#11
eurasianet.org
March 4, 2002
US POSTPONES CHECHEN BROADCASTS IN GOODWILL GESTURE TOWARDS RUSSIA
By Ariel Cohen

There will be no Radio Free Chechnya, at least not in the near future. Less than 48 hours before the Chechen service of Radio Liberty was supposed to go on the air in late February, the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), the governing body which supervises Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty, decided to postpone the North Caucasus broadcasts indefinitely. The broadcasting body acted after US diplomats expressed concern that the Chechen-language broadcasts might be counter-productive in waging the campaign against terrorism.

The postponement reflects the complexity of US-Russian relations, as well as the pressures of the war on terrorism. Officials and non-governmental organization representatives in the United States remain concerned about Russia's conduct of the Chechen war. However, the Bush Administration does not want to put Russia's support for the global anti-terrorism campaign in jeopardy.

Russia's foreign policy elite reportedly seethed over the US decision to launch a north Caucasus service at the Radios. Broadcasting in Chechen was seen as particularly offensive to Kremlin officials, who portray Chechen separatists as Islamic terrorists with links to the al Qaeda network.

Moscow insiders also saw beginning of the North Caucasus broadcasts as a strong signal that the United States supports the cause of the Chechen independence, a perception that is not necessarily true, especially after September 11.

Some officials in Moscow viewed the broadcasting plan as a move to undermine US-Russian relations. Since September 11, President Vladimir Putin has been consistent in his support for the US-led anti-terrorism campaign. [For more information, see the Eurasia Insight archives].

Broadcasts in the languages of the Northern Caucasus, such as Chechen, Avar and Cirkassian, were mandated by the US Congress in 2000. But according to a memo by Thomas A. Dine, Radio Free Europe-Radio Liberty's president, full-time broadcasters and stringers will now provide coverage of the region through Radio Liberty's Russian service.

In informal conversations, conducted over the last several months, Russian officials complained that influential "Russophobes" in the US governement had influenced Sen. Jesse Helms (R-NC), the then-Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to support legislation to fund the broadcasts.

To counter the US plans, the Russian officials embarked on a campaign of pressure to link the Chechen broadcasts to the ability of Radio Liberty Russian service to broadcast on AM and FM frequencies, which the Prague-based Radio Liberty leases from dozens of independent Russian radio stations.

Russian legislation requires less than 50 percent of foreign ownership for stations operating in Russia, a requirement that may jeopardize Radio Liberty medium wave broadcasting. Some Russian officials even requested that the United States provide "reciprocity," under which Washington would allow Russian broadcasts on similar popular AM/FM frequencies in the United States. The latter project is highly unlikely to materialize, as such broadcasts will cost millions of dollars that the Russian budget simply does not have.

Sergei Yastrzhembsky, a top Putin aide, claimed February 28 that the US decision to postpone the Chechen-language broadcasts had "not aroused any particular emotions among Moscow officials." However, the semi-official RIA news agency reported that the Chechen broadcasts would have aggravated the conflict and complicated efforts to find a political solution to the crisis.

Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov reportedly intervened with Secretary of State Colin Powell, requesting that broadcasts be postponed. Meanwhile, some offcials in the Bush Administration also pointed to an apparent contradiction in authorizing the deployment of military advisors to Georgia, ostensibly to help contain a building terrorist threat in the Transcaucasus republic, while also turning the switch on the Chechen broadcasting.

At a regular press briefing, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher explained that the decision to postpone the broadcasts began with a letter written by Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage to the BBG, on which the Secretary of State sits ex officio, asking to postpone the broadcasts. The State Department asserted that the broadcasts were ill-timed, given the post September 11 geopolitical environment.

At the same time, Boucher said the US government was eager to see the Chechnya peace process make progress. "We believe that the only way is to solve the problems there is a political solution. We want to make sure that everything we do contributes to that goal and doesn't detract from it," Boucher said.

Despite the decision on Chechen broadcasts, human rights groups and US officials continue to exert pressure on Russia to seek a negotiated solution. For example, a bipartisan initiative launched in late February in the Senate, - spearheaded by Paul Wellstone (D-Minnesota), and Senator Sam Brownback (R-Missouri) - seeks the adoption of a resolution on Chechnya requiring President Bush to pressure Russia into a negotiated political settlement.

Whether the Bush Administration is willing to take action that complicates its relatively cordial relationship with Putin, at a time when the campaign against terrorism may expand, remains to be seen. Many administration officials are wary of doing anything that creates an appearance of support for the Chechens, who have allied themselves with a variety of radical Islamic elements.

Editor's Note: Ariel Cohen, Ph.D., is a Research Fellow at the Heritage Foundation, and author of "Russian Imperialism: Development and Crisis" (Praeger/Greenwood, 1998).

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