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| Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 99MOSCOW4277 | 1999-02-26 15:30 | 2011-08-30 01:44 | CONFIDENTIAL | Embassy Moscow |
O 261530Z FEB 99 FM AMEMBASSY MOSCOW TO SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5841 INFO CIS COLLECTIVE MOSCOW POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MOSCOW 004277 DEPT FOR S/NIS AND EUR/RUS E.O. 12958: DECL: 2/26/09 TAGS: PGOV PREL RS SUBJECT: SHARIA, SHURA, AND STATEHOOD IN CHECHNYA REF: MOSCOW 2479 CLASSIFIED BY EDWARD J. SALAZAR, CHIEF, INTERNAL POLITICAL AFFAIRS REASONS: 1.5 (B) AND (D). ORDWAY. REASONS: 1.5 (B) AND (D). ------- SUMMARY ------- ¶1. (C) CHECHEN PRESIDENT MASKHADOV DECLARED A STATE OF SHARIA (ISLAMIC) LAW EARLY IN FEBRUARY, PROMPTING A FLOOD OF HIGH-LEVEL CRITICISM IN MOSCOW. RUSSIAN POLITICIANS HAVE PREDICTED WORSENING RUSSIAN-CHECHEN RELATIONS DUE TO THE SUSPENSION OF CONSTITUTIONAL LAW IN THE BREAKAWAY REPUBLIC. ACCORDING TO REGIONAL EXPERTS, THE INTRODUCTION OF SHARIA LAW AND A SHURA (COUNCIL) IN CHECHNYA MAY BE NO MORE THAN A LAST DITCH ATTEMPT BY MASKHADOV TO UNITE A SHARPLY-DIVIDED POPULATION AND BUILD A SENSE OF STATEHOOD. THE PROGNOSIS, HOWEVER, REMAINS THE SAME: IT IS UNLIKELY THAT MASKHADOV OR THE OPPOSITION CAN ACCOMPLISH THIS TASK. END SUMMARY. ------------------------------------------- OUT WITH THE LEGISLATURE, IN WITH THE SHURA ------------------------------------------- ¶2. (U) ON FEBRUARY 3, THE INTRODUCTION OF FULL-SCALE SHARIA (ISLAMIC) LAW WAS ANNOUNCED IN CHECHNYA ON THE INITIATIVE OF CHECHEN PRESIDENT ASLAN MASKHADOV. TO BEGIN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF SHARIA LAW, MASKHADOV SIGNED SEVERAL DECREES STIPULATING THAT ALL LOCAL LEGISLATION MUST BE BROUGHT INTO LINE WITH THE KORAN AND DECREED THE CREATION OF A SHURA (COUNCIL) ACCORDING TO SHARIA REGULATIONS. PRESS REPORTS FURTHER INDICATE THAT, IN AN EFFORT TO HASTEN THE TRANSITION TO ISLAMIC LAW, THE EXISTING CHECHEN LEGISLATURE WAS STRIPPED OF ITS LEGISLATIVE FUNCTIONS, AND THE POST OF VICE PRESIDENT WAS ABOLISHED. ------------------------------------------- OUT WITH THE LEGISLATURE, IN WITH THE SHURA ------------------------------------------- ¶3. (C) ON FEBRUARY 10, CHECHNYA'S NEWLY-FORMED SHURA ASSUMED RESPONSIBILITY FOR "CONSULTING" WITH PRESIDENT MASKHADOV, ACCORDING TO PRESS ACCOUNTS. THE CHECHEN SHURA IS COMPRISED OF 34 MEMBERS IN ADDITION TO MASKHADOV. THE SHURA INCLUDES SEVERAL PROMINENT OPPOSITION LEADERS SUCH AS FORMER PM SHAMIL BASAYEV, FORMER VP VAKHA ARSANOV, FORMER PRESIDENT ZELIMKHAN YANDERBIYEV, AND OPPOSITION FIELD COMMANDER KHUNKOR- PASHA ISRAPILOV. (NOTE: ALTHOUGH CHECHEN "WAR LORDS" ARBI BARAYEV AND AL-KHATTAB ARE NOT MEMBERS OF THE SHURA, OBSERVERS BELIEVE THEY CONTINUE IN THEIR SUPPORT OF BASAYEV. END NOTE) ¶4. (U) ALTHOUGH MASKHADOV'S ACTIONS ARE WIDELY BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN AN EFFORT TO CO-OPT HIS EXTREMIST OPPOSITION, THE INTRODUCTION OF FULL-SCALE SHARIA AND THE CREATION OF A SHURA HAVE NOT CREATED PEACE INSIDE THE REBEL REPUBLIC. THE CHECHEN OPPOSITION, LED MOST OFTEN BY BASAYEV, CONTINUED TO EXERT PRESSURE ON CHECHEN SOCIETY TO REMOVE MASKHADOV FROM HIS POST AS PRESIDENT. IN AN INTERVIEW WITH THE RUSSIAN PRESS ON FEBRUARY 23, BASAYEV CLAIMED MASKHADOV'S INTRODUCTION OF SHARIA LAW WAS "INSINCERE," AND ALLEGED THAT AN INDEPENDENT SHARIA COURT WILL BE FORMED WHICH WILL "DECIDE WHO IS GUILTY" AND RECOMMEND APPROPRIATE PUNISHMENT FOR THE "GUILTY." NO FURTHER DETAILS WERE GIVEN. ¶5. (C) ACCORDING TO CAUCASUS EXPERT