President of Finland will probably satisfy Maskhadov family's application on refuge

Organization "World Chechen Congress" is trying to obtain political shelter in one of western countries for the family of Aslan Maskhadov, former leader of Chechen separatists, the "Interfax" reports. "Maskhadov's family needs protection, there is a threat to their life, therefore we apply everywhere for getting a shelter for them in one of western countries," Isa Akhyadov, coordinator of the "World Chechen Congress," told journalists in Baku. According to him, "Azerbaijan has a very complicated situation, and the ring around Maskhadov's family is getting tighter." "We tried by all means to bring family outside the CIS, but failed to do it so far, unfortunately," Akhyadov said.

He believes also that the issue of political shelter to Maskhadov's family should be solved at the political level. "This is a political issue to be resolved not by migration services, but by countries' leaderships. The issue is not in ensuring entrance or exit, we need safety guarantees of Maskhadov's family," the Congress coordinator stated.

According to him, Congress representatives are going to send respective notes to the leaders of the USA, Great Britain, France and Germany.

Earlier, the family of Aslan Maskhadov, leader of Chechen separatists, who was murdered in Chechnya applied for political shelter in Finland. The "Finland-Caucasus" Society, active in Helsinki, disseminated this information. According to the Society, currently, Maskhadov's family lives in Baku, capital of Azerbaijan. The relatives of the former leader of Chechen militants state that they do not feel safe in Baku, the BBC reports.

A letter sent by Maskhadov's son Anzor to Tarya Hallonen, president of Finland, runs that the family has faced threats. "We think that our life is in danger. Azerbaijan is very close to Russia, and we had telephone calls with threats," the Associated Press quotes the letter. Maskhadov-junior states, that Russian passports of himself, his mother Kadima and sister Fatima have expired, and they refused them of new Russian passports. At the administration of the president Hallonen, they confirmed the fact of receipt of the letter.

According to the laws of Finland, deciding on granting asylum or shelter is the prerogative of the government, not of the president. However, experts in Finland stress that Hallonen is known for her sympathy to Chechens. The president called to observe the rights of peaceful citizens of Chechnya, and criticised Russian authorities for their policy in Chechnya and the American ones - for Washington not paying due attention to the problem. It is quite probable that this is the reason why the application was sent to Hallonen, the BBC reports

The administration of the president of Finland delivered the application to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the country in charge of visa problems. It is not known so far for how long the petition would be considered.

Meanwhile, as the Maskhadov's family assert in their letter, the UN Agency for Refugees has already awarded the relatives of the former president of self-declared Ichkeria with the refugee status, the Newsru reports.

Maskhadov's relatives think that Aslan Maskhadov was legitimate president of Chechnya, who had "undoubtedly won free elections in the Chechen Republic on January 27, 1997."

We remind you that Anzor, Maskhadov's son of 29, had earlier promised to continue his father's fight for independence of Chechnya from Russia. "I'll continue my father's business. I'm now in contact with his representatives, who stay abroad," Anzor Maskhadov told the Reuters. Anzor Maskhadov called his father's murder to be "a terrorist act," preplanned by Russian federal authorities.

"They wanted to take Maskhadov alive. To escape casualties, he asked his bodyguards to get out of the bunker, and met them tete-a-tete, Maskhadov's son said. "Of course, like any self-respecting Chechen, he was not going to surrender."

Anzor Maskhadov rejected the assertions that with his father's death the separatist movement in Chechnya will get to the stop. According to him, on the contrary, soon the Republic will face a burst out of violence.

Earlier, the Chief Department of the RF General Prosecutor's Office for the South Federal District (SFD) notified about impossibility to give out the body of Aslan Maskhadov, former president of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, murdered on March 5, 2005, to relatives for burial. This letter was received on April 21 by the Anti-War Club in response of its appeal to give out Maskhadov's body to his relatives, sent to Vladimir Putin, president of Russia, signed by some 500 persons, Irina Vologina, coordinator of the action, told the correspondent of the "Caucasian Knot".

"Because of A. A. Maskhadov's terrorist activities in the territory of the Russian Federation, he was brought to criminal responsibility for especially serious crimes. In view of this fact, custody was appointed as a freedom restriction measure for him, and the accused Maskhadov was announced into search. Burial of such persons is made under the Regulations on burial of the persons, whose death was a result of stopping a terrorist action committed by them, approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of March 20, 2003, No. 164. In such cases, their bodies are not given out for burial, and the place of their burial is not disclosed. Answers were given to similar requests of the relatives of the late Maskhadov," runs the letter received by Irina Vologina from the prosecutor's office. The document was signed by A. Bodrov, department head of the Chief Administration of the RF General Prosecutor's Office for the SFD.

We remind you that On March 7, on the eve of one year after Maskhadov was murdered by Russian power agencies, an appeal with request to give out his body to the relatives, and 478 signatures under this appeal to Mr. Putin were delivered by the Anti-War Committee to the reception room of the administration of the president of Russia. From the administration, the signatures went to the Federal Security Bureau (FSB) of the Russian Federation. When Irina Vologina, coordinator of the action, asked over the phone, why lists with signatures had been sent to the FSB, Oleg Borodin, servant of the president's administration, answered: "We don't have a funeral home here," Vologina told the correspondent of the "Caucasian Knot". Borodin, in his turn, asked her, whether those who delivered the signatures pitied the signatories. At the FSB, they confirmed receipt of documents, but reported later that they had delivered them to the prosecutor's office.

Collection of signatures under the appeal to Russian president V. Putin to give out the body of the perished separatists' leader of Chechnya Aslan Maskhadov continues on the web-site of the anti-war movement VoineNet.Ru and during pickets against the war in Chechnya, held every Thursday from 5:30 to 7 p.m. in the Pushkin Square of the Russian capital. As of today, the appeal has been signed by some 550 persons, mainly by citizens of Moscow.

Aslan Maskhadov's relatives are also trying to have his body given out. The sought support in the matter among the leaders of the world community, and addressed to the Union of Committees of Soldiers' Mothers.

It was officially reported that the former president of the non-recognized Chechen Republic of Ichkeria was killed on March 8, 2005, in the village of Tolstoy-Yurt in the Groznenskiy District of Chechnya in a special operation performed by FSB officers. It was asserted that Maskhadov died in the storm of the bunker, where the separatists' leader took refuge with his retinue. According to media, not long before his death Aslan Maskhadov suggested the federal authorities to conclude cease-fire and even announced unilateral moratorium on military actions.