NATION/WORLD UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Monday, April 1. 1996
5A
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Yeltsin declares unilateral cease-fire
The Associated Press
MOSCOW — Desperate to show voters he will stop the war that is sinking his presidency, Boris Yeltsin yesterday announced a halt to combat operations in Chechnya, limited troop withdrawals and a willingness to hold indirect talks with the rebels' leader.
But his long-promised peace plan stopped short of promising an end to the fighting and left scant hope for an imminent settlement.
Knight-Ridder Tribune
Yeltsin refused to budge on the separatists' two main demands — full withdrawal of Russian troops and independence for Chechnya — and his tone was more tough than conciliatory.
"Without doubt, we will not put up with terrorist acts, and we will respond to them adequately," Yeltsin said in tap remarks broadcast on television last night.
The announcement came just 11 weeks before Russia's presidential election, with the unpopular Yeltsin trailing Communist Gennady Zyuganov and voters demanding an end to the bloodshed in Chechnya.
It also capped a month of wither.
ing air and ground attacks on Chechen strongholds, apparently intended to push the rebels into the southern mountains before the plan was announced.
Thousands of troops reportedly were continuing large-scale operations yesterday in eight sealed-off mountain villages of southeastern Chechnya, and Yeltsin's open-ended
statement left it unclear what would become of troops in such hot spots.
The announcement was met with skepticism by politicians, analysts and even Russia's military commander in Chechnya, who cast doubt on the possibility of the unilateral cease-fire, which Yeltsin said would begin within hours.
"It's unlikely that combat operations will be stopped right after the president's statement," Gen. Vyacheslav Tikhromirov told NTV Independent Television from Chechnya. "You understand, it's impossible."
A series of broken promises and defied orders throughout the 16-month-old war has raised serious questions about both Yeltsin's intentions and his control of the army.
His Security Council declared the military operation in Chechnya to be completed effectively as of Jan. 25, 1995. But fighting has raged on for another 14 months and the death toll now is estimated at more than 30,000. Most were civilians.
He said democratic elections for a new Chechen parliament would be held, and he was prepared to hold talks with those loyal to rebel leader Dzhokhar Dudayev through gobetweens.
Yeltsin said Moscow would try to give Chechnya as much autonomy as possible, and he said Russia does not fear the autonomy of its regions as long as they are peaceful.
But independence remains out of the question.
"We cannot agree that Chechnya is an independent (state) outside Russia. It is a violation of Russia's territorial integrity," he said.
He said he was directing the government to form a commission, chaired by Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin, to oversee efforts for a settlement. He also suggested an amnesty for rebel fighters, with Russian lawmakers to determine who would be eligible.
THE NEWS in brief
The Associated Press
Plane hijackers attempt to send message to God
CAIRO, Egypt — Three Egyptians who hijacked a passenger jet to Libya last week were turned in to Egyptian authorities yesterday and brought back to Cairo.
Egypt is expected to put the men on trial for air piracy.
Information Minister Safatw el-Sherif told Egypt's Middle East News Agency that Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi also had agreed to turn in all documents related to the hjacking. Libya did not confirm the report.
Wednesday, aman, his 17-year-old son and a nephew hijacked an
EgyptAir jet after it landed in the southern town of Luxor on a stopover from Saudi Arabia to Cairo.
The plane, with 145 tourists abroad, was flown to Libya, where the hijackers surrendered. No one was hurt and the passengers and plane were returned to Egypt on
Thursday.
The hijackers told the pilot they wanted to deliver a message from God to Gadhafi, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and President Clinton. The message was protesting Israel's blockade of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
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