Chechen struggle parallels early American Revolution
COMMENTARY
Jeff Dennis

How far would you go to support something you believe in? Would you have joined the American revolutionaries at the Boston Tea Party, or fought an army of professional soldiers with a small hunting rifle and no training? Would you have willingly volunteered to fight in Europe during World Wars I and II?

These causes seem quite noble to us now in hindsight, but we should keep in mind that not every country has had a revolution which brought freedom to its people. In the past week, we saw Chechen rebels take over a packed theater in Moscow as an attempt to make the Russian army withdraw from Chechnya.

While I do not advocate such an act that endangers the lives of so many civilians, it is necessary to at least attempt to see the world from the Chechens’ perspective. After many years of fighting in their homeland with Russia, the rebels were looking to make their voice heard by the world. They have certainly accomplished that, but now it is unclear whether the theater siege will have a positive or negative effect for Chechnya.

Certainly many more people worldwide know about their situation now, but did they just make a bad problem worse? My guess would be that while they certainly angered many and caused the deaths of innocent civilians, their voice has been heard and there could be hope for improvement.

Recent reports indicate that the gas used to put the rebels and hostages to sleep killed more civilians than the rebels did themselves. The U.S. government has refused to speak out against the actions of Russian special forces who performed the operation; however, it is somewhat dismaying that the Russian government hasn’t revealed what gas they used that caused the deaths of more than one hundred civilians.

Clearly none of these people would have died had the rebels not taken over the theater, but if the Russian government would have considered starting negotiations to resolve the conflict in Chechnya, then more of the hostages might be alive today. The Russian government tried to make a statement announcing that it would not negotiate with terrorists, but keep in mind, these terrorists were not asking for money. Though Chechnya is a predominantly Muslim country, they were not terrorizing Moscow over religious differences. These rebels were simply wanted their home back. Only since the siege are reports coming out about the atrocities Chechnya has faced at the hands of Russian soldiers.

Terrorism gained a great deal of exposure in the past year. Clearly it is not a new concept, but only recently has it come to have such an impact on Americans’ lives. Every week, it seems, small terrorist acts are occurring around the world which affect the United States in some way.

I do not support any acts of terror, no matter what the reason, but I have to say that sometimes oppressed groups believe it is the only way they will be heard. Many actions of the American revolutionaries could easily have been construed as terrorism. Times change, but situations tend to repeat themselves.

How far would you go to support something you believe in?

Jeff Dennis is a senior sociology major from Gail.