ACPC Events The Committee organizes public events with high-profile dissidents, government officials, journalists and regional experts at forums, conferences and universities across North America, this way giving a voice to the communities of the North Caucasus. If you or your organization would like to host or co-sponsor a speaker, please contact us in Washington, DC. Below you will find listings of our past events as well as more detailed information on the participants, topics discussed and other related documents.

Quick links to past events 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000

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Upcoming events

 

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Past events

June 16 - June 25, 2008
Helsinki Commission Briefing
During the week of June 16th, the American Committee for Peace in the Caucasus brought a group of North Caucasus human rights defenders and experts to Washington DC to inform the policy community about the current situation in the region. Magomed Mutsolgov - Head of the Ingush NGO "MASHR" (peace), Gregory Shvedov - editor-in-chief of the "Caucasian Knot" and Eliza Musaeva - former head of the Russian human rights NGO "Memorial" were hosted by the Helsinki Commission for a briefing [transcript here] in Congress that focused on the increasing violence in the Russian republic of Ingushetia. During the briefing, a short film entitled "Missing Lives" highlighting the growing number of disappearances in the region, produced by Memorial and WITNESS was also shown. The group also held a number of other important meetings with the State Department, Senate Foreign Relations Committee and House Committee on Foreign Affairs among others. 

Council of Europe in Strasbourg
During the week of June 23rd, the American Committee for Peace in the Caucasus in collaboration with the Council of Europe's Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) group, headed by Mr. Matyas Eorsi, brought a group of human rights defenders to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. Magomed Mutsolgov - Head of the Ingush NGO "MASHR" ("peace"), Svetlana Isaeva - member of "Dagestan Mothers" and Oleg Orlov - Chair of "Memorial" Center had the opportunity to address not only the ALDE group of parliamentarians, but the Council's Committee for Legal Affairs and Human Rights. The group also held a number of key meetings with the Council's Secretary General Mr. Terry Davis, President of PACE Mr. Lluis Maria de Puig as well as with Mr. Dick Marty, the newly elected Rapporteur on the North Caucasus. Mr. Marty and his staff will assemble a full and independent report on the region to be released next year.

The ACPC initially invited the head of the "Dagestan Mothers" organization - Gulnara Rustaeva - to participate in the Strasbourg events. However, in spite of requests sent by both the ALDE and ACPC staff to the local authorities, Ms. Rustaeva was not given an international passport in a timely manner and was therefore unable to attend. For this reason ACPC and ALDE invited her colleague Svetlana Isaeva. Moreover, the local Dagestani government was outraged by the idea of anyone from the "Dagestani Mothers" speaking at an international gathering about the problems in the republic, as is demonstrated in the following article that come out in an independent Dagestani newspaper Chernovik prior to the Strasburg events. ['Chernovik' article here]

 

April 17, 2008
Movie screening: "Berkat and Marsho" - Happiness and Freedom
ACPC presents Jana Hradikova, Co-founder and Program Director of the Czech Civic Association "Berkat" at the Goethe Institute.

September 6, 2007 back to top
Beslan: Three Years After the Tragedy
On September 6, The American Committee for Peace in the Caucasus commemorated the 3rd anniversary of the Beslan school siege. For this occasion, committee hosted two of the most prominent North Ossetian journalists, Yuri Bagrov and Valery Dzutsev. Mr. Bagrov was formerly based in Vladikavkaz, North Ossetia, where he covered the Russian Caucasus for the Associated Press and RFE/RL. Mr. Dzutsev was on the ground in Beslan during the siege and reported developments for several American and European media outlets.

The event was held at Freedom House in Washington and moderated by Robert Herman, Freedom House Director of Programs. Throughout the discussion, the panelists offered accounts of the siege itself as well as how its investigation has been handled by the authorities. Even though the siege took place three years ago, "We still don’t know what happened in Beslan" concluded Mr. Dzutsev. Many of the basic facts are still being disputed and serious evidence is still left unaddressed. Residents of North Ossetia believe that, with a substantial body of evidence at hand, they know the truth and simply demand that it be recognized by the proper government authorities. However, the truth implicates power structures as bearing significant responsibility for the large number of victims and this takes away from government's readiness to uncover it.

