14:01, 26 February 2004

Action of Moscow anarchists against war in Chechnya

Over 50 people staged an unauthorized demonstration in downtown Moscow on February 23. The action lasted for about 30 minutes and ended with a 5-minute meeting at the Solovetsky stone [a memorial to the victims of Soviet-era political repressions on Lubyanskaya Square]. The purpose of the demonstration was to express a protest against actions of the Russian army in Chechnya, against abductions and extrajudicial punishments of civilians there, and against the discrimination of Chechens by their ethnic belonging all over Russia. The demonstrators' slogans were "No to war in Chechnya!", "Our enemy is not in Chechnya, our enemy is in the Kremlin!" "We don't want to be cannon fodder for this war. Only a mass antiwar movement can make authorities stop the high-handedness committed in Chechnya by their approbation," the demonstrators believe.

Editors note: See also the articles "Action devoted to 60th anniversary of deportation of Chechens takes place in Kazan", "Meeting in Petersburg in commemoration of 60th anniversary of deportation of Chechen people", "Films of international Chechnya Film Festival shown in Ryazan" "Attack on participants in antiwar picket in Izhevsk", "Over 200 people in Prague stage rally for peace in Chechnya", "International Helsinki Federation condemns break-up of meeting in Moscow to oppose armed conflict in Chechnya".