First they came for the gays...
I don’t have the words.
You might have noticed, hidden in amongst the Progressive news this past week, the odd article about the appalling treatment of gays in Chechnya, a predominantly Muslim republic within the Russian Federation.
A number of outlets mentioned “alleged” torture and murder of gays[1] [2] [3] [4], accompanied by the Chechen leadership spokesman’s statement, wonderful in its surrealist approach:
“You cannot arrest or repress people who just don’t exist in the republic,” the spokesman, Alvi Karimov, told the news agency.
“If such people existed in Chechnya, law enforcement would not have to worry about them, as their own relatives would have sent them to where they could never return,” Mr. Karimov said.[5]
All these articles cite one prime source; an investigation by Novaya Gazeta. So, off I went with my limited Russian skills, and fell down the rabbit hole.
Because the title of the Novaya Gazeta article doesn’t beat about the bush.
Reprisals against Chechen gays – we publish the stories of the survivors[6]
Of course, there are hyperbolic links [7] [8] to the article as well, suggesting that internment/concentration camps are springing up across Chechnya, and it looks like Google’s translate module has been tweaked to translate violent reprisal as massacre.
It may well be that internment camps are being used, but I can’t find that in the article, although prisons are mentioned.
What is clear is that the Novaya Gazeta article is consistent with reports received by both Human Rights Watch and the International Crisis Group. Less of the “alleged” torture and murder, more of the “actual”, you would think. I couldn’t possibly comment.
And it’s good to see that spokesmen for the EU, the UK FCO and the State Department have spoken out against this[9] [10]. One would hope that it gets raised by Secretary Tillerson during his meeting with Foreign Minister Lavrov on April 12.
A society, like any other tribe, defines itself by its actions. Diplomatic pressure may not be enough.
So what do we, as a society, do next? I’d welcome your thoughts.
Sources:
[1] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/chechen-gays-arrested-killed-reports-say_us_58e12a65e4b0b3918c843db6
[2] http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/gay-men-chechnya-prisons-detain-torture-murdered-killed-detain-russia-region-a7669911.html
[3]http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2017/04/01/chechnya_authorities_are_reportedly_rounding_up_and_killing_gay_men.html
[4] https://www.rferl.org/a/chechnya-kadyrov-rejects-reports-persecution-of-homosexuals/28404969.html
[5] https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/01/world/europe/chechen-authorities-arresting-and-killing-gay-men-russian-paper-says.html
[6] https://www.novayagazeta.ru/articles/2017/04/04/72027-raspravy-nad-chechenskimi-geyami-publikuem-svidetelstva
[7] http://windowoneurasia2.blogspot.co.uk/2017/04/kadyrov-opens-first-concentration-camp.html?m=1
[8] http://www.ixtc.org/2017/04/ramzan-kadyrov-otkryl-kontslagerya-dlya-geev-v-chechne/
[9] http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/press-release/state-department-calls-independent-investigation-lgbt-murders-chechnya
[10] http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2017/04/06/us-state-department-and-eu-leaders-condemn-homophobic-purge-in-chechnya/