Ex-President of Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (CRI) Zelimkha Yandarbi (Z. Yandarbiyev)

Interview with Ex-President of Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (CRI) Zelimkha Yandarbi (Z. Yandarbiyev) answers the questions of Caucasus journalists.

Question: First of all, how would you evaluate the military and political situation in CRI?

Z. Yandarbi: The military and political situation has entered a new phase. It can be vividly seen from extremely absurd and idiotically persistent attempts of the Russian invaders to depict that they can control the situation, which was shown in the so-called «referendum» and similar «amnesty» that the Kremlin is playing.

On the Chechen side it is expressed in enormous activities of the Mujahideen (fighters), which started last spring and which promise to really change the situation. Today Russians are just not capable of concealing the real force of the Chechen Resistance. It is happening among the worldwide political infantility of the so-called international community in the realities that arose today.

I am really expecting that the situation will change radically, as [President] A.Maskhadov and [Commander] S. Basayev stated, and I am calling on all the patriots of our nation to act while proceeding from it and in the name of it.

Question: Not too long ago a series of acts of sabotage against the forces of invaders and against the officials of the puppet regime were carried out in Chechnya. Some Chechen and foreign politicians believe that such acts of Shaheeds are causing alienation from the world community and are only doing damage to the political settlement in CRI. What’s more, Amir (Commander) of the Reconnaissance and Sabotage Brigade «Riyadus Salihiin» Abdallah Shamil in his recent statement announced Operation Boomerang. What can you say about such methods of warfare?

Z. Yandarbi: National liberation fight is reality that remains objective, legal and rightful in any methods of warfare. One Chechen proverb says: He that hit with anything he could lay his hands on is brave! In our fight we the Chechens are too limited military-wise as well as politically. This is objective reality obvious to everyone, which this cowardly world represented by the so-called international community, the UN and others must be ashamed for. For according to the so-called International Law, which many ringleaders of terrorist states are referring to today as much as they can commit any crime and «explain» it away to the intimidated international community, - the fight of the Chechen people must have legal, political, material and technical support from that very UN.

But everything is happening totally different; they are helping Russia – the terrorist state committing genocide of an entire nation fighting for its independence. And like I said, this is the expression of infantility, for rapidly changing objective reality of the world cannot find adequate reflection in the real politics of the international community. Its leaders and existing institutions are just lagging behind in its development quality-wise. At the same time pseudo-politics aimed at creation of pseudo-reality in the international public opinion is gaining momentum more and more. This pseudo-politics allows criminal military and political leaderships of the aggressor countries and their satellites to get richer.

In this situation they just need to be instilling illusions into the public opinion and to the public mind that there are allegedly some other methods of fighting for independence besides using all powers and means, as if Russia's man-hating war against the independent Chechen state and people is a consequence of the Chechen Resistance and not the other way around.

Chechen nation or any other nation fighting for its liberation has a full and unconditional right to use any methods and means available in their fight. If somebody badly wants to see us using some other methods, then they must give us other opportunities: political, military, technical and material methods. Especially when this is a duty of every honest man on Earth to assist our fight any way you can. All the rest is either cowardice, or infantility, or guile. It is aimed against us anyway.

As I see it, Operation Boomerang or other operations must give a proper answer to the actions of Russian aggressors, including returning the war to the enemy’s den, to the one who brought the war to our land. It means that we are fighting for our freedom any way we can. Partly, the key to this is the strength of the Chechen people, who are used to count on their own capabilities and totally rely on Allah throughout many centuries of the fight.

Question: Some observers are saying that the Chechen Resistance has gotten «Palestinized». How true is it?

Z. Yandarbi: This is what the observers are for, so that they could talk all kinds of nonsense and attach importance to their «observers». But acts of self-sacrifice have been happening in all times during all wars that had a sacred nature, like the national liberation Jihad of the Chechen people. Chechens, Palestinians and other people are all using them. And this is a different subject of who will be calling and analyzing them and what these acts will be called. The main thing is that they were aimed at achieving godly goals of the fight and inflicting maximum damage on the enemy.

Question: In Chechnya the movement called Mehk Khell has become more active lately, and President of CRI warned the Chechen people in his address that the activities of this movement have a provocative nature. Do you agree with the President and what do you think, does this movement have political future and efficient key factors so that it could beneficially affect the situation in CRI, as the movement is claiming?

Z. Yandarbi: I am familiar with the evaluation that President of CRI A. Maskhadov gave to this phenomenon, and I must agree that such political movements and actions hurt our fight, since they do not take the objective realities of the present into consideration. And some of such movements are set up by Russian secret services under the leadership of national traitors and collaborators. We can see it happening on the territory of CRI as well.

