Chechnya is Russia's own affair: Alatas

JAKARTA (JP): Amid growing protests in support of Chechnya independence, the government expressed deep concern yesterday about the action but maintained that it was a domestic Russian affair.

"Don't forget that it is basically an internal matter of Russia," Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas told The Jakarta Post yesterday.

Jakarta has remained silent about the crisis in the breakaway Russian republic of Chechnya and Moscow's use of force to crush the independence movement in the Moslem-dominated state.

"We have hoped from the beginning that the issue could be settled peacefully through negotiations. We are of course concerned that it has failed and armed force is now being used," Alatas said.

Some 80-students from various universities in Jakarta picketed the Russian embassy at Jl. Thamrin, Central Jakarta for the second consecutive day.

The students demanded Russian troops be withdrawn from Chechnya and that Russia give up its permanent seat at the United Nations Security Council.

Indonesia will join the Security Council in January. It was elected last October to serve for a two-year term.

Despite the mounting demonstrations, Alatas approached the subject carefully and warned that the complexity of the crisis warranted serious consideration.

"In dealing with such matters, we must be cautious in our assessment," he asserted.(mds)