Madam, - The killing of Chechen leader Aslan Maskhadov by Russian commandos last Tuesday is a serious blow to hopes of peace in the war-torn region of Chechnya. Maskhadov is not to be confused with the barbaric Shamil Basayev, whose followers were responsible for the Beslan massacre and the Moscow theatre siege.
Maskhadov's tactics were entirely different. He had no connections to al-Qaeda or international terrorism. Recently he had been trying to negotiate an end to the Chechen war.
Last month he announced a ceasefire and told reporters that "30 minutes of eye-to-eye talk [ with President Putin] would be enough to end this war". Although this comment was naive, it shows how determined he was to bring peace to his country.
By ordering Aslan Maskhadov to be killed, the Russian government has shown it has absolutely no desire to achieve peace in Chechnya. The brutal subjugation of the Chechen population will continue.
Killing the one man who could genuinely bring the Chechen rebels to the negotiation table has insured that this bloody conflict will continue for many years to come. - Yours, etc.,
CORMAC O'BRIEN, Marina Village, Malahide, Co Dublin.