04.09.2001

Dear Friends,

For your information - here is my answer to the question of most popular "Vechernyaya Moskva" ("Evening Moscow") newspaper published on September 3, 2001, page 1 - few hours before Ariel Sharon arrived to Moscow for Russian-Israel Summit.

This was quick telephone interrogatory with rather general question:

QUESTION: "Summer is over, everybody waits for certain changes. What can make you happy?"

ANSWER (I translate from newspaper):

"Boris Altshuler, human rights activist:

I would be happy to see that Government of Russia use in Chechnya the same tactics and strategy which Israel use in Palestine: most active negotiations with other side of the conflict, accompanied with precise strokes upon bandits-terrorists. And all this must be done with obligatory observation of humanitarian standards towards peaceful population".

Unfortunately Russia did not use in Chechnya so far any of these three strategies.

Boris Altshuler,
Head of the "Movement without Frontiers" and of the "Right of Child" NGOs.