Posted on 09/05/2004 4:04:51 PM PDT by MarMema
BESLAN, Russia : There is undisguised fury against the police, the local authorities and special forces in the grieving Russian town of Beslan, where inhabitants blame them for the tragic end to the hostage siege.
"It's the president of Ossetia (the local region) who is to blame, he must pay for what he has done," says Timur, 30. "The terrorists for three days asked him to come and he always backed out. Look, he was elected to assume his responsibilities."
Next to Timur, a dignified-looking older gentleman in a felt hat echoes the feeling of many in a town which will now forever be associated with the bloodiest hostage crisis in Russia's history.
"It's the soldiers, the police, the special forces, the entire corrupt clique, incapable of fighting and reacting, it's they who have killed our children," he said, staring at the wall of the school of gymnasium where the hostages were held, now pock-marked with bullets.
The day after the siege ended with some 330 dead - about half of them children - families were still gathered in front of the House of Culture, the municipal building that became the focal point of their lives during the three-day drama.
Every time an Ossetian official appeared, the crowd pressed forward and demanded explanations that he simply cannot provide.
"You have been lying from the start, why should we believe you today," yelled one woman, tears in her eyes.
Sometimes insults are shouted, above all by men. "These were children, our children, why was nothing ready, where were the ambulances that we were promised?" asked one. At the start of the siege, no such vehicle was visible neat the school.
When regional government spokesman Lev Dzugayev appeared for his regular briefing of journalists, the relatives forced him to give lengthy explanations over decisions the crisis cell made.
"I insist on speaking to you in person. Your ministers need to answer for the death of my son," said a woman. Another asked if it is true that "it was the Ingush who renovated the school before the start of term" and are alleged to have planted explosives in advance.
Every one of Beslan's residents have their own versions of what happened at 1:00pm on Friday, when the situation changed in an instant from one of mounting tension to raging anarchy and abject horror.
For a former soldier slumped by a tree, staring at the school, "our helicopters fired on the roof of the school by mistake, and this was what made it cave in."
He added: "It was only when we saw the first hostages coming out that the armed forces went in. We shouldn't have just let it happen, they should have gone straight away to save the children," he said.
Mira had another theory. "My neighbour was a witness. After the explosions went off, the terrorists started to shoot at the children, and that is why our menfolk went on the attack. The Russian soldiers only arrived afterwards, we did not know who was shooting at whom."
Putin's emotional pre-dawn visit here left many people cold, along with his grave evening address on Russian television, that most did not bother to watch.
"What's the Kremlin supposed to do inside there, Putin isn't controlling anything here? What do you expect him to do?" asked Artium.
"In the end this is the business of the Caucasus. Something must be done, starting with building a wall to protect the Ossetians from the Ingush and the Chechens. Then we've got to pay back these terrorist bastards." - AFP
Look. The wall idea is catching on.
It seems to be working (wall) for the Israelis.
wow ... this is the same thing done to the Israelis for the past 4 years and to America on 9/11/2001
yeah, good catch ... interesting on that wall thing ... especially now that we know about the hypocritical EU ...
that's why Arafat, the Palistinian terrorists, the EU and the UN want the wall torn down ... it has slowed down the Islamic terrorists a *lot*
It sure is. They want to strengthen and protect their borders.
The grief and rage of the people is quite understandable. But in the end, the terrorists are to blame, not the Russian authorities.
No ma'am. With all due respect. The terrorists are to blame.
Sure, they are grieving over the children but for goodness sake, blame the terrorists. Why is it so hard for Washington, the UN, Canada, France, Spain, and now Russia to put the blame where it belongs?
Why anyone would blame Putin for this or Bush for WTC is amazing. It is the terrorists who do these things, they need to be removed from the world. and I dont mean we have to be PC and try to understand why the terrorists do these thing, I dont care why they do them eradicate their butts. There can be bo excuse for wholesale murder.
I am not at all surprised that there may have been ineptitude on the part of the Russians, they have shown a pattern of that from Chernobyl to the Kursk. I just believe it is important in this day and age to stay focused on who really is to blame.
I like to use the analogy of the car keys. Our society has been led to believe that if an owner leaves his keys in his car, it is his fault if it is stolen.
I hate that. It is the fault of the thief, without question.
What apparently was uncovered is that someone took bribes to allow those explosives into the school floor during the summer.
Good idea.
Check history. It is necessary to de-humanize your enemy so when you begin killing them with reckless abandon, it’s just like shooting beer cans off a fence post. Muslims, islamofacists, anyone that even looks toward Mecca once during the day have a toe over the line. The west won’t have to fire up the propaganda machine to accomplish the necessary de-humanizing. They are doing it for us.
Just makes you wonder how much more the west will take before we start shooting those beer cans off the fence.
Is it really true the Muslims raped teenagers during the hostage situation? Why is the story being downplayed? Is this story Kerry unfriendly?
I'm not saying there is any reason it is being downplayed and not oblivious to how hard it is to cover a story in bumfu$%istan, but why no coverage?
People need to see how truly evil these creatures are!!! Had these been Christians involved in some crime, the story would have been covered wall to wall.
Or US troops.
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