Sunday, October 28, 2007

Chechnya issue discussed at Taipei seminar

Taipei, Oct. 27 (CNA) Hundreds of Taiwan citizens attended a forum Saturday that focused on Chechnya, an autonomous republic of Russia that sought independence, and went home with a better understanding of events in the Central Asia and the cruelty of war.

The forum, titled "The Chechnya You Don't Know, " screened a documentary on Chechnya before a speech by Erkin Ekrem, who once taught in Taiwan and is now a history professor at Turkey's Hacettepe University.

The independence movement in Chechnya spans over 200 years against a complicated background of ethnicity, religion, geopolitics and political control of the Russian Federation, said Ekrem.

Russia will not tolerate Chechnya independence because of the autonomous republic's important strategic location and its rich oil resources, Ekrem said. Russia also fears a "domino effect" of independence movements among its 21 autonomous republics, he added.

He said international support of the Chechnya independence movement took a downturn after Chechen separatists began a string of suicide attacks and bombings in Moscow in recent years.

Since the first and second Chechen wars from 1994-2000, during which an estimated 300,000 Chechens were killed, there has been reconstruction and rebuilding in Chechnya, and the Russian government has regained control of the region. However, future unrest remains an issue, said forum moderator Wang Sing-shu, a professor at the Graduate Institute of Russian Studies of National Chengchi University.

Responding to a question from the audience, Ekrem doubted that a better economy will stop Chechnya from seeking independence because " nowadays, terrorists come from all walks of life, not just from poor families."

"It's all about survival. For the Chechens, survival means an independent country. For Russia, it means the federation cannot afford to lose Chechnya, " Wang summed up.

The forum was among a series of events organized by the Lung Yingtai Cultural Foundation, which tries to raise Taiwanese citizens' understanding of international affairs. Upcoming forums are scheduled to discuss Cuba, Israel-Palestine relations and the Malay peninsula.