ALEKSEY MALASHENKO OF THE MOSCOW CARNEGIE CENTER, THE SHURA CREATED IN CHECHNYA IS NOT A TRADITIONAL MOSLEM SHURA RUN BY RELIGIOUS MEN. INSTEAD, MALASHENKO BELIEVES, THE CHECHEN SHURA IS A COUNCIL OF MILITARY MEN. MALASHENKO CLAIMS THE CHECHENS CAME TO HIM OVER A YEAR AGO AND ASKED FOR MATERIALS AND INFORMATION ON SHARIA LAW AND BUILDING AN ISLAMIC STATE. HE SAYS HE ADVISED THEM ON THE DIFFICULTY OF MOSLEM CIVIC EDUCATION IN A POST- SOVIET SOCIETY, AND GAVE THEM BOOKS ON ISLAM AND SHARIA LAW. AFTER WATCHING THE EVENTS OF THE PAST MONTH, MALASHENKO SADLY CONCLUDED THAT NO ONE IN THE CHECHEN LEADERSHIP EVER READ THE MATERIAL THEY RECEIVED. --------------------- FROM "BAD" TO "WORSE" --------------------- ¶6. (U) MASKHADOV'S MOVE TO INTRODUCE SHARIA AND FORM A SHURA BEFORE HIS OPPOSITION BEAT HIM TO IT HAS BEEN MET WITH A FLOOD OF HIGH-LEVEL CRITICISM ELSEWHERE. COMMUNIST LEADER GENNADIY ZYUGANOV CALLED THE INTRODUCTION OF SHARIA LAW A "ROLL-BACK TO THE DARK AGES" AND PREDICTED A WORSENING OF THE REFUGEE SITUATION IN THE REGION. DEPUTY PM FOR REGIONAL AFFAIRS VADIM GUSTOV CHARACTERIZED THE INTRODUCTION OF SHARIA AS DIVISIVE, AND CLAIMED IT MAY LEAD TO A "YUGOSLAVIA VERSION" OF RUSSIA, AND WILL MEAN "WAR." ¶7. (C) GUSTOV MAY FIND HE HAS LITTLE SUPPORT FOR A MILITARY INTERVENTION IN CHECHNYA, HOWEVER. ACCORDING TO A MOSCOW OPINION POLL CONDUCTED ON FEBRUARY 12-14, ONLY THREE PERCENT OF THOSE POLLED BELIEVE THAT THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD USE MILITARY FORCE TO BRING CHECHNYA FULLY BACK INTO THE FOLD OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION. SIXTY-EIGHT PERCENT OPPOSE THE USE FORCE, EVEN THOUGH THE MAJORITY OF RESPONDENTS BELIEVE CHECHNYA IS A PART OF RUSSIA. ¶8. (U) ALTHOUGH CLEARLY IN THE MINORITY, MODERATE VOICES HAVE SPOKEN OUT WITH A "WAIT AND SEE" ATTITUDE TOWARDS CHECHEN SHARIA. SPEAKER OF THE RUSSIAN DUMA, GENNADIY SELEZNEV, STATED THAT REGIONAL EXPERTS MUST FIRST SPECIFY WHAT KIND OF SHARIA RULE CHECHNYA WILL ADOPT OF FICIALLY BEFORE AN OPINION CAN BE FORMED. THE PREDICTABLY MODERATE DAGESTAN-BORN MINISTER FOR NATIONALITIES, RAMAZAN ABDULATIPOV, CALLED THE INTRODUCTION OF SHARIA IN CHECHNYA "A RASH STEP" AND STATED THAT MASKHADOV HAS "WEAKENED HIS POSITION" AND MAY BE REMOVED FROM HIS PRESIDENTIAL POST AT ANY TIME BY THE NEWLY-FORMED SHURA. ABDULATIPOV ALSO QUESTIONED THE ABILITY OF CHECHNYA TO "EXERCISE CIVILIZED ISLAM AND SHARIA LAW," POINTING OUT THAT "NO ONE IN CHECHEN SOCIETY IS SUFFICIENTLY VERSED ON SHARIA STANDARDS, BEGINNING WITH THE PRESIDENT AND ENDING WITH THE FIELD COMMANDERS." ------- COMMENT ------- ¶9. (C) THE FIRST WEEKS FOLLOWING THE INTRODUCTION OF SHARIA LAW IN CHECHNYA HAVE BROUGHT NO RESOLUTION TO THE ONGOING POWER STRUGGLE BETWEEN PRESIDENT MASKHADOV AND THE OPPOSITION FIELD COMMANDERS. MASKHADOV AND THE OPPOSITION HAVE YET TO REVEAL THE "DEGREE" OF SHARIA THEY INTEND TO IMPOSE. THEIR NEWLY-CREATED SHURA DOES APPEAR TO BE NO MORE THAN A COUNCIL OF MILITARY MEN, AS NO SPIRITUAL LEADERSHIP HAS EMERGED FROM THE RUINS OF CHECHEN SOCIETY. ACCORDING TO REGIONAL EXPERTS, THE QUESTION OF CHECHNYA'S ABILITY TO BUILD ANY TYPE OF STATE, INCLUDING AN ISLAMIC ONE, REMAINS THE CORE ISSUE. THE OFFICIAL SUSPENSION OF CONSTITUTIONAL LAW IN THE BREAKAWAY REPUBLIC, HOWEVER PRO-FORMA, MAY SIGNAL THE FURTHER WORSENING OF RELATIONS BETWEEN CHECHNYA AND MOSCOW, PARTICULARLY IF NO COMPROMISE FORMULA CAN BRIDGE THE GAP NEEDED TO GIVE SHARIA LAW THE VEIL OF CONFORMANCE WITH THE RUSSIAN CONSTITUTION. COLLINS
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