fotos: Denis Sinyakov, Alexander Natruskin, Kazbek Basayev, de novo Denis Sinyakov, Mikhail Voskresensky e Vladimir Davydov
Sobre os atentados há mais apontamentos aqui: Tense days in Russia
Even after the Moscow attacks, there is little public discussion about the roots of the violence in the north Caucasus. Instead, politicians and commentators have talked up the explosions to their own political advantage. Apologists for the Kremlin blame the civilian deaths on liberals who destabilise the country with their criticism of the authorities. The government has used previous terrorist attacks to justify scrapping independent television broadcasts and cancelling regional elections. This makes the apologists’ pseudo-patriotic slogans of unity with the Kremlin all the more alarming. Yet the Kremlin’s opponents, just as worryingly, all but accuse it of orchestrating the attacks as an excuse to grab more power.
Few Russian public figures rose above immediate political concerns.
The Moscov Times: Lyudmila Alexeyeva
The New York Times: Lyudmila Alexeyev
Metro Bomb Attacks
lm_alexeeva
http://lm-alexeeva.livejournal.com/
After the Moscow bombings
Another Russian tragedy
Two horrifying terrorist metro bombings in Moscow, but still there is a need for a new approach to the north Caucasus
Mar 31st 2010 | MOSCOW
The security services soon identified the two suicide bombers and their minders on security cameras as they boarded their trains. The response of the emergency services was fast and efficient, evacuating people, providing access to ambulances and setting up a special headquarters. Indeed, in large measure the city coped well with the attacks.
That may be because Moscow’s metro has had several terrorist attacks in the past two decades. The deadliest was in 2004, when 41 people died. That black year saw two bombs on the Moscow metro, two lost aircraft and, worst of all, the siege of a packed school in Beslan, North Ossetia.
Since then Moscow has had no terrorist attacks and has lived in relative comfort, insulated from the simmering violence of the north Caucasus. The war in Chechnya was over and the republic appeared relatively calm under its strongman president, Ramzan Kadyrov. This former rebel had secured elements of autonomy, and massive subsidies, for Chechnya from Moscow.
However, in recent years, violence has spread from Chechnya throughout the region. (Alexander Bortnikov, head of the Russian security service, was careful to identify the sources of the Moscow bombing as the north Caucasus, not Chechnya.) Russia’s president, Dmitry Medvedev, has described the situation in the north Caucasus as Russia’s biggest domestic political problem. Two days after the Moscow attacks, a pair of bombs exploded in Dagestan, which neighbours Chechnya, killing many and injuring scores.
Arbitrary killings, disappearances, torture, inter-clan warfare and corruption have become normal in the region. As Russia’s own officials have admitted, some of the money and weapons come from corrupt bureaucrats who pay off terrorists. The corruption and brutality of those who identify themselves as representatives of the state have also helped the terrorists to recruit radicalised youths.
Last month Doku Umarov, a terrorist leader and the self-proclaimed emir of the north Caucasus, warned that war was coming to Russia’s cities. Several high-ranking leaders of militant organisations led by him have been killed in counter-terrorist operations in recent weeks. Some observers see the Moscow bombings as an act of revenge. Others say they would have been in preparation for months.
Few Russians outside the north Caucasus pay attention to the violence in the region. Although it is part of the Russian Federation, few Muslims from the region feel comfortable and welcome outside their home. Yet as the Moscow metro bombings show, the north Caucasus is part of Russia—and changing the situation there requires reforms in the whole country.
Even after the Moscow attacks, there is little public discussion about the roots of the violence in the north Caucasus. Instead, politicians and commentators have talked up the explosions to their own political advantage. Apologists for the Kremlin blame the civilian deaths on liberals who destabilise the country with their criticism of the authorities. The government has used previous terrorist attacks to justify scrapping independent television broadcasts and cancelling regional elections. This makes the apologists’ pseudo-patriotic slogans of unity with the Kremlin all the more alarming. Yet the Kremlin’s opponents, just as worryingly, all but accuse it of orchestrating the attacks as an excuse to grab more power.
