Re: Beslan & Russian banditry

[Chris Doss <lookoverhere1@xxxxxxxxx>]

Of course the authorities are acting like bandits. The
system is thoroughly corrupt. That is one reason for
the human-rights abuses in Chechnya. Commanders use it
as an opportunity to enrich themselves, and there is
virtually no effective oversight over them, almost no
accountability. (The system can be made accountable by
enormous application of public pressure, as in the
case of the Budanov trial, but that is rare.) How do
you think the "bandits" made it all the way to the
Dubrovka theater? 99% chance they bribed someone. The
cops harrass everyone.

Blaming this on Putin is silly though. It is the
product of the anarchy of the Yeltsin era, which he
inherited. In fact most of the authoritarian moves
Putin has made have been to counteract it.

--- "Devine, James" <jdevine@xxxxxxx> wrote:

> I don't know much about Chechnya (to paraphrase an
> old rocknroller), but the story that Louis posts
> suggests that it's wrong to jump to take sides in
> the conflict. It's possible that both sides are
> wrong (it wouldn't be the first time that this was
> true). Perhaps the folks who attacked Beslan are
> "bandits," but the Russian authorities seem to be
> acting like bandits, too. And how did the "forces of
> order" (led by Putin) allow "bandits" to get so much
> power? does the existence of the "bandits" allow
> Putin to gather more power into his hands?
>



__________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Mail - 50x more storage than other providers!
http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail