School siege is over

[armedandsafe]

From Yahoo news, 20:30hrs, 09/04/2004:

Mourners Plan Funerals in Russia School Siege Town

1 hour, 41 minutes ago

By Richard Ayton and Oliver Bullough

BESLAN, Russia (Reuters) - Mourners prepared on Sunday for the first funerals of 330 people killed in the bloody battle that ended the siege of a southern Russian school on Friday -- but others did not know if loved ones had survived.


Hundreds of wounded were still being treated in hospitals in Beslan and nearby towns, and distraught relatives -- caught between hope and despair -- scanned hand-written lists of living patients or toured morgues trying to identify the dead.


"My son is missing," Albert Adykhayev told NTV television. "He is too young to say who he is. I just don't know on what lists and under what name he will appear." His son is three.


Hospital doctors tried to help on Saturday by displaying photographs of unidentified patients, children too small or too shocked to give their names.


Many townspeople, still stunned by the ferocity of the battle between security forces and the Chechen militants who stormed the school on Wednesday and took more than 1,000 hostages, have spent two days searching for friends or family.


Hundreds queued on Saturday outside the morgue in the nearby city of Vladikavkaz to identify relatives among the rows of dead laid out on stretchers, holding handkerchiefs to their faces to keep out the stench.


Others scanned the lists of injured pasted on town walls, and some resorted to making their own lists of the casualties of the bloody end to the siege.


Of the 330 known to have died, 155 were children, the others their parents and teachers, all trapped in the school where they had gathered for festivities marking the first day of term.


Most were killed on Saturday, when special forces assaulted the school after hearing huge explosions in the gym and seeing hostage takers shooting fleeing children.


Up to 20 people were believed to have been killed when the gunmen seized the building last Wednesday and herded their captives into the gym. Officials said security forces killed all the estimated 26 hostage takers.


PUTIN VISITS BESLAN


President Vladimir Putin (news - web sites), who flew into Beslan for a few hours early on Saturday, later told Russians the security forces needed to rethink their approach to tackling such emergencies.


"We must create a much more effective system of security. We must demand that our security forces act at a level appropriate to the level and scope of the new threats," he said in a televised address more than 24 hours after the end of the siege.


He declared Monday and Tuesday days of national mourning.


A total of 423 people were being treated in hospitals in the North Ossetia region where Beslan lies, including 237 children, while more serious cases had been sent to other parts of southern Russia or Moscow.


Soslan Bidoyev, 23, was relieved to find his brother in a Vladikavkaz hospital, but shocked by his account of events at the school on Wednesday.


"He told us that when the hostages were brought in, the gunmen made the adults pry open the gymnasium floor. They took out supplies of weapons from underneath the floor," he said.


"He told me the first explosion was right there."

Such accounts strengthened the view that the gunmen were well prepared and had local help, and fueled the anger of residents who accused Putin of making only a token visit to the town and failing in his duty to protect them.

"He saw no one and talked to no one," said Boris, whose neighbor and her family were missing. "He just wanted to show the world how young and handsome he is, but he hasn't helped and he won't help and he can't stop this happening again."

In his address, Putin said Russia had failed to adapt to new defense and security needs and must now put this right.

"We failed to react appropriately to them and, instead, displayed weakness," he said. "And the weak are always beaten."

The Kremlin leader, speaking after a week of calamities linked to Chechen separatists, pledged to restore control over the North Caucasus, the part of southern Russia which includes the turbulent region of Chechnya (news - web sites).

But Putin, who rejects any notion of talks with separatists, made no direct reference to Chechnya in his 10-minute address.

[Icon-oclast]

My one fear is that ex-KGB boy Putin may try to ride this wave of anger to justify reverting to a totalitarian state. I'm not certain the democratic influences have taken sufficient hold to resist such a push when it is fueled with xenophobic anger and fear.

The Chechen terrorists most likely did not enter Russia directly from their homeland, but rather through less hostile nations with Islamic populations - Kazahstan, for example. So it could mean he intends to tighten the borders and internal controls. While it is not as onerous as it was twenty years ago, Russian citizens still need an internal passport to move about the country.

I think it safe to say both Russia and the world face perilous choices of huge historical significance in the near future courtesy of the Islamic crazies.

I hope they do find their 72 virgins and those virgins all have snouts.

[DK76]

Putin is already blaming Russian secruity weakness on the fall of the Soviet Union. It appears as though he does intend to tighten things up and make things much more totalitarian than they already are. Putin also denounced the tremendous amounts of corruption in the Russian police forces which is ironic considering the amount of corruption throughout the entire Russian political system. In a way Putin is correct. The Soviet Union collapsed because they couldn't keep up the Cold War economically. Russia has not paid some of their military personel in months. I simply do not believe that Russia has the financial resources avaliable to restore/re-train their military and combat terrorism. Knowing that he really can't do much, Putin is at least using the situation to expand his control over the Russian people.

[Icon-oclast]

Further evidence to support DK's point - Putin has already stated that any unofficial effort to seek revenge will itself be treated as terrorism. Of course, some of that could be concern about civil war (which realistically could threaten his power).

[DK76]

Although Putin is using the terror strikes in Russia to take Russia backwards instead of forward, I do have to applaud him for his response to Western calls to negotiate with the Chechen terrorists. Putin: "You find it possible to set some limitations in your dealings with these bastards, so why should we talk to people who are child-killers?" It seems Osama Bin Laden and Al Queda have become common enemies for many. It is in the West's best interest to strengthen their friendships with Russia for many reasons. I think it looks very foolish on the part of the United States and England to suggest that Putin hold meetings with people who purposely murder children especially after taking such a hard line against terrorism themselves. Unlike many, I did not feel very threatened after 9/11. As horrible as it was I felt it was a fluke that will not occur again. My boy had his first day of school last week and the attack on the school in Russia and attacks on softer targets like that elsewhere has me a lot more nervous. I hope it does not set a trend.

[Marlin]

BRAVO!!!!!!

I agree wholeheartedly, DK.

[offeror]

Putin: "You find it possible to set some limitations in your dealings with these bastards, so why should we talk to people who are child-killers?"

If you read his entire statement in the media today, Putin sounds critical of exactly how KERRY would like to treat terrorists if he were to win the Presidency. His comments, about inviting Osama to the White House and asking him what he wants, and treating terrorists as mere criminals rather than enemies in war, constitute a very good summary of Kerry's campaign promises on terrorism and foreign relations. It must be strange for the liberals to hear a Russian leader speaking this way. They will probably be calling him a "puppet of the West" soon to explain his strong stance on terrorism. If overtures were ever made from the US government toward the idea of independence for Chechnia, the Chechens have neatly disqualified themselves for sympathy by this immoral childkilling.

[DK76]

Intercepted communication traffic suggests that terrorists want to disrupt our election and do all things possible to bring about Bush's defeat at the ballot box. So terrorists openly support Kerry. Now what does that mean?

[islenos]

"So terrorists openly support Kerry. Now what does that mean?"

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