#8
Moscow Times
March 19, 2002
Mironov's Glorious Gaffe
By Boris Kagarlitsky

From the time the Soviet Union first established diplomatic relations with Israel, Jerusalem has been an obligatory destination for up-and-coming Russian leaders. Last week, Sergei Mironov, speaker of the Federation Council, had his turn. Once in Israel, the No. 3 man in the Russian power hierarchy cancelled a scheduled meeting with Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

Mironov's decision -- a gross violation of diplomatic protocol -- attested not so much to his decisiveness as to his lack of experience. It also highlighted the incompetence of the entire St. Petersburg contingent, which bureaucrats in the capital have taken to calling the "Northern Alliance." Mironov's reasons for canceling the meeting, however, did most to betray his own incompetence. An official who is close to President Vladimir Putin, he declared that he could not meet with Arafat because this might be seen as support for terrorism. The Israelis are battling Palestinian terrorists, and we're battling Chechen terrorists. And the two battles are roughly the same.

The Israeli far right applauded Mironov's principled position, as did the Russian hawks who support the war in Chechnya. Strange as it may sound, however, pacifists should derive the most satisfaction from what happened -- in Russia, anyway.

As a convinced opponent of the war in Chechnya, I cannot but congratulate the leader of the upper house on his outstanding contribution to the anti-war movement. By equating Chechnya with Palestine (and, by extension, Aslan Maskhadov with Yasser Arafat), Mironov greatly increased the status of the Chechen insurgency. Palestine is generally recognized as occupied territory and the Palestinians as a nation with the right to create its own independent state. This has been confirmed by a series of United Nations resolutions, the last of which was passed last week with the backing of Russia and the United States. That resolution used the term "state" with regard to Palestine for the first time.

As for Arafat, you can think what you will about his actions, but he is the lawful and internationally recognized leader of Palestine. That is why the Israeli armed forces have not attempted to arrest Arafat or run him out of the occupied territories, although their tanks often approach to within a stone's throw of his residence. By placing Chechnya on the same level as Palestine, Mironov made clear that deep down the Russian ruling elite recognizes that its troops in Chechnya are an army of occupation.

The top officials in Russia's foreign policy establishment are far more experienced than the Federation Council speaker. Immediately after Mironov's unfortunate statement, those officials sprang into action to explain that he had expressed his personal opinion and that Russia's position remained unchanged. And Mironov himself has already back-tracked on numerous occasions. His position on this issue has become more and more vague with each new interview, though this is a case of too little, too late.

An unlikely coalition of hawks, racists and ultraright groups came out in support of Mironov both here and in Israel. The unity shown by flag-waving Russian and Israeli patriots has been truly touching. On the Russian side you have mostly avid or closet anti-Semites; on the Israeli side, as a rule more or less open Russophobes. But both groups value the state above all else and believe that a modern state can be built on the principle of ethnic and religious exclusiveness. They are both prepared to justify any and all excesses committed by their soldiers. This united front of anti-Semites and Russophobes is held together by their common hatred for Muslims and their unanimous refusal to recognize the human rights of people of the "wrong" nationality.

There is no point in trying to explain anything to such people. You'll never turn a racist into a champion of human rights. But Russian politicians, who are more or less liable for their words and deeds, would do well to heed the lessons of the Middle East. The senseless and merciless wave of Palestinian terror against Israeli civilians is the result of 35 years of occupation, with no end of victims and humiliation. The Chechens have not yet resorted to suicide bombings of Moscow restaurants. But on its visits to the Promised Land, the Russian leadership should take the time to reflect on how the Chechens will behave if they come to believe that what lies ahead is 10 more years of daily "mopping-up operations."

Boris Kagarlitsky is a Moscow-based sociologist.