Few Russian public figures rose above immediate political concerns. An exception was Lyudmila Alexeyeva, a veteran human-rights defender, who was one of only a few to agonise over whether to join an anti-government protest on March 31st. In the end, as she wrote in her blog, she decided to pay her respects to the dead instead. Depressingly few politicians or other public figures in Russia even recognised her dilemma.
via The Economist
via blog do Yashin
O agressor: Pereverzev Konstantin
Pereverzev Konstantin, até então um desconhecido, identificado mais tarde pela polícia como tendo 29 anos e sendo formado em teologia, rompeu a multidão – que ontem se juntou frente ao Metro Park Kultury para homenagear as vítimas dos atentados de 2ª feira – e depois de perguntar a Lyudmila Alexeyeva «Ainda estás viva , cabra?», agrediu-a na cabeça. Lyudmila tem 82 anos e sentiu-se mal com a pancada, tendo sido imediatamente transportada para casa.
Limonov said Tuesday that the rally had to go ahead despite the bombings. "The battle for freedom and the Constitution cannot be suspended for holidays or even a day of mourning," Limonov wrote in his blog. "Freedom is more important than grief."
Alexeyeva, Skipping Anti-Kremlin Rally, Is Struck in Head
01 April 2010
Pro-Kremlin youth activists hold Russian flags during a rally against terrorism in central Moscow, Wednesday, March 31, 2010.
Police officers detain The Other Russia leader, a prominent Kremlin critic, Eduard Limonov during an unauthorized anti-Kremlin protest in Moscow, Wednesday, March 31, 2010.
Veteran human rights campaigner Lyudmila Alexeyeva was struck in the head as she laid flowers for bombing victims in the Park Kultury metro station late Wednesday instead of attending an anti-Kremlin rally.
The 82-year-old activist said the attacker — a young man — approached and asked, "Are you still alive?" before hitting her. Footage of the incident is visible here.
"I'm alive. Maybe I have got a slight concussion," Alexeyeva said shortly after the incident, Interfax reported.
The unidentified man was detained by the police, the report said.
Alexeyeva had decided to pay tribute to the 39 people who died when two suicide bombers blew themselves up in the Park Kultury and Lubyanka metro stations on Monday instead of joining opposition activists at a rally on Triumfalnaya Ploshchad.
The absence of Alexeyeva — as well as Solidarity opposition leaders Boris Nemtsov, Ilya Yashin and Vladimir Milov, who said in a statement that the time was not right for "bloody PR" — meant that plans for the rally fizzled.
It didn't help matters that about 3,000 young people crowded onto the square for a sanctioned concert organized by pro-Kremlin youth groups, and the 2,000 police officers guarding the area quickly detained Eduard Limonov, a leader of the Other Russia opposition group, and several dozen opposition activists who showed up.
Limonov said Tuesday that the rally had to go ahead despite the bombings. "The battle for freedom and the Constitution cannot be suspended for holidays or even a day of mourning," Limonov wrote in his blog. "Freedom is more important than grief."
Opposition politicians and human rights activists have gathered on the square on the 31st day of every month to call attention to Article 31 of the Russian Constitution, which provides the right of free assembly.
The activists say the authorities, who have refused to authorize the rallies, have violated the Constitution by not allowing them to protest. Previous protests have been broken up by police.
Several dozen Other Russia activists exited the Mayakovskaya metro station on Wednesday evening and were quickly detained by police, Interfax reported. The activists were whisked away as music blared across the nearby square from the pro-Kremlin youth concert, dubbed "Youth Against Terror," the report said.
City Hall, which authorized the concert, criticized the opposition's attempt to rally, saying in a statement that the opposition cared too much about "political ambitions."
Earlier Wednesday, the pro-Kremlin youth group Young Guard set up a mobile blood center on Triumfalnaya Ploshchad to collect blood for people injured in the bombings. Dozens of people lined up outside the van in the morning.
But not all people who wanted to donate blood are allowed to do so. The law requires that donors be Russian citizens with Moscow residency permits — a precaution in case doctors need to trace the donor at a later date.
"I tried to donate blood on Tuesday but was told that no foreigners are accepted — with no reason mentioned," said Francois Nonnenmacher, a French citizen who has worked as a consultant in Moscow for the past five years. "My blood is from a rare group and, besides, I have to take blood tests regularly to get a work permit.
The 82-year-old activist said the attacker — a young man — approached and asked, "Are you still alive?" before hitting her. Footage of the incident is visible here.
"I'm alive. Maybe I have got a slight concussion," Alexeyeva said shortly after the incident, Interfax reported.
The unidentified man was detained by the police, the report said.
