Russia to impose direct rule in Chechnya

By Vladimir Radyuhin

MOSCOW, MAY 5. Moscow will shortly impose direct rule in Chechnya as a temporary measure to provide a transition period to limited self-government, a top Kremlin security official said on Friday.

``A presidential decree and a draft law on direct federal rule in Chechnya is being prepared,'' Mr. Sergei Ivanov, secretary of Russia's influential Security Council, said in remarks broadcast by Russian television channels.

Chechnya has been under Moscow's direct military rule since the Kremlin sent troops to crash rebels in the breakaway republic last October, but the legislative basis for this rule has been flimsy. Russia's Constitution envisages the possibility of direct rule over a territory in the form of a state of emergency, but Parliament is yet to approve a relevant constitutional law.

Mr. Ivanov said the legislation would be in place ``before the end of this month.'' He ruled out elections for local government bodies in Chechnya for the next two to three years.

``We have been saying for a long time that election of a leader in Chechnya, whether it is a President or a local government leader, is not on the agenda at the moment,'' the security official said. ``We need a certain transition period... It is still too early to discuss the form of government Chechnya will eventually have.''

Russia's Deputy Prime Minister for Chechnya, Mr. Nikolai Koshman, clarified today that direct federal rule would involve the formation of territorial administrations in Chechnya headed by representatives of federal ministries. They will recruit local staff who will take over after the federal rule has been lifted after two-three years.

Meanwhile, a top Russian military commander in the region predicted a flareup of rebel activity in Chechnya in the second half of May and June. Gen. Vladimir Shamanov said with the appearance of spring greenery federal forces were finding it hard to control roads, especially in the mountainous part of Chechnya. In the past few weeks, rebels have ambushed several Russian army convoys in Chechnya, killing and wounding dozens of soldiers. Russian forces in Chechnya have been put on high alert after reports that rebels are planning large-scale attacks timed for the 55th anniversary of the Soviet Army's defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II, which is marked on May 9.

According to latest official figures, Moscow has lost 1,933 troops killed and 5,508 wounded in its more than seven- month campaign against Chechen separatists, including 32 soldiers killed in the past week. The army's casualty rate in Chechnya is several times higher than it was during Russia's 10-year war in Afghanistan.

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Section  : International
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