Brussels, 23/03/2000 (Agence Europe) - At a meeting on Thursday with the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs, the new special representative of the Russian Federation for human rights in Chechnya, Vladimir Kalamanov, stated that his post was not simply an alibit and that he would resign if he did not have the support of Russian authorities during his mission. He even welcomed the support of human rights defence organisations that are following the situation. "All crimes committed in Chechnya and the neighbouring regions will be investigated", he told MEPs, while underlining the difficulty of the task, especially because of the division of Chechnya into a number of military regions in which it is impossible to circulate freely.
The questions by Members of the EP concerned his independence, his cooperation with OSCE investigators and so on. On the whole, the EP reaction was favourable, with criticism focusing more on Russian policy than on Mr Kalamanov's role. Emma Nicholson (ELDR, UK) declared, as she opened debate, that Parliament would assist him with his task.