Kesaeva: the state failed to learn how to prevent terror acts

Terror acts are committed in Russia, because the state cannot prevent them. This is the opinion of Ella Kesaeva, head of the All-Russian Public Organization "Voice of Beslan".

"Unfortunately, the state can't or wouldn't like to take lessons from those tragedies, which could be prevented. Death of innocent victims could have been prevented, like in our case. So many people perished; so many children's and adults' tombs - and no conclusions; this is what oppresses us especially deeply," Ms Kesaeva said to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

She is convinced that since the authorities had failed to make any real and productive conclusions out of Beslan tragedy, "then, those minor tragedies that happen in Northern Caucasus every day would never force them to work towards ensuring safety and guarantees of constitutional rights of ordinary citizens."

"I don't see any other way out but to consolidate with other victims," Ella Kesaeva said and added that people still cannot feel safe.

Mziya Kokoity, an Ossetian by nationality, was born in Georgia. She came to Beslan in 1991 during the Georgian-Ossetian conflict. In the school terror act she lost her younger daughter of 12. Now, she blames herself for moving to Beslan.

"The time does not cure, just cripples; as though it happened yesterday. In our family, there are no those former relations, like before the terror, neither with the husband nor with elder kids. I feel like not living but coming to my end," Ms Kokoity said.

"Out of our neighbours 22 persons were hostages, 19 of them perished. We all were killed. My daughter burned down alive there; only two legs remained of her," the poor woman said.

Mziya Kokoity is sure that in the course of releasing hostages, it was possible to avoid such tremendous count of victims.

The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent met Emma Betrozova in the cemetery, in the "City of Angels". The woman lost all her family in the terror act: her husband and two children.

"My kids went to school with their father; I could not go, as I went to Nalchik. Thus, they got to school. The most painful is that I wasn't with them. My husband was shot dead in the gym in the eyes of children. Then, for three days they suffered from this pain; there was nobody to console them; I wasn't there," Emma reminds the events on September 1, 2004.

"All my life I thought like that: my task is to bring up my children healthy, fair, decent and loving - that's all; and safety is on other people. When the tragedy happened, I understood that everyone is responsible. I reproach myself for waiting for three days that someone would save children. We trusted their promises and waited that they would be saved. High-ranking people came out to us and said: don't interfere with our saving the children. And it's still more painful today from that. I should have crawled to the school on my knees; maybe, they would have released at least one of my kids in exchange. Five years have passed; however, not a single person was found guilty of this tragedy," said the victim.