Russians in Chechnya

* Thank you for uniquely exposing the reality of Russian atrocities in Chechnya (“War Has No Rules for Russian Forces Fighting in Chechnya,” Sept. 17). Chechens have screamed for world attention to their plight for too long in vain. The despotic rulers of the Muslim world have failed to respond to their SOS. The Western governments, the defenders of democracy and human rights, on the other hand, also ignored their call. Worst yet, the West has indirectly financed the brutal campaign against the Chechens by giving Russia its much-needed loans.

Perhaps it’s still not too late for some people in Chechnya. Perhaps those lives could still be saved. Will your report now prompt the leaders of the Western world--the U.S. government in particular--to believe the reports of human rights agencies on Chechnya? Will it touch their sense of humanity to act now and ask Russia to stop the campaign?

MOHAMMAD A. AUWAL

Los Angeles

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I think this is the first serious press coverage of the events in Chechnya. Although the article horrified me, we need to know the real situation in Russia. Why does not the world community react properly on the atrocities in Chechnya? Why do world leaders, including the U.S. president, play the diplomatic game of respect to the Russian president, Vladimir Putin? To me, Putin is a war criminal for the same crime as Slobodan Milosevic.

YURI NIKOLIN

San Diego

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My heart broke reading about a whole family being drowned in a well by Russian soldiers in Chechnya, along with other documented crimes of inhumanity. To know that there was nothing I could do as an individual was humbling.

Now I read that American soldiers in Alpha Company, supposedly acting as peacekeepers in Kosovo, have been brutalizing the populace (Sept. 19). In one case, a man was beaten for wandering into the street who later was determined to be deaf and mute.

These acts by American soldiers are reprehensible, only outdone by the Army’s refusal to court-martial soldiers who committed these types of acts. If these acts occurred as reported, the perpetrators must be punished to preserve the honor of the U.S. military and the men and women who have served and sacrificed with the highest integrity before them.

TYRONE I. VAHEDI

Los Angeles