Co-Chairs Oppose Zakayev Extradition in Letter to Danish Ambassador
Washington, DC: October 30, 2002 12:35 PM EST

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Chris Swift, (202) 296-5101 x134

His Excellency Ulrik Andreas Federspiel
Royal Danish Embassy
3200 Whitehaven St., N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20008

Your Excellency:

We have learned that Danish authorities, at the request of Russian officials, arrested and may even extradite Mr. Akhmed Zakayev. We know Mr. Zakayev and have worked with him. His dedicated espousal of a peaceful resolution to the Chechen conflict has made him a crucial interlocutor in efforts to bring an end to the war. This August, for example, Mr. Zakayev met in Liechtenstein with Boris Yeltsin's former national security adviser Ivan Rybkin, Russian Duma Member Aslambek Aslakhanov and former Russian Duma Speaker Ruslan Khasbulatov to negotiate a settlement framework.

Mr. Zakayev's extradition would seriously undermine those crucial endeavors. Moreover, it could establish a precedent for extraditing any ethnic Chechen accused by Moscow of being a terrorist-a precedent with broad and disturbing human rights implications.

While we recognize the difficulty the Danish government may face in distinguishing secular nationalists from potential militants, it is important to avoid painting Mr. Zakayev and others with the broad brush of international terrorism. Failure to protect and support moderates of his ilk will only strengthen extremist elements in Chechnya and further perpetuate a tragic and potentially genocidal war.

Sincerely yours,

Zbigniew Brzezinski
Alexander M. Haig, Jr.
Max M. Kampelman