Inghusetia...To be filed under: How to Make Your Very Own Insurgency
If you are from the US and don't read BBC or blogs, you have probably heard zero about this, but have ya'll seen this?
My "favorite" part:
Quote:
The security forces have to show they are actively combating the militants, she says. But it is much easier to grab a civilian and dress his corpse up as a militant rather than go into the woods and actually fight the jihadis...In a society in which blood vendettas are part of a man's honour, young male relatives of the deceased have to seek their own justice. They head into the hills to get a gun and take revenge. And while with the extremists, their ideology may shift accordingly.
Brutality domino question
Kevin23 asked
Quote:
My question which is the same one that Foreign Policy posted in regards to Inghusetia is that if brutality by Russian and local forces continues like this. Is it possible that the situation in Inghusetia could spiral out of control and effect the whole region of Central Asia including the situation Afghanistan, if the conditions are right for such a thing to happen?
There is no doubt about the local effect of security force brutality on dividing societies and acting as a motor for violence as the only response. Add on the global communication factor and the answer is yes. Whilst reporting such brutality in the region by international and Western media is occassional, I doubt if AQ ignore it. No idea about Al-Jazeera's coverage. The only mitigating factor IMHO is the numbing legacy of the USSR on individuals and societies perception of state power.
Not to overlook the furore over alleged Pakistani state brutality in the Swat Valley.
I listened to the BBC report and they did mention the violence of the militants.
davidbfpo
Maybe a helpful pointer to sources & experts
The London-based IISS runs a series of seminars on Eurasian security that cover the region from different angles, for e.g. human rights: http://www.iiss.org/programmes/russi...egy-seminars-/
Alas the seminars do not have podcasts, unlike the main meetings, but may give an indicator of who is an expert on the region and then search again.
(I am an IISS member, but do not attend these meetings. Can't think why but it is usually those on South Asia which I attend).
davidbfpo
The Foreign policy article to which the Sir refers