Official website of the President of Russia

President Vladimir Putin has sent a letter to the writer Chingiz Aitmatov in response to his letter expressing pain and sympathy over the terrorist act in Beslan.

The President’s letter notes in particular:

”I am grateful for your letter concerning the tragedy in Beslan and for your sincere, heartfelt words of sympathy for the victims of this barbaric crime that took the lives of hundreds of innocent people. Your words are those of someone who is not indifferent to the suffering and pain of others.

I fully agree with your assessment of the dangers posed by international terrorism. It has indeed become one of the biggest threats to the modern world. The countries and peoples of this world must work together and unite the forces of their state structures, public organisations and citizens in order to resist this global evil. This is Russia’s firm and consistent position“.

Mr Putin also stated that one of the main conditions for fighting the terrorist threat is to ”establish a reliable system to control arms and prevent the illegal arms trade“ and stressed that it is ”also important to establish close cooperation between the law enforcement agencies in different countries in areas such as the fight against trans-national organised crime, ensuring effective export and border control and exchange of information“.

Regarding Mr Aitmatov’s proposal on drafting a universal document on the control and ban of the illegal trade in arms, the President noted that this is a priority issue for the world community and is on the agenda of the United Nations and other international organisations for examination.

”Overall, the steps the international community is taking aim at making the fight against terrorism more effective. But a lot also depends on other factors. The fight against terrorism is also a fight for people’s minds. Every country and every society must build up a firm resistance to terror and to extremