of Tartu in 1920 and the non-agression pact with Finland, which was reaffirmed for a ten-year period in 1934.

The aggression against Finland was initiated under the pretext of the Shelling of Mainila – an act which later on was proved to be carried out by NKVD, the predecessor of KGB and present FSB.

The aggression against Chechnya was initiated under the pretext of the Bombings in Moscow and the border clashes in Dagestan in August and September 1999. All available evidence show that bombings in Moscow once again was Russian tactics to create a causus belli – also this time the massacre of own citizens was carried out by FSB, the Russian security service.

As the former Prime Minister of Sergei Stepashin, has officially admitted: “The decision to invade Chechnya was made in March 1999. … This war would happen regardless to the bombings in Moscow. … Putin did not discover anything new. You can ask the director of FSB at this time and had all information.”

The war was a triumph of madness over reason. One consequence of the wars initiated by Russia against Chechnya is more than 250.000 killed persons, among these some 42.000 children. Counted in human victims, the Russian aggression against Chechens is a humanitarian catastrophe with almost three (3) times more human victims than the war in Bosnia 1992-1995.

For the Russian side, the Khasavyurt Treaty appeared to be just another trick, a play which was skillfully and treacherously executed. As it turned out later, the Kremlin mummers did not intend to carry out their obligations designated by the Treaty of Peace. History repeats itself – those who don’t learn from the mistakes of the past are destined to repeat them. This is a reason for all of us to remember the Khasavyurt Treaty and address the Russian with reminders of their obligations. Today is the anniversary of the signing of this treaty.

The Khasavyurt Agreement signed on August 31, 1996 by President Aslan Maskhadov and General Aleksander Lebed includes these passages: “to renounce forever the use of force or threat of force is resolving all matters of dispute“, and “to establish strong, equal and mutually beneficial relations“.

In Khasavyurt was agreed to suspend hostilities and to start on with the gradual withdrawal of Russian troops from the entire territory of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria.

The Khasavyurt agreement and the Moscow Treaty of Peace never materialized. Instead, in August 1999 the Russians started bombing raids in Chechnya, and in October 1999 the Russian Army moved over the borders to Chechnya. Since that moment, the war has been going on and it is still going on.

The arrogance of the Kremlin led subsequently to numerous deaths: hunderds of thousands killed or kidnapped and streams of refugees across Russia and Europe. A steadily growing army is the army of disabled, orphans and semi-orphans. Other negative developments are such kidnapping, assault, extortion, human trafficking, extra-judical killings, the disappearane of civilians without a trace, etc. Human Rights Watch classifies Chechnya still today as “the worst of the worst” of all countries and areas in the world.

Stop the Russian war against Chechnya!

Stop the impunity of war criminals!

Bring Putin to trial in the Hague!

Give the body of President Aslan Maskhadov for a decent burial!

Every war ends with the peace – it’s time for Europe to promote the process and help the Chechen people!

Chechen refugees in Suomi (Finland)

Source: Finnish-Russian Civic Forum