Ryssland kritiserar Sverige för jihadistsajt

Den ryska nyhetsbyrån TASS rapporterar att Ryssland har framfört kritik mot att Sverige inte har låtit stänga ner den tjetjenska terroristpropagandasajten Kavkazcenter.

"The Swedish authorities have not yet complied with the UN Security Council's decision to terminate the activities of the extremist website "Kavkaz-Center" said Russia's permanent representative to the UN Vitaly Churkin on Monday.

He described as "very regrettable" that the specified portal "continues to promote ideas of terrorism and religious hatred."

The site is a mouthpiece for the organization "Caucasian Emirate" which was put on the UN sanctions list."

Sajten ifråga, som är lojal med emiratet men inte nödvändigtvis styrd av det, har sina servrar placerade i Sverige. Rysslands utrikesdepartement menade i en pressrelease i augusti att Kavkazcenter omfattas av FN:s sanktioner mot organisationer associerade med al-Qaida. Men sajten står inte med på sanktionslistan, även om kopplingen till den globala jihadrörelsen mycket väl kan göras, varför det hela kan anses vara en tolkningsfråga. Sverige brukar dock inte gå Ryssland till mötes i liknande frågor, så en rimlig gissning är att sajten kommer att fortsätta operera härifrån även i fortsättningen.

Uppdatering 16/11:

Ryska internationella propagandanyhetsorganet Rysslands Röst/Voice of Russia använder brösttonerna i sin bevakning av frågan.

Sweden has refused to comply with a UN resolution demanding the closure of Kavkaz-center, an extremist internet site. The Russian UN envoy, Vitaly Churkin, says it is a matter for regret that the Swedish authorities are ignoring a decision of the highest organ in international relations.

Kavkaz-center first appeared on the internet in March 1999 and was based in Grozny. During the anti-terrorism campaign in Chechnya, the site supported the most radical of the militants, particularly Shamir Basayev and the mercenary Khatab. Kavkaz-center gained notoriety with the publication of anti-Russian materials and news about the lives of separatists, which were often misleading.

Vitaly Churkin recalls that the site frequently changed its address, but finally settled in Sweden. In July this year, the UN Security Council put Kavkaz emirate, whose backbone is the Kavkaz-center site, on the list of extremist organizations. American experts recognize the organization as Al-Qaeda’s “right-hand” in the North Caucasus. However, it is wrong to focus only on the link with Al-Qaeda. The problem is much broader, says Gordon Khan, an American Professor.

According to Vitaly Churkin, the UN resolution demands that financial sanctions should be imposed on Kavkaz-center, to cut off its life line, but Sweden is not in a hurry to comply with the UN resolution. It is unlikely that Sweden will shut down the Kavkaz-center site any time soon, says Sergei Goncharov, a security expert:

“European countries will never shun double standards. The extremist site will not be closed down in the near future. Swedes believe that freedom of speech is more important than all the political nuances of bilateral relations with Russia.”

In 2003, Estonian security police seized the site, and in September 2004, the authorities in Lithuania unplugged the site, after it carried a statement by Shamir Basayev, the odious leader of the militants, in which he claimed responsibility for the deadly explosion in Beslan. Kavkaz-center later moved to Finland, but was forced to relocate to Sweden. Liberal Sweden continues to ignore the UN resolution demanding the closure of Kavkaz-center.

At play are quintessential double standards. The military instrument readily becomes available when Libya is on the receiving end. Nobody is calling for the use of arms here, but strangely, there are no countries lining up to call on Stockholm to comply with the UN resolution and shut down Kavkaz-center, which is universally recognized as Al-Qaeda’s mouth piece in the North Caucasus. The situation reinforces the statement by the Russian President Dmitry Medvedev that Western countries use the Security Council as an instrument to legitimize their often destructive plans. Moscow will prevent this using its veto right.