Question: Is civil war in Chechnya possible? (The war which Russian politicians are warning about in case the invaders’ troops withdraw). The thing is that the invaders and their puppets are claiming that after announcing the so-called amnesty the process of surrendering weapons by the fighters of the Chechen Resistance has allegedly increased. The puppet regime claims that thousands of armed supporters are on its side already, and allegedly many are willing to enroll into their ranks. Does this claim represent the reality?

Z. Yandarbi: No civil war will ever take place once the Russian troops withdraw from the territory of CRI. There is no doubt about it. It would be a profanation to claim the opposite. And the so-called Russian «amnesty» will change absolutely nothing in the goals of the Chechen Resistance, since it did not come from such projects and it is not aimed at them or depend on them. It depends solely on the morale of the Chechen people. And it does not allow making such statements.

Question: CRI Foreign Ministry put forward a formulation on conventional (or conditional) international recognition of CRI. In the opinion of the Foreign Ministry, the idea is simple: to transform CRI into a democratic peaceful state through several years of a transition period under the UN protectorate. Do you agree with this kind of formulation?

Z. Yandarbi: I personally am not ready to agree with any conditional option of our independence. And as far as the present project goes, unfortunately I am not ready to discuss it specifically. Another format of a conversation and more detailed study is needed for it. Moreover, I have never understood what the issue was if we want independence: independence is a real state of national sovereignty.

Question: How would you explain such speedy conquest of Iraq since Iraq had forces strong enough to repulse the attack?

Z. Yandarbi: Iraq has really been conquered but not subdued and the military stage is not over. Iraq’s problems only started to show since the war started. And the situation is far from being over.

Question: There is yet another question proceeding from this one: so why are the Russian invaders, who possess just as mighty of armament and whose forces are incommensurably larger are not capable of crushing the resistance of Chechens?

Z. Yandarbi: Allah is the only One who can give an answer to this question.

Question: What do you think, how possible is the US invasion into Iran and can you hope that Iran will be capable of putting up any tangible resistance? Can one assume that nuclear weapons is only a pretext for an aggression similar to the one happened in Iraq?

Z. Yandarbi: The only obvious thing is that in such aggressions the attempts to substantiate your goals and your actions with the reasons of presence of nuclear weapons or to reduce nuclear weapons is only a pretext. Of course, in Iran the state of the society and the nation is totally different than it was in Iraq on the eve of the US/British invasion. Let me remind that the events are only starting to unfold down there.

Question: Will the Islamic organizations stop the Intifada once Israel recognizes the Palestinian State?

Z. Yandarbi: It is very hard to believe that they will be satisfied with just any recognition option. I think that everything will depend on how the statement of recognition of the Palestinian State will look quality-wise.

Question: There is an opinion that Russia and its nationhood may allegedly turn out to be an objective ally of the Muslims in its common opposition to globalism. How true is that opinion? How would you define the relations between Russia and the Islamic World?

Z. Yandarbi: First, I believe that modern interpretation of politics and problems of globalism or anti-globalism does not reflect the point of the contradictions in our world too successfully. One thing is clear: the world must be united for the welfare of all nations on Earth only under the Law of the Most High. All the rest of the projects are only a pretext for controversies between various forces under all sorts of slogans. And as far as Russia goes, this is one of the most aggressive monsters of the most non-constructive globalism and Russia itself is striving towards hegemony in the world and on the Eurasian Continent, i.e. even in regional globalism.

The alliance between Russia and the Muslim World is totally out of the question, if you do not mean the refined political provocations in which Russian politics have been more than successful. For instance, those who look at the world materially have already made sure from the example of the Palestinian problem as well as the Iraqi problem.

Question: Alims (Islamic scholars) from Russia are preaching humility and tolerance towards all religions. Must a belief be spiritually aggressive and must it conquer or re-conquer its spiritual and power space?

Z. Yandarbi: Tolerance in religion is a necessary and very important state. Islam may be in agreement and tolerance with any righteous forms of worldview, unless they encroach upon it one way or another. A belief must not be aggressive, but it must be strong and efficient. It must be capable of defending its values.

Question: Why, in your opinion, representatives of Islamic organizations of the Russian Federation and Muftis of that country have openly spoken against the US action, and at the same time the voice of the 20 million of the Russian part of the world’s Ummah (nation) is silent while the slaughter of fellow Muslims is going on in Chechnya? So, what’s the matter? Where are they telling the truth?

Z. Yandarbi: In none of the mentioned cases they are telling the truth or have been able to do so!

Question: After the September 11 many things have been said about the «sinister face of Islam», which was purposefully combined with the image of terrorism and somehow it all slipped unnoticed?

Z. Yandarbi: Those who talk about the «sinister face of Islam» are enemies or evil-wishers towards Islam. Those who have the opportunity to terrorize people on a worldwide scale are the ones committing international terrorism. And only statewide monsters have such opportunities, and not the nations that defend their religion, their land, and their freedom!

Council of Caucasus Journalists.Translated from Russian by Kavkaz-Center