08 March 2007, 23:00
Experts find no links of conflict in Chechnya with international jihad
On March 3, in Algeria, a bus was exploded of Russian Company "Strojtransgaz" with Russian specialists in it. Consequently, four persons died, three of them were Algerians. The North-African branch of "Al-Qaeda" took responsibility for the explosion, committed in protest against the actions of Russian authorities in Chechnya. Sergey Markedonov, scientific representative of the Institute for Political and Military Analysis, and Heidar Dzhemal, chairman of the Moslem community of Russia, told the correspondent of the "Caucasian Knot" that pro-Chechen radical moods are popular in today's Arab world. However, one should differentiate among the motives and reasons of these or those actions in support of Chechnya by Islamic radicals.
"I think that today it wouldn't be quite fair to state that Russia is at some religious war against Chechnya. The main Russia's threat there is not so much the Islamic radicalism, but a threat of systemic separatism. That is, a threat that Kadyrov will privatize the power - this threat is much more serious for Russia," Sergey Markedonov thinks.
"The pro-Chechen spirits have always been strong in the Arab world. But what does it mean - pro-Chechen? One should separate the pro-Chechen moods from the pro-Islamic ones. And the Islamic factor is international. Today, Ramzan Kadyrov is someone like Spanish General Franco. Therefore, the pro-Chechen moods should be connected with him, while the international pro-Islamic moods are already connected with mujahads," this is the viewpoint expressed by Heidar Dzhemal.
The question whether Chechnya can rely today on support by the Arab world was not unambiguously answered by the experts.
Author: Alexandra Kondrasheva, CK correspondent