The unwillingness on the part of the Russian authorities to effectively investigate this event has led to the emergence of a number of conspiracy theories which further skew perceptions of the siege and actors involved. Moreover, by refusing to conduct a serious investigation, the Russian authorities are rapidly losing respect and trust of the local population.

Mr. Bagrov and Mr. Dzutsev reminded attendees that the government alone does not bear responsibility for the tragedy that took place in Beslan three years ago. The siege was undertaken by terrorists and their responsibility should at no time be minimized or forgotten.

Listen to the audio file of the event.

View the event invitation

June 22, 2007
Dancing on the Ruins: Youth in Chechnya Today
On June 22, the ACPC program welcomed two talented young Chechens, Milana Terloeva and Raisa Zelimova, who shared their experiences and reflections on the everyday life of Chechen youth, their needs and aspirations. Representatives of think tanks, embassies, international organizations as well as government officials and university students, who participated in the event, also learned about Études Sans Frontières, a French student-led organization that makes possible for talented Chechen youth to receive quality education abroad. You can view speaker bios here.

April 25, 2007
Screening of the film "The Crying Sun" - The Impact of war in the Mountains of Chechnya; followed by the discussion with the authors of the film and human rights activists from the region
The American Committee for Peace in the Caucasus, in collaboration with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, organized a viewing of a new documentary treating the impact of the current Chechen conflict on the mountainous villages in the region. The movie highlighted the plight of the villagers as a result of the armed conflict, forced disappearances and killings. The authors called for the stop of violence and resources to be earmarked for the reconstruction of the villages and rehabilitation of life in them. Following the movie, the participants engaged in a discussion with the author of the movie, Memorial human rights activist Zarema Mukasheva and her colleagues Ekaterina Sokiryanskaya, Shamil Tangiev and Ousam Baysaev, all of whom participated in the making of the film.

The American Committe for Peace in the Caucasus is pleased to release an audio transcript of the event.
Real Audio and Windows Media
Read an interview with the film-maker Zarima Mukasheva

October 16, 2006 back to top
Candellight in Memoriam of Anna Politkovskaya
Amnesty International USA, Freedom House, the International Center for Journalists, the International Women's Media Foundation and the Open Society Institute invite you to participate in a candlelight vigil to honor slain Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya. The vigil will be held from 6:00-6:45 pm on Monday, October 16, outside the Russian Federation's Embassy to the United States (2650 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W.) Several speakers who knew Ms. Politkovskaya professionally and personally will talk about the importance of her work and her commitment to protecting human rights in Russia. Speakers include: Maureen Greenwood, Advocacy Director for Europe and Eurasia, Amnesty International USA, Paula Schriefer, Advocacy Director, Freedom House, Joyce Barnathan, President, International Center for Journalists, Jane Ransom, Executive Director, International Women's Media Foundation, Satsita Muradova, affiliated with Memorial, a Russian human rights organization, Dimitri Klimenko, frequent interpreter for Ms. Politkovskaya.

July 1-8, 2006
ACPC hosts Marina Litvinovich, head of the Aid to Victims of Terror Foundation
Marina Litvinovich heads the organization “Aid to Victims of Terror Foundation,” which is dedicated to investigating acts of terror in Russia and helping the victims of such acts. She is also an aide to political opposition politician Garry Kasparov. Litvinovich travels frequently to the North Caucasus to conduct an ongoing independent investigation into what happened during the Beslan school siege. She helped to create the group “Mothers of Beslan” and is the Editor-in-Chief of the “Truth of Beslan” website which features information about the investigation. Litvinovich also recently visited Chechnya to investigate reports of mass poisoning of Chechen children.

