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"GFJ Commentary"
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"GFJ Commentary" presents a view of members of GFJ on relations of Japan with the rest of the world and other related international affairs. The view expressed herein is the author's own and should not be attributed to GFJ.
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Reflections on Russia Train Bombing
By OOTOMI Akira
Editor in Chief, Chechen News
On November 27, 2009, a bomb exploded in a train travelling between Moscow to St. Petersburg and 26 people were officially reported to have been killed. According to news release on December 2nd, a statement was posted on Kavkazcenter.com, a website linked to Chechen separatists that the train bombing was carried out in the name of Doku Umarov, a pro-independence field commander and the Emir of the "Caucasus Emirate." On the other hand, however, it has also been pointed out that Commander Umarov does not have operational units to carry out large scale terrorist attacks, nor is he powerful enough to cooperate with other armed organizations.
In retrospect, virtually no cases of major terrorist attacks that have taken place in Russia have been brought to trial, and virtually no Chechens have been convicted. Nur-Pashi Kulayev, one of those militants who participated in the Beslan school hostage seizure, was taken alive on the spot but afterwards went missing during the trial, and even the investigation committee of Russia's lower house has lost his whereabouts. In fact, there was only a limited number of cases planned and commited by Chechen separatists. Besides, it was highly possible that the Russian apartment bombings in 1999, which resulted in the Second Chechen war, were a false flag operation coordinated by the Russian government itself.
The reason why Commander Umarov, the Russian government or intelligence agencies needed a "terrorist attack" this time is not clear, as they must have their own reasons to do so. The case would most probably be smothered up after mere perfunctory investigation, without revealing the whole truth of it. However, the worldwide broadcast of this case by carrying a headline "Chechen rebels claim Russia train bombing" has, as usual, advertizing effects.
The number of those killed in "Terrorist attacks" attributed to Chechens is estimated roughly at 1,000, whereas that of those killed in Russian military incersions in Chechnya since 1994 is estimated at as many as 200,000. Even though terrorism is far from approvable, given that so much of injustice is left untouched in Chechnya, it is no wonder that terrorism does happen outisde Chechnya. While there is little media coverage on those killed in Chechnya, so many headlines are being made on the cases merely "attributed" to Chechens. Thus, Chechens have been stigmatized as a terrorist nation.
Needless to say, train bombings should be disapproved of and homicide should be denied. If so, strafe against a convoy of Chechen refugees by the Russian warplanes should also be condemned. The mass media should be suspected of forgetting this point. While the killing of Ahmed Kadirov, who was obedient to Moscow, was labeled "terrorism," the killing of Aslan Maskhadov, a Chechenyi moderate politician, was not considered "terrorism." Besides, the deaths of Natalia Estmirova and Anna Politkovskaya, who fell victim to the political power, have been neglected.
It seems that the mass media take for granted the scheme that terrorism are attributes associated with Chechens and the Russian suppression of Chechnya is a neccesitated police action and not to be considered terrorism. In order not to be misled by such a scheme and to understand those incidents in a neutral and fair manner, we should first of all sharpen our perspectives on what is going on out there.
(This is the English translation of an article which originally appeared on the BBS "Giron-Hyakushutsu" of GFJ on 4 December, 2009, and was posted on "GFJ Commentary" on 31 December, 2009.)
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For more views and opinions in the backnumber of "GFJ Commentary," the latest of which are as follows, please refer to:
http://www.gfj.jp/eng/commentary/backnumber.html
No.26 Unfathomable Japanese Policy toward Russia
by HAKAMADA Shigeki, Professor, Aoyama Gakuin University
(31 October 2009)
No.25 Adopt a New Pacifism as Japan's National Policy
by YUSHITA Hiroyuki, Visiting Professor, Kyorin University
(31 August 2009)
No.24 What We Expect from India
by IWAKUNI Tetsundo, Member of the House of Representatives (DPJ)
(30 June 2009)
No.23 On Democratizing the World
by YANO Takuya, Research Fellow, The Japan Forum on International Relations (JFIR)
(30 April 2009)
No.22 Suggestions from Japan for Post-Kyoto Protocol Framework
by SUZUKI Keisuke, Member of the House of Representatives (LDP)
(26 February 2009)
No.21 How We Should Respond to Terrorism
by HOSONO Goshi, Member of the House of Representatives (DPJ)
(23 January 2009)
"GFJ Updates"
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"GFJ Updates" introduces to you latest events, announcements and/or publications of GFJ
Announcement
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The Global Forum of Japan (GFJ), under the co-sponsorship with Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC), organized "The Third Japan-Black Sea Area Dialogue: Prospects of Changing Black Sea Area and Role of Japan" in Tokyo on 26-27 January, 2010.
For more, please refer to:
http://www.gfj.jp/eng/dialogue/34/cp.pdf
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