Do you remember this incident?
History is so important, helping us see the bigger picture, so, I will take the time (even as we prepare for our mid-term Primary elections) to remind you about this horrific event, and what caused it to happen.
Six years ago, on September 1, 2004 (the first day of school), about 40 Chechen Terrorists stormed a school in Beslan, Russia (North Ossetia, North Caucasus), taking everyone hostage. "Everyone" constituted 1,128 people, many of them school children, aged 6 to 13. Two days later, as police and military forces attempted to retake the school, the terrorists had killed approx. 330 people, including 187 children. Hundreds of others were severely wounded, both physically and emotionally.
One of the aspects of this horrible event is never really discussed openly. The terrorism and killings, gruesome enough alone, also included "sexual terror". Labeled "sexual homicide", these terrorists were not satisfied with rape alone; they also needed to kill their victims, to gain complete satisfaction. Fueled by Russian defiance and downplaying of their act, and realizing that they would not get out of this situation alive, the terrorists’ actions during these 3 days were driven by an unspeakable combination of ideology, rage, sadism, and perversion.
The terrorists, which included women, took great pleasure in the raping, torturing, humiliating, and deprivation of their victims. Oppressive heat, creating dire thirst among the hostages, became an additional implement of pain and suffering. Still not satisifed, they taunted the growing crowd of families outside the school, shooting off their weapons, petrifying the horrified observers.
The BBC produced a 6-part series, documenting the "Children of Beslan". If you have some time to watch, please do.
If you don’t have the time, watch this emotional 10-minute montage.
Read on…
BBC Video Documentary: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6
Also, some raw, emotional footage from the scene can be seen here: (1) (2) (3)
Why did this group of terrorists take the school, knowing that it was filled with children, and knowing that they would most likely die in the act? Why did they sadistically kill, torture, taunt and rape so many, including children?
Actions like this stem from the collapse of the Soviet Union in the late 1980’s, and the vacuum of power and influence among Christian and various Muslim factions. The powerful hand of the Soviet Union, now softened or gone, allowed long-standing religious and ethnic tensions to boil, and Islamic militancy blossom (a similar effect was true in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia and Croatia). These terrorist were Chechen, a neighboring former-Soviet Republic, and they demanded the immediate withdrawl of all Russian forces from Chechnya, as well as their country’s formal independence from Russia. This independence had been fought-for by Chechens, usually during times of Russian instability, over a 160+ year period.
During the standoff, 32 of the 40 terrorists were killed, including the 2 women in the group, and 12 escaped. Of the escapees, some were hunted down and killed, some are still at-large. 10 of the terrorists were known to have come from Arab countries, not merely Chechnya. Some were known affiliates of Al Qaeda. The leader of this group was the experienced Chechen guerilla/terrorist Shamil Basayev, (a descendant of 19th century, Muslim-Chechen resistance fighter Imam Shamil), a trained member of the Soviet military prior to the collapse. Some insist that Basayev’s actions against Soviet and post-Soviet Russian influence were merely driven by his desire for Chechen independence and freedom, plus anger in response to Russian violence that directly influenced his family.
Yet, he was undeniably an Islamic militant, and the independence of Chechnya was a long-standing goal of Muslims, who historically resisted growing Russian/Soviet control over their home territory, originally part of the Ottoman Empire and greater-Persia (Iran). Before you feel bad for the Chechens, this encroaching Russian/Soviet control, which began in the mid-1800’s, was in response to Ottoman and Persian conquests of the region over the centuries prior.
To Russia, the Caucasus are essential to the survival of the Russian empire, acting as a necessary buffer to outside attack (from Europe or "Persia"). Problem is, maintaining control over them means irritation of their Muslim faction. It always has been, and always will be.
All of the strife in the caucasus can be tied to the metronomic Muslim-Christian regional power-shifts.
Unfortunately, regardless of their origins, conflicts between Islamic and Judeo-Christian societies seem inevitable. A seemingly central goal of Islam is worldwide Sharia law, not exactly in line with the goals of non-Muslim societies. We, as a multi-cultural/religious society must decide whether we want to take steps to prevent encroachment of our entire society by Islam, or diversely defer to acts that could be perceived as such.
If you ever ask yourself, "why are we in Afghanistan or Iraq?", or "what is the purpose or mission there?" Look back into history and look at events such as the Beslan tragedy. If we hadn’t taken destabilizing action in the middle-east, would the terror of 9/11 have been a one-time event, or would we have experienced many more of them? It isn’t just about Oil, or WMD….think about it. Use history.
God forbid a Beslan tragedy ever happen in our community, in our country, or ever again, anywhere.
I hate to ask but, what is it about September and Muslims, Chechen or otherwise?