February 23, 2006
Remembering the 1944 deportations of North Caucasus peoples
Between 1943 and 1944, Stalin attempted to wipe whole ethnic groups off the map of the North Caucasus by deporting approximately 700,000 people in cattle cars to Central Asia and Siberia on the premise that they had collaborated with the Nazis. Within five years after the deportations, at least 25 percent of the deportees perished from starvation, harsh treatment, and exposure. Deportees were not allowed to return to their homelands until after 1957.
Panelists Dr. Svante Cornell, Kelly McEvers and Satsita Muradova discussed the history of the deportations which left an indelible mark on the cultural memory of the North Caucasus peoples. They also addressed human rights abuses and violent extremism in the ongoing war in Chechnya and in outbreaks of violence elsewhere in the North Caucasus today.
Read the press release

February 11, 2005 back to top
Chechnya After Beslan: A Discussion with Anna Politkovskaya
During the September tragedy in Beslan, award-winning journalist Anna Politkovskaya, while attempting to report and mediate in the crisis, was silenced by what has become known as the Kremlin's poison politics. Now recovered, Politkovskaya continues to report on human atrocities in the war-torn region and speak on behalf of the thousands of victims of Russia's 10 year campaign in Chechnya. In her first visit to the United States since Beslan, Politkovskaya discussed the upsurge in civilian casualties and Vladimir Putin's unequivocal drive toward authoritarianism. As the West is reconsidering its rapprochement with Russia, commentator Dr. Michael McFaul, Senior Fellow at Stanford's Hoover Institution, addressed the Kremlin's post-Beslan policies, growing public discontent with the Putin administration, and the implications and opportunities for U.S. policy.
The American Committee for Peace in Chechnya is pleased to release an audio transcript of the discussion:
Listen to the speech

December 1, 2004 back to top
Creeping Chaos in the North Caucasus and Abkhazia: An Ethno-Historical Analysis
Dr. Emil Pain addressed the W.P. Carey Forum at the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute regarding the Russian Federation's current nationalities policy, with particular attention given to the North Caucasus. Dr. Pain is the Director of Moscow's Center for Ethnopolitical Studies. An expert on ethnic conflict and ethnic relations in the Former Soviet Union, he served as an advisor to Russian President Boris Yeltsin and was also a Galina Starovoitova Fellow at the Kennan Institute for Advanced Russian Studies.
The American Committee for Peace in Chechnya is pleased to release an audio transcript of Emil Pain's presentation:
Introduction, Part I, Part II, Questions and Answers

January 22, 2004
War Without End: The News Hour with Jim Lehrer Report
Russia has fought a long civil war against the separation of its republic of Chechnya, but allegations of human-rights abuses are leading Moscow to increasingly transfer control to local authorities. Special correspondent Simon Marks looks at the war and the dim prospect for peace in Chechnya.
Read the Transcript

December 10, 2003 back to top
Catastrophe in Chechnya: Escaping the Quagmire
With nearly 250 persons in attendance and presentations by Zbigniew Brzezinski and Ruud Lubbers, the conference was the largest event of its kind dedicated solely to Chechnya to be held in Washington DC. Hosted by the American Enterprise Institute and co-sponsored by The American Committee for Peace in Chechnya, Amnesty International USA, Freedom House, the Jamestown Foundation, and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, this event promises to be of great potential significance in articulating a new American attitude toward Russo-Chechen conflict.
Speakers include Zbigniew Brzezinski, Stephen Solarz, Lord Frank Judd, Ruud Lubbers, Ilyas Akhmadov, Fred Hiatt, Andrei Babitsky, Andrei Piontkovsky and more.
CLICK HERE to view video footage and photographs of the event.
CLICK HERE to see the transcript of this event.

