KHANKALA. Jan 20 (Interfax-AVN) - The headquarters of the Combined Federal Forces in the North Caucasus has obtained a copy of Chechen elected president Aslan Maskhadov's address to the people of Chechnya.
"It clearly follows from this statement by Aslan Maskhadov that he has declared war on his own people before the referendum on the constitution of the Chechen Republic," Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Starovsky, deputy commander of the Combined Federal Forces, told Interfax-Military News Agency on Monday.
"Maskhadov has openly warned people that those who cooperate with federal authorities will be physically destroyed. These threats were not made only against officials, but also against ordinary workers, doctors and teachers," Starovsky said.
He said the text of the statement makes one feel that Maskhadov "has lost his sense of reality." "In spite of attempts made by Maskhadov and his hangers-on to disrupt the referendum in Chechnya, it will take place, because the majority of Chechnya's population is interested in it," Starovsky said.
Despair and lack of coordination can be felt in the latest guerilla actions. "Maskhadov is not in control of the situation, and rebels can stage the most unpredictable actions during preparations for the referendum," the officer stressed.
"That is why, federal forces have concentrated on protecting citizens from these ruffians that have launched a genocide of their own people," he said.