 The Address to the Nation by Dokka Umarov, President of Chechen Republic of Ichkeria
23 June 2006
In the name of God Merciful, Charitable,
Praise God, Lord of the worlds. Peace and blessings to the God's Prophet, his family, his apostles, and all the Moslems.
Dear compatriots!
On the 17th of June, our President Abdul-Halim Sadulaev died as a hero in combat against Russian invaders and their armed accomplices in the town of Argun. President Sadulaev's memory shall be immortalised by the Chechen government, as well as the memories of his predecessors. His name and his glorious life of a leader and a warrior shall forever remain in memory and in history of the Chechen nation, and so shall the names of all its glorious sons and daugthers who sacrificed their lives for our right cause.
It is not the first time when we lose our president. Our presidents accept death as wariors, as heroes, and give us, the alive, an example of how all of us should live and die on the straight way of the Almighty God, defending our land, freedom and dignity of our nation. Abdul-Halim was one of the best sons of the Chechen nation, our leader, and, in spite of his young age, a wise mentor in questions of religion, politics, and strategy. Certainly, Abdul-Halim's death is a great loss for us. However, we must be glad for our brother Abdul-Halim, because the Almighty God has found him worthy of a matyr's death.
Now, by the will of God, I am the President of Chechen Republic of Ichkeria. I have never wanted this job, but I must fulfill my duty, not my wishes. I have made my free choice in 1994, when I decided it was my duty to join those who raised, with weapons in their hands, to defend the freedom and honour of our nation. I believed, and I still believe, that this is the main duty of every Chechen and Moslem. This duty implies all our other dutites, including that to lead, if necessary, our nation and its heroic Armed Forces.
For the last twelve years I, like all our combatants, have done my best to bring freedom to our occupied land. I know that now I must double my efforts. The trust of my brothers-in-arms, and the memory of my heroic predecessors Djokhar Dudayev, Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev, Aslan Maskhadov, and Abdul-Halim Sadulaev, obliges me to do so.
My vision of finishing the Russian-Chechen war is that Russia should leave us alone, recognising our legitimate right of self-determination - that very right which Russia itself now openly proclaims. Like my predecessors, I do not think that the Chechens deserve their own independent state any less than any other nation.
In legal terms, Chechen Republic of Ichkeria is an independent state. This state is temporarily occupied. Thousands of the Chechen nation's best sons and daugthers are fighting, regardless of their own survival, to force the aggressors out of this country.
We can see that some Chechens came to serve the invaders and even to fight, with weapons in hands, against the soldiers of the Resistance. Unfortunately, we could not escape this sad phenomenon. Yet, we should not despair, because such things usually happen during an occupation of any country. Among any nation there always were traitors and Quislings. Their end is never good, and the descendants pronounce their names with curse and contempt.
I would like to officially announce that we are creating a special detachment of the most experienced fighters, in the structures of all the six fronts, under a united command and with a single database. The task of this detachment will be to eliminate the most odious national traitors from punitive troops, and of the war criminals from occupational troops, who are convicted to death, for their cruelties and murders, by the CHRI Shariah Court. From now on, there shall be no mercy or pardon to the hangmen of Chechen and other North Caucasus nations, no matter where they hide.
Today, the Chechens are not the only nation which fights against Russia's imperial ambitions. The best sons of all nations of North Caucasus have raised against the colonial dependance. All of them are integrated into the Caucasus and Daghstanian Fronts of the CHRI Armed Forces; they and we co-ordinate our activities. The fellowship of the nations of North Caucasus is geting stronger every day. Indeed, we cannot deny our Caucasus brothers their right for freedom.
It should also be mentioned that the present situation gives us some new strategic tasks. In the 21st century, Russia remains the only colonial empire in the world, and only in Russia Moslems are still under colonial oppression. All the nations, like individuals, are created equal. The equality of nations, as well as of individuals, is recognised by the international law, although it is not obeyed by everyone. Therefore, we are preparing to broaden the theater of war, spreading it from Caucasus to many regions of Russia. These preparations may be finished as early as this Summer. Then we are planning to create new fronts, in addition to the six fronts which already exist.
However, I responsibly state that only military and punitive objects will be targets of our strikes and attacks. Like my predecessors at this presidential position, I shall vigorously stop any attempts to attack civilians or civilian targets (except in cases when civilian status serves only as a cover for those who conduct subversive or intelligence operations against us). This is in spite of the fact that, for many years, Russian invaders are carrying out genocide against civilian population in Chechnya and all over North Caucasus.
In our foreign policy, the top priority remains to be informing the world public about the true events in Chechen Republic and in the whole of North Caucasus. Chechen Republic's representatives must dispel the Russian propaganda's myth about extemism of our leadership.
Indeed, the Chechen nation pursues the only goal: to be free and equal among the nations of the world. The legal basis for establishing peace with Russia is the Treaty on Peace and Principles of Relations between Russian Federation and CHRI, signed by the two states' presidents Boris Yeltsin and Aslan Maskhadov on 12 May 1997. According to this treaty, Russia and Chechen Republic must base their relations on the commonly accepted principles and provisions of international law.
I inform all the bodies of the executive power of the Chechen Republic, both inside and outside the country, that they shall function in the same mode as before. In accordance with the Constitution, I am going to offer the State Defence Committee - Supreme Council of the CHRI a candidate for Vice Presidency soon.
At present, no significant cadre changes in the Presidential Administration or in the government are planned.
Dear brothers and sisters, my compatriots! I assure you that we have enough strength and will to continue resistance until Russia cleans our land from the presence of its criminal troops. No matter how Russia calls our fighters, they constitute glory and pride of our naion. In my military and political work, I am encouraged by thousands of young Chechens who want to join the ranks of the Resistance. We are fighting for the right cause. In spite of all the dificulties, hardship, and losses, with God's help, victory shall be ours!
God is great!
Dokka Umarov, President of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria
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