[All previous posts on this story can be viewed here.]

Guardian:

Vladimir Putin, last night refused to order a public inquiry into how the Beslan school was captured by gunmen and then ended with such a high death toll, and told the Guardian that people who call for talks with Chechen leaders have no conscience.

"Why don't you meet Osama bin Laden, invite him to Brussels or to the White House and engage in talks, ask him what he wants and give it to him so he leaves you in peace? Why don't you do that?" he said with searing sarcasm.

"You find it possible to set some limitations in your dealings with these bastards, so why should we talk to people who are childkillers?

"No one has a moral right to tell us to talk to childkillers," he added.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but Margaret Thatcher, whom I've met more than once said: 'A man who comes out into the street to kill other people must himself be killed'," he told the Guardian.

Basayev Directed the Seizure by Phone

According to the information the Washington Post received from the Russian officials, the seizure was directed by 4 people, including “a bodyguard of Basayev's and a former police officer who turned against authorities and led a bloody attack in the neighboring republic of Ingushetia last June… All four leaders were killed in the battle at the school.”

Further down in the article, comes this:

We also think it a shame that the respected newspaper, like many other western media, calls the beasts, who shot at our children's backs, such words as “prisoners” “insurgents,” “rebels,” “hostage-takers,” “militants” and even “guerillas!” The UN has labeled them terrorists - why don't the press?

Indeed.

This WaPo article reports that Russian special services have surveillance tapes of the terrorists arguing with each other and also quotes from the one terrorist who has been captured:

"We gathered in the forest and the Colonel -- it's his nickname -- and they said we must seize the school in Beslan," said the man, who had short, dark hair and no beard. He said the orders came from Basayev and another Chechen commander, Aslan Maskhadov, and that his group included Arabs and Uzbeks as well as Chechens and people of other nationalities. "When we asked the Colonel why we must do it, he said, 'Because we need to start war in the entire territory of the North Caucasus.' "[aslo reported here]

I'll leave off, for now, with this:

Sveta Aylyarova, a 6-year-old first-grader, arrived in an open coffin, its top carried separately by six men. Her body was veiled in lace, and atop her legs was her pink teddy bear.

"She was a beautiful, smart little girl," said Khazbi Aylyarov, the oldest relative standing in front of the coffin, restraining his grief so he could get the words out.

And then the coffins were shuttered with final, haunting bangs before they were placed in the red-bricked holes. Pieces of concrete were lowered on top before dirt was shoveled into the hole by young men, rain streaming down their faces.

Posted by Michele at September 7, 2004 08:36 AM | TrackBack