Brussels, 29/10/2002 (Agence Europe) - Appeals to Russia to put an end to the war in Chechnya were launched by MEPs following the Moscow tragedy.
Before taking part (with another member of the Bonino list, Marco Cappoto) in the world conference of Chechens in Copenhagen, the Radical Olivier Dupuis said in a press release that "we must totally reject the criminalisation of a whole people as the Chechen people have suffered for three years". The tragedy of the victims "of terrorism and Russian terror and occupation policy in Chechnya" has to "force us to find renewed strength to have the war and violence cease and return, as soon as possible, to politics and dialogue", said the Belgian MEP elected in Italy.
As for CSU member Bernd Posselt MEP, he demanded the immediate withdrawal of "all combat troops and death commandos of the Russian secret services from Chechnya". He also called for UN peacekeeping troops to be deployed in Chechnya and for free parliamentary elections to be organised, under the auspices of the OSCE an the Council of Europe. The EU's interlocutor in Chechnya "has not to be the puppet regime set up by Putin", but President Mashadov, said Posselt.