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hecksinductionhour
in history, journalism, regime, regions, rights, solidarity, war and
peaceSeptember 3, 2017 2,057 Words
Remembering Beslan
The Memory of Beslan
Takie Dela
September 1, 2017
A total of 334 people were killed in the terrorist attack, including 186
children. 126 of the former hostages were crippled. During the assault, the
FSB killed 28 terrorists. The only terrorist taken alive, Nurpashi Kalayev,
was arrested. A court later sentenced him to life in prison.
Many articles, investigative reports, and special projects have been written
about the Beslan tragedy, and several documentary films and books have
been released. Takie Dela recalls the primary witnesses to the events in
School No. 1.
Novaya Gazeta
“According to the police officers and special forces soldiers with whom we
have spoken, the preparations for the assault were vigorous. That the
authorities were learning toward this option is borne out by one other fact.
They did not, in fact, negotiate with the gunmen. No one intended to meet
even their formal demands. They explained to us, ‘It’s not clear what they
want.'”
Kommersant
“‘Don’t let the hostages’ relatives on the air. Don’t cite any number of
hostages except the official figure. Don’t use the word “storm.” The
terrorists should not be called gunmen, only criminals, because terrorists
are people you negotiate with.’ This was what several national TV channel
reporters, located in Beslan, heard immediately from the top brass. We
were all side by side, and I saw how hard it was for those guys to carry out
the orders of the top brass. And I saw one of them crying in the evening
after the school had been stormed.”
“In Moscow, we say that forty days have passed since the school in Beslan
was seized. Here those days did not exist. In their place is a black hole, like
the hole made by a grenade in the floor of the assembly hall. And every
day is a day of mourning.
“The entire city of Beslan is dressed in black. There are houses here in
which not a single child is left, and entryways through which three caskets
a day are carried out.”
Esquire
“Like many people who have been to Beslan, I subsequently thought a lot
about what had happened. Like the people of Beslan, I was infuriated by
the endless contradictory statements, the lack of information about many
important episodes in the hostage crisis and the actions of the Russian
authorities.”
Radio Svoboda
Ten years after the tragedy, Tom Balmforth and Diana Markosian
published a storyon the Radio Svoboda website about the lives of the
surviving schoolchildren. The former hostages talked about their
memories, features, and thoughts of the future.
Voice of Beslan activists in the gym of School No. 1. Their t-shirts are
emblazoned with the slogan, “Putin is the execution of Beslan.” Photo
courtesy of Diana Khachartian and Takie Dela
“The female activists of Voice of Beslan stand apart in the gym. The five
women are wearing handmade t-shirts on which the inscription “Putin is
the executioner of Beslan” has been written in marker pen. This is not a
hysterical slogan. Based on their own impressions and evidence from the
investigations, the women argue that on September 3, 2004, Vladimir
Putin or a member of his entourage gave the orders to storm the school in
order to expedite events and prevent negotiations with Aslan Maskhadov.
They argue the hostages could have been saved.”
Photography
Amina Kachmazova, left, and Fariza Mitdzieva hugging each other in the
old school No. 1 in Beslan. Fariza, 18: ‘Here we are, such heroes, living
after the attack. And somehow we are able to find happiness in life. Life
just goes on and we cannot change what already happened to us. Just the
opposite: now it is more pleasant to look at how we laugh, have fun and
enjoy life.’ Beslan, North Ossetia, 2013. Photo courtesy of Oksana
Yushko
Documentary Films
In 2005, some of the relatives of those who were killed during the terrorist
attack established the grassroots organization Mothers of Beslan. That
same year, due to friction within the group, a number of committee
members left the group and founded another organization, Voice of
Beslan.
Chepel discussed how the film was made in an interview with Rusbase.
“We have never met such people. They are such uncompromisingly honest
people, it was if they would be shot for lying. From a distance it seems that
Beslan is god knows what, part of Moscow’s war with terrorism. But when
you go there, you understand it is just human grief that has made them so
tough and very honest. It’s not a matter of politics. They’re in touch with
their humanity. You talk to them and you realize you simply have not met
such people. This was what we wanted to show in the film: what these ten
years have done with these people is incredible. They just want someone
to explain to them what happened, for someone to say, “Forgive me. It was
my fault.” Instead, they have been threatened and slandered. People have
tried to sick them on each other, drive a wedge through them, and present
them as insane.”
Filmmaker Vadim Tsalikov has shot four documentary films about the
terrorist attack in Beslan. One of them is Beslan: Memory.
Foreign filmmakers have also shot films about the tragedy in North
Ossetia. For example, Joe Halderman shot the film Beslan: Three Days in
September for Showtime. The picture was screened at the Tribeca Film
Festival in 2006.
Personal Diary
In 2012, one of the hostages, 14-year-old Agunda Vatayeva, decided to
publish her memoir of the terrorist attack. The young woman launched a
diary on LiveJournal and wrote three posts in which told from beginning
to end the story of the three days she spent in captivity.
“If you deliberately searched for my diary, you probably want to read my
memoir of the terrorist attack in Beslan: Day One, Day Two, and Day
Three. It is unlikely that you will find my LiveJournal exciting or at least
positive reading. It was started once upon a time for quite different
purposes. It was a kind of psychotherapy for me.”
***
In April 2017, the European Court of Human Rights award three million
euros to the relatives of the victims. There were over 400 plaintiffs in the
case. The court ruled that the Russian authorities had not taken sufficient
measures to prevent the terrorist attack and had violated Article 2 of
the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and
Fundamental Freedoms: the right to life. In addition, Russia had not
prevented a threat to people’s lives and had not planned the assault on the
school properly. The European Court of Human Rights likewise deemed
that the Russian authorities had not properly investigated all
circumstances of the terrorist attack and the causes of the hostages’
deaths.
The Kremlin reacted to the ECtHR’s ruling by saying that “an emotional
assessment is hardly appropriate.”
“Of course, we cannot agree with this formulation. In a country that has
been repeatedly attacked by terrorists, and the list of such countries has
been growing, unfortunately, these formulations and purely hypothetic
arguments are hardly acceptable. An emotional assessment is hardly
appropriate.
“All the necessary legal actions related to this decision will be taken,” said
Dmitry Peskov, the president’s spokesman.
Related
Tagged
Agunda Vatayeva
Alexander Dzasokhov
Aslan Maskhadov
Beslan
Beslan school siege
C.J. Chivers
Diana Markosian
disinformation
Dmitry Peskov
Elena Kostyuchenko
Elena Milashina
Esquire
European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and
Fundamental Freedoms
European Court of Human Rights
FSB
Joe Halderman
Kommersant
Mothers of Beslan
North Ossetia
Novaya Gazeta
Nurpashi Kalayev
Oksana Yushko
Olga Allenova
Radio Svoboda
right to life
Rodion Chepel
Takie Dela (online journal and charity foundation)
Tom Balmforth
Vadim Tsalikov
Vladimir Putin
Voice of Beslan
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