11 November 2003, 18:07
Member of the European Parliament Oliver Dupuis considered Silvio Berlusconi's statements about Chechnya "haughty and cynical"
Statement of Oliver Dupuis, Member of the European Parliament (radicals)
Statements of Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi according to which the mass media should "stop spreading myths" are haughty and cynical.
If we "should look at the real facts", as Mr. Berlusconi stated, we can't but observe the full-scale genocide being committed in Chechnya. It is enough for us, as well as for Mr. Berlusconi and his advisers, to read reports of Amnesty International, the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights, Human Rights Watch or even of the pro-Russian administration of Mr. Kadyrov. These reports show the Russian forces are responsible for continuing gross violations of fundamental human rights.
After his visit to Chechnya last week, which did not excel in emphasizing the observance of fundamental human rights, Mr. Berlusconi undertook another disgraceful deed: he supported the stance of President Putin, who had come into power and developed his muscles by perpetrating the genocide of the small nationality.
It is time for the Italian Prime Minister to take up more seriously the peaceful plan which was advanced by Chechen Foreign Minister Ilyas Akhmadov and which I call upon all people of Europe and the whole world to support on the website of the Transnational Radical Party www.radicalparty.org.
Brussels, November 6, 2003
Source: Transnational Radical Party
