Andrei Sakharov Foundation Forums

Europe is preparing to welcome Vladimir Putin in Paris, despite the fact that the war in Chechnya continues, dirty and cruel. Every day, young Russian soldiers die, but twenty times more Chechens die, primarily women and children.Winter is again returning, adding to the sense of hopelessness and despair of the defiant population condemned to drift in its ravaged capital, annihilated towns and mined lands, deprived of all the necessities of life, exposed to bombardments, random shootings, tortures and mass executions. As in Kosovo half the population has fled to camps (in neighboring Ingushetia) where nothing has been prepared for another winter.Putin will explain with great pleasure that the Russian army is doing what it must and that Europe must support its crusade against "international terrorism."We fear that, except for a few critical whispers that will soon be forgotten, the silence of our representatives will only strengthen Putin in his murderous determination.We are afraid that short term calculations will lead to the barter of the martyrdom of a whole nation for the triumph of the great petroleum deal that Mr. Prodi is negotiating: will gas in exchange for blood be the last word of European civilization? Russia is part of Europe. We owe it friendship, and thus we owe it truth, we owe it real help, not just the kind that fills private accounts.Mr. Milosevic learned the bitter lesson of the basic minimum that now governs the coexistence on our continent: no more colonial wars, no more massacres of the civilian population, no ethnic purges. Mr. Putin, it's time to clarify for you that these rules apply to all, big leaders and small. It is necessary to speak to the president of Russia, regardless of whether he owes his election to war or to fraud. But one has to speak clearly and precisely, with eyes wide open and cards on the table. And, if possible, with a touch of generosity for the victims; after all morality and realism are still an obligation.We appeal to Jacques Chirac, President of the European Union, and to the heads of state of the European Community that they publicly and clearly prompt Mr. Putin to:

• respect international conventions and signed agreements;open his country without a delay to humanitarian assistance and internationalobservers;establish an immediate cease fire;and open talks with the elected president of the Chechen Republic Aslan Maskhadov.

The survival of a nation is at stake. Crimes against humanity do not have a statute of limitation. Silence kills.Andre Glucksmann