108 lines
5.2 KiB
Plaintext
108 lines
5.2 KiB
Plaintext
ETHNIC CLEANSING A LA RUSSE
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By Laure Akai
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Of all the repression which has taken place after the
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September coup, by far the most outrageous has been the
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racist measures taken by the government to cleanse the
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capital on a racial basis. Immediately following the
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blashing of the White House on October 4, special troops and
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regular police began a round up of all "illegal aliens" in
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the city. Thousands were deported and many more thousands
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fled, terrified for their safety.
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The legal basis used for this mass operation was the
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"propiska" or permit system, a relic of the Stalinist past
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which required citizens of the former Soviet Union to have a
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permit to live in Moscow (or any other region) stamped in
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their passport. Normally this could only be obtained by
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birthright, a special invitation to study or work, or
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through marriage. For years there was a market of fake
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marriages to get around the system. Without a propiska,
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finding work or a place to live in Moscow was virtually
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impossible. But in the last few years, as visa regulations
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were relaxed and as apartments began to appear freely on the
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market for rent, more amd more people simply ignored these
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rules and came to live in Moscow. Most of these people are
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ethnically Russian, but also a large number of others have
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settled here, including many Armenian and Georgian refugees,
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many traders from Central Asia and China, and a great deal
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of Americans and Europeans.
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The operation to crack down on illegal residents, which
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resulted in over 5,000 deportations within the first two
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weeks alone was targeted almost exclusively on dark-skinned
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peoples of the Soviet Union. There was no effort at all to
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conceal the fact that the prime targets in this operation
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were people first and foremost from the Caucasus, and from
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Central Asia. Searches and identity checks were conducted on
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dark skinned people as "whites" were left alone.
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This harassment of people of colour has been going on for
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some time in Moscow, and indeed has always existed to a
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certain extent in the Soviet Union Daily people of colour
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are stopped and harassed, often having to pay regular bribes
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to the police to avoid arrest. Now the government, using the
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pretext of the propiska system, have institutionalized this
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racism.
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Most Russians blame people of colour, more specifically
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"Caucasians", for the astronomical crime rate in the city.
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Government officials, police and even the TV news claim that
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"80% of all the crime commited in Moscow is commited by
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Caucasians". If this figure is based on arrest records, it
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is because of the fact that these people are much more
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likely to be arrested than white skinned people. The police
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and the government claim that they are "fighting crime", but
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in a city where the Russian mafia carries on their business
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in the open, where law enforcement officials are famous for
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taking bribes, where police peddleguns and where theft and
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corruption takes place in the government, this is a
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laughable exuse.
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The general population has been by and large supportive of
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these deportations. Most Russians, newly impoverished,
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insecure about the future, etc., are seeking people whom
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they can blame and take out their frustrations on. Before
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the coup, the police had called on people to inform on their
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neighbours if they expected them of being illegal aliens.
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Hundreds of people called on the first day of the appeal.
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Now 40,000 citizens have volunteered to help patrol the
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streets, keeping an eye out for crime and "suspicious
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individuals".
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During the operation numerous human rights abuses were
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reported. Most typically people were grabbed and sent to
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detention centres, without being able to contact friends,
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relatives, their embassy, and often without a chance to
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argue their position. There have been reports of people
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having their posessions and documents stolen and of one man
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having his papers bearing his refugee status torn up. Some
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people were sent to special "work camps" to earn the money
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for their "trip home". Those who have been arrested and
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deported include people who were passing through Moscow or
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who had legal status. One businessman was arrested at a
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hotel as he tried to register and 65 Chinese students were
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held and may still be deported. Embassies and businesses
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have been reported harassment of their employees.
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Sometimes the scenes have been truly ugly. At one Moscow
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food market, Russian merchants reportedly helped police turn
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over the fruit stands, beat and arrest traders from
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Azerbaijan. The remaining vendors, now devoid of much
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competition, have raised the prices on their own vegetables.
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Although human rights groups have petitioned the government
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and foreign embassies have lodged their protests, the
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government is totally non-plused. And why shouldn't they be
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when around them the major powers of the world carry on
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similar campaigns with impugnity? Latching on the main theme
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of the 90's, Russia wants to bleach out its population, and
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shut up its borders for those without money, or those with
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dark skin. The rest are welcome.
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People are encouraged to write letters of protest to the
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Russian government and to picket consular offices in their
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cities. For more information write to the Moscow Institute
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for the Study of Racism, Fascism and Nationalism.
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(krazchenko@glas.apc.org)
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