Alexeyeva had decided to pay tribute to the 39 people who died when two suicide bombers blew themselves up in the Park Kultury and Lubyanka metro stations on Monday instead of joining opposition activists at a rally on Triumfalnaya Ploshchad.
The absence of Alexeyeva — as well as Solidarity opposition leaders Boris Nemtsov, Ilya Yashin and Vladimir Milov, who said in a statement that the time was not right for "bloody PR" — meant that plans for the rally fizzled.
It didn't help matters that about 3,000 young people crowded onto the square for a sanctioned concert organized by pro-Kremlin youth groups, and the 2,000 police officers guarding the area quickly detained Eduard Limonov, a leader of the Other Russia opposition group, and several dozen opposition activists who showed up.
Limonov said Tuesday that the rally had to go ahead despite the bombings. "The battle for freedom and the Constitution cannot be suspended for holidays or even a day of mourning," Limonov wrote in his blog. "Freedom is more important than grief."
Opposition politicians and human rights activists have gathered on the square on the 31st day of every month to call attention to Article 31 of the Russian Constitution, which provides the right of free assembly.
The activists say the authorities, who have refused to authorize the rallies, have violated the Constitution by not allowing them to protest. Previous protests have been broken up by police.
Several dozen Other Russia activists exited the Mayakovskaya metro station on Wednesday evening and were quickly detained by police, Interfax reported. The activists were whisked away as music blared across the nearby square from the pro-Kremlin youth concert, dubbed "Youth Against Terror," the report said.
City Hall, which authorized the concert, criticized the opposition's attempt to rally, saying in a statement that the opposition cared too much about "political ambitions."
Earlier Wednesday, the pro-Kremlin youth group Young Guard set up a mobile blood center on Triumfalnaya Ploshchad to collect blood for people injured in the bombings. Dozens of people lined up outside the van in the morning.
But not all people who wanted to donate blood are allowed to do so. The law requires that donors be Russian citizens with Moscow residency permits — a precaution in case doctors need to trace the donor at a later date.
"I tried to donate blood on Tuesday but was told that no foreigners are accepted — with no reason mentioned," said Francois Nonnenmacher, a French citizen who has worked as a consultant in Moscow for the past five years. "My blood is from a rare group and, besides, I have to take blood tests regularly to get a work permit.
via The Moscow Times
Alexeyava Claims Assault Was Preplanned
01 April 2010
Lyudmila Alexeyeva, center, being escorted by Boris Nemtsov, right, after visting the memorial at the Park Kultury metro station on Wednesday, March 31.foto: Mikhail Metzel / AP
An 82-year-old Russian human rights activist said on Thursday that she had probably been the target of a preplanned attack at a memorial to commemorate victims of the Moscow bombs that killed 39 people.
Video footage shows a man striking Lyudmila Alexeyeva across the head as she gave media interviews after laying flowers on the station platform at Park Kultury metro station late on Wednesday, the site of one of the two blasts.
"I think it was an order from some organization, because there cannot be any personal motivation as I do not know that person," said Alexeyeva, a Soviet-era dissident and founder of the country's oldest rights group, the Moscow Helsinki Group.
"Everything is fine now, I feel well," she told Reuters. "The strike was not a serious one."
Images of the elderly Alexeyeva being detained at an anti-Kremlin protest on New Year's Eve —dressed as the Snegurochka, the traditional Russian female helper to the Slavic version of Santa Claus — made headlines around the world and drew condemnation from the European Union and the U.S. White House.
Alexeyeva, one of the only critics from the Soviet Union who remains active in confronting Russia's current leadership, has helped organize monthly protests of Kremlin critics on the last day of each month to highlight official efforts to silence them.
"You're still alive? B---h!" Alexeyeva's assailant shouted before being wrestled to the ground.
Oleg Orlov of the Memorial rights group was standing beside Alexeyeva when she was struck and shouted, "Beast, provocateur, grab him!"
Russian news agencies reported on Wednesday that police had detained the man. But on Thursday Moscow police declined to say if he would face charges.
"We are checking the information and we do not want to give any comments at the moment," a spokesman said.
fonte: Reuters via The Moscow Times
Cf. também:
http://www.youtube.com/robertamster
Journalist and blogger Grigory Pasko interviews leaders of Russia's political opposition in this online video series, Faces of the Opposition. See the blog www.robertamsterdam.com for more information.
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