DFP sponsors Russian-Chechen Symposium

Author: AnnMarie Frances Wesolowski







The Dialogues for Peace series of events focusing on the Russian-Chechen conflict began this past Friday, April 1 with a presentation by Ilya Ponomarev on "The War in Chechnya in the eyes of Russians." On Saturday, Ilyas Akhmadov presented "The Russian-Chechen Tragedy: The Way to Peace and Democracy - Conditional Independence under an International Administration." Both speakers provided keen insight and a comprehensive view of the Russian-Chechen conflict as they drew upon personal experiences and their own political work relating to the conflict.

The Robert A. Jones '59 House was filled with students and members of the community during these introductory panel discussions for the Russian-Chechen Symposium. First-year Joachim Skyaasen discussed his motivation for attending Friday's event, saying, "I went to the presentation based on a desire to learn more about the conflict that friends of mine are directly and indirectly affected by."

Vani Sathisan '07, Anton Koychev '05 and Beslan Visambiev '08 coordinated the event. The Symposium is sponsored by Dialogues for Peace, the International Student Organization (ISO) and Rohatyn Center for International Affairs.

Akhmadov and Ponomarev presented the Russian-Chechen conflict with a profound depth and breadth of knowledge, and followed it up with an insightful question and answer segment. Ponomarev is involved in many peace organizations and has traveled to 75 different regions of the Russian Federation where he had the chance to discuss pending political issues with many local citizens. Ponomarev has also worked closely with Chechen politicians and with youth based institutes that work to increase the awareness of political affairs. Akhmadov, on the other hand, is the Foreign Affairs Minister of the Chechen Republic and a fellow at National Endowment. He has also performed previous presentations in the United States.

Both Dialogues For Peace and the ISO have worked for months to bring about the series. Visambiev, a member of both Dialogues for Peace and ISO and one of the co-organizers of the symposium, said "It was an immense responsibility to contact Akhmadov and actually bring him over to Middlebury, especially due to security issues heightened by the recent death of the late President Aslan Maskhadov of Chechnya. However, it gave me a sense of pride and pleasure to be able to see my Foreign Minister in my college, presenting in an event I co-organized."

Akhmadov's status of political asylum did cause some difficulty for his travel in the United States. Visambiev commented, "He is wanted by Russian authorities and going back to Chechnya may jeopardize his personal security. Even his political asylum in the United States has been a contentious debate for some time. He is separated from his family as a result of this political asylum."

Both speakers provided overviews of the history of the conflict. Ponomarev's presentation involved a PowerPoint presentation that included many polls of the Russian public. The speaker offered penetrating observations about how the conflict and the surrounding politics are viewed. Akhmadov's presentation was equally insightful as he elaborated on the meaning of being a citizen of Chechnya. His presentation provided additional details about the events in the conflict's history. First-year Skyaasen commented, "I thought the presentation was well-structured and clearly laid out. By presenting interesting information in conjunction with his own experience in the field and from politics, he managed to capture a wide range of aspects about the conflict." Skyaasen added that the lecture was a perfect introduction to the Russian-Chechen conflict.

Eli Berman '07 was impressed by both the presentation and the efforts of the organizers. "It is not only because Middlebury is such a preeminent institution that influential people come speak to us. It is also that we have a diverse student body with the motivation to organize the types of events that are going on this week," said Berman. "ISO, Dialogues For Peace and all other groups responsible for bringing these people and issues to campus should be commended."

The enthusiasm and positive response was shared by co-organizer Sathisan. She was extremely pleased with the turnout and the diversity of the student attendance. "I met groups of people, from current Midd students to professors and staff and even old couples from off-campus who cornered me, congratulating us on the success on the first two presentations. It's awesome," she said.

The subject matter was serious and the gravity of the situation in Russia and Chechnya was not lost on the audience. Berman commented, "Oftentimes, presentations like these are easy to hear and then forget. The violence, death and destruction that the speakers describe are in distant places. But because these presentations were organized by Midd students from Russia and Chechnya, you could see that this same violence, death and destruction is affecting real people and even people inside our community."

Akhmadov and Ponomaryov both discussed their thoughts for the future of Russia and Chechnya and put forward two different proposals. Ponomarov suggested a slow withdrawal of Russian troops in Chechnya with an establishment of a board of representatives made up of "reputable" Chechens to oversee the crisis in Chechnya. Conversely, Akhmadov suggested an interim administration by the United Nations and international forces. Sathisan deemed the two events successful as different viewpoints were advocated. The two men represented two different nations, but together they presented a comprehensive look at the current conflict in Russia and Chechnya.

Visambiev noted the significance of the series and what it means to the Middlebury community. "The primary objective of mine is not only to highlight the unjust war between Chechnya and Russia and debate on which side is right or wrong, but rather to emphasize to people the ill-effects of the conflict on the Chechen citizen as well as its effects on the Russian side, like the numerous deaths of its own soldiers and civilians," he said. I'm very elated that the majority of the audience present in both events was students like me. I want to thank all the people who turned up, especially the students, who through their attendance have shown their interest to be more aware of this conflict and this means a lot to me."