Chechnya - No Good Deed Goes Unpunished - The Fred Cuny Story

PBS ^ | 1995 | various

[pttttt]

Copyright 1995 Nyrev, Inc. ------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fred Cuny set out from his hotel room in Ingushetia last April, leaving on the table by his bed a copy of John le Carre's newest thriller, "Our Game" whose main character, Larry Pettifer, has dedicated himself to defending the Ingush people against their Russian attackers; he then disappears. Cuny had become passionate about the Chechen cause, and hoped he could arrange a cease-fire between the Russian and Chechen forces. He never returned. After making a long and painful search, his family now believes he was murdered, although his body has not been found.

Cuny was a man of some mystery. An expert in dealing with man-made disasters, he had been both close to and critical of the US government. The demand for services such as his has, unfortunately, been growing fast. Earlier this summer, the International Committee of the Red Cross warned in its annual report that the human consequences of local wars and forced immigrations were becoming more and more grave. There were, the report said, fifty-six conflicts being waged around the world. Some 21 million people were being forced to leave their homes as a result, and of these at least 17 million became refugees. Another 300 million people were affected by disasters unrelated to war, such as earthquakes and floods. The Red Cross urged that fundamental changes be made in the way the world responds to disaster and to suffering. One of the few people who actually showed how changes could be made was Fred Cuny. That is why his loss is such a disaster.

. . .

On April 4 Fred and the rest of his group had been arrested by Chechen fighters at Stari Atchoy, and they were held while their papers were sent to Chechen headquarters. Dudayev himself was said to have congratulated the fighters who arrested them. On April 12 Fred and his companions were passed higher up the chain of command and into the custody of Abu Masayev, head of Chechen intelligence. On April 14 they were executed.

[pttttt]

The article says that Russian agent-provocateurs spread the word among the Chechens that Cuny was anti-islamic. Maybe. But it was the Chechens that pulled the trigger.

[laconic]

He was "passionate" about defending the Ingush people from their "Russian" attackers? How did he feel when the Ingush were attacked by the wonderful Chechens, who never saw a border they could or would respect?

[csvset]

You make a good point. The guy should have stayed at home.