November 6, 2003
A Difficult Road: Bringing Peace to Chechnya
Sponsored by American University's School of International Studies
The American Committee for Peace in Chechnya (ACPC) in conjunction with the Jamestown Foundation is pleased to sponsor ACPC Executive Director Glen E. Howard for this panel discussion hosted by the Society for Peace and Conflict Resolution. Other distinguished panalists include Paul Henze, resident consultant at the RAND Corporation and former National Security Council staff member under Zbigniew Brzezinski, and Georgian scholar Mamuka Tsereteli, who is an adjunct professor at American University's School of International Service. Inquiries may be directed to Daniel Pellathy at 202.296.2861 x205

September 16, 2003
Presidential Elections in Chechnya: Normalization or Farce?
Co-sponsored by The Central-Asia Caucasus Institute, the Jamestown Foundation and Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty
The American Committee for Peace in Chechnya and the co-sponsors of this event will host a distinguished panel of discussants to assest the upcoming Chechen presidential election. Among the participants are Dr. Khassan Baiev, Dr. Aslan Doukaev, Lord Frank Judd, Ms. Anne Nivat, and Ms. Anna Politkovskaya. This event is open to the press and general public. Inquiries may be directed to Daniel Pellathy at 202.296.2861 x205.

February 4, 2003
Human Rights in Chechnya: A Dialogue
Co-Sponsored by ACPC and the University of California, Berkeley
Chechen Foreign Minister Ilyas Akhmadov will discuss the human legacy of the Chechen War and the current status of efforts to end the conflict peacefully. This event is co-sponsored by the Human Rights Center and the Institute of Slavic, East European & Eurasian Languages at the University of California, Berkeley.

December 17, 2002 back to top
The Refugee Crisis in Ingushetia
Chechnya Working Group Briefing
Greg Brown, Program Officer for the International Rescue Committee (IRC) Balkans and Caucacus Programs recently returned from Ingushetia and will brief participants on the state of the refugee crisis there. Since 1997, the IRC has provided emergency shelter, water and sanitation and educational programming to Chechen non-combatants displaced by the Russo-Chechen wars. Brown has worked with the IRC since 1993, serving in Azerbaijan, Bosnia, East Timor, Kosovo and Macedonia. Participation in this informal briefing is by invitation only.

November 21, 2002
The Moscow Tragedy and the Search for Peace in Chechnya
Co-Sponsored by ACPC and the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute
The recent hostage-taking in Moscow appear to threaten the opening created by the peace initiative recently devised by a group of Chechen and ethnic-Russian politicians together with representative of Maskhadov's rebel government. Ruslan Khasbulatov will discuss the current state of the crisis in Chechnya, as well as his efforts to promote a peaceful resolution to the conflict. Participation in this event is by invitation only.

October 21, 2002
Human Rights & Prospects for Peace in Chechnya
Hosted by the National Press Club
Lord Judd led a joint European-Russian fact-finding mission to Chechenya in September to assess humanitarian conditions in the war-torn region and monitor efforts to curb human rights abuses. Judd will discuss his recent report to the Council of Europe and prospects for peace in the breakaway republic. A copy of his report may be found here.

April 25, 2002
People in Need Foundation
ACPC sponsored an event at Freedom House that featured Mr. Simon Panek, Director of Humanitarian Operations at the People in Need Foundation.

January 30, 2002
Andrei Babitsky
ACPC is co-sponsoring an event on the Hill with the National Endowment for Democracy. The event will feature Chechen Foreign Minister Ilyas Akhmadov, Andrei Babitsky and Dr. Brzezinski. Rayburn Building, Capitol Hill, The Gold Room (#2168) Also, ACPC will co-sponsor an NGO roundtable discussion with Freedom House. The discussion will be an opportunity for serious Q+A with Chechen Foreign Minister Ilyas Akhmadov and Andrei Babitsky regarding the war in Chechnya and the humanitarian situation.

November 20, 2001 back to top
Anna Politkovskaya
Politkovskaya was given the Golden Pen Award by the Russian Union of Journalists in 2000 for her reporting on the Chechen war. Ms. Politkovskaya recently published a book on the current Russo-Chechen war entitled A Dirty War . As a result of her publications, she was forced to flee Russia and currently lives in Europe.

June 15, 2001
Roundtable Discussion on Chechnya
ACPC has arranged a roundtable discussion with three representatives of the Czech NGO People in Need Foundation: Tomas Pojar, PINF Director; Simon Panek, Chief of Humanitarian Aid Operations; J. Michael Luhan, Director for Institutional and Program Development. The People in Need Foundation was the first non-Russian organization to deliver relief aid into Chechnya after the outbreak of the current war. Since then, PINF has distributed more than 6,000 tons of food and relief supplies to residents of Grozny and other towns and villages. In late 2000, PINF built a school for 2,000 students in Leninski Grozny and operates 33 temporary schools for 2,000 Chechen refugees in Ingushetia. PINF has been a lead implementing partner for the World Food Program, UNHCR, and UNICEF in Chechnya.

June 8, 2001
Roundtable Discussion
Roundtable discusstion with Gillian Dunn, Emergency Coordinator for the International Rescue Committee. ACPC has arranged a roundtable discussion for Gillian Dunn, Emergency Coordinator for the International Rescue Committee. Ms. Dunn spent the last 2 years in the Northern Caucasus and set up an IRC sub-office in Nazran to provide humanitarian assistance to Chechen refugees. Ms. Dunn provided an overview of the situation on the ground in Chechnya and assessed the distribution of humanitarian relief to refugees. Participants in the roundtable discussion included David Scheffer (Former Ambassador at Large for War Crimes Issues) and representatives from several NGOs including Amnesty International, Committee on Conscience, NCSJ, and the U.S. Committee for Refugees.

May 31, 2001
Roundtable Discussion on Chechnya
Roundtable discussion with Russian human rights activist Lev Ponomaryov, Executive Director, All-Russia Public Movement for Human Rights. ACPC has arranged a roundtable discussion with the National Endowment for Democracy to include representatives of the U.S. Department of State and several NGOs closely following the crisis in Chechnya.

April 22-June 5, 2001
Visit of Dr. Omar Khanbiev, Chechen Health Minister
ACPC has arranged meetings for Dr. Khanbiev with policymakers, non-governmental organizations, human rights organizations and the media.
[Tortured Chechen Speaks of Abuse: AP, May 25, 2001]
[Russian Filtration Camps Used For Chechen Extermination: RFE/RL, May 17, 2001]
[Dr. Khanbiev's testimony before the UN Human Rights Commission, March 2001]
[Over 87,000 Civilians Killed in First Year of War: (Interview with Khanbiev) Aug. 1, 2001]

April 19, 2001
Luncheon with French Journalist Anne Nivat
ACPC and the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute, Johns Hopkins University, co-sponsor a luncheon for Anne Nivat, the Moscow correspondent of Liberation. Ms. Nivat was the only Western reporter who wandered freely and unescorted around Chechnya during the first five months of the current war. Her book "Chienne de Guerre" won third prize in the SAIS-Novartis international journalism competition.

March 15-April 4, 2001
Visit of Ilyas Akhmadov, Chechen Foreign Minister
ACPC arranges meetings with members of Congress, former policymakers, non-governmental organizations, human rights organizations and journalists to discuss the ongoing crisis in Chechnya and propects for peace.

February 23, 2001
Candlelight Vigil
The American Committee for Peace in Chechnya organized a candlelight vigil to raise concern about the humanitarian catastrophe in Chechnya and to commemorate Deportation Day, February 23. On February 23, 1944, Stalin deported nearly 500,000 Chechens to Siberia and Central Asia. One-third of the deported population died in transit or while living in exile. With this in mind, ACPC seeks to draw attention to the ongoing violence against the Chechen population.

December 2000 back to top
Visit of Chechen Journalist and Film Director Raisa Talkhanova
The American Committee for Peace in Chechnya hosts Chechen journalist and film director Raisa Talkhanova. During the siege of Grozny in September 1999, Raisa risked her life, often filming near the front lines, to make a documentary about the daily struggles of Chechen civilians. The resulting film "Inside Chechnya" was produced by the BBC and Wilton Films and was later nominated for an International Emmy Award.