(Calls for peace negotiations, humanitarian access)
By Jason Weiss, Washington File Staff Writer
The U.S. Senate has approved an amendment to the Department of Defense Appropriations Bill calling on Russia to cease military operations in Chechnya, enter into peace negotiations, and allow international monitoring and humanitarian missions into Chechnya. It also calls on the U.S. Secretary of State to meet with representatives of the Chechen government.
The amendment, passed on June 9, provides for a "Sense of the Senate on Bringing Peace Chechnya," which voices the Senate's "concern over the war and the humanitarian tragedy in Chechnya and its desire for a peaceful and durable settlement to the conflict."
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jesse Helms (R-NC) introduced the measure.
The amendment criticizes the Russian forces in Chechnya for causing "the deaths of innocent civilians and the displacement of well over 250,000 other residents" and for committing "widespread atrocities, including summary executions, torture, and rape."
It states that "the war in Chechnya contributes to ethnic hatred and religious intolerance within the Russian Federation, jeopardizes prospects for the establishment of democracy in the Russian Federation, and is a threat to the peace in the region."
The amendment calls for the government of the Russian Federation to "grant humanitarian agencies full and unimpeded access to Chechen civilians, including those in refugee, detention, and so-called 'filtration camps,' or any other facility where citizens of Chechnya are detained."
It calls upon the President of the United States to "take into consideration the refusal of the Government of the Russian Federation to cease its military operations in Chechnya and...participate in peace negotiations with the government of Chechnya."
(The Washington File is a product of the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)