Chechen leader calls PACE platform for Russian democrats ‘fix’

This was stated by Djamboulat Souleimanov, Head of the Chechen movement United Force and authorized representative of six other indigenous peoples of Russia, in a comment to Ukrinform on the sidelines of the autumn session of PACE.

“We came here with the intention of creating our own platform and not joining the Russian opposition’s platform, which would legitimize them. We do not believe these people represent anyone in Russia — they are marginal figures who do not even represent their own people, let alone others. However, we had to slightly move from our principled position because our friends — deputies — strongly advised us to participate in this platform,” he said.

According to Souleimanov, under the resolution adopted this week by PACE, one-third of the seats on the platform for Russian democratic forces should be given to representatives of Russia’s indigenous peoples. He claims that the Russians have already prepared “convenient” representatives for this purpose.

“Essentially, they want their people to embody all the nationalities of Russia — that’s a fix. We anticipated this and have confirmed that they have already prepared such candidates. We will not allow these manipulations to go unchecked and will systematically explain them,” Souleimanov added.

He also thanked Ukraine’s allies, who managed to include a reference in the resolution to a separate platform for indigenous peoples, which the Chechen political movement insists upon.

“Our plan now is to enter this platform as one-third of the representatives while simultaneously working on establishing a separate platform for the oppressed peoples of Russia, including Chechens as an independent occupied nation,” he said, noting that the Russian opposition itself currently avoids dialogue with them.

“We are ready for open communication with everyone. Meanwhile, we notice that the Russian representatives often avoid contact: they look aside and walk away instead of sitting at the table and talking. This complicates the possibility of genuine dialogue. However, it must be emphasized that we, Chechens, do not wish to live in their state and do not see a shared future with them,” the Chechen political leader stressed.

Souleimanov believes that the PACE leadership is now responsible for making the platform work.

“It is the PACE leadership — the president, the secretary-general, or the chair of the political committee — who must now seek formats to sit at the table and find conditions for dialogue. If this fails, it will become another argument for the necessity of a separate platform. We have prepared materials and arguments demonstrating its necessity, and initial meetings may show the insufficiency of the format proposed by others,” he explained.

As reported, PACE will launch two separate platforms: one for cooperation with Russian democratic forces, and another for peoples colonized by the Russian Federation.

Photo credit: Djamboulat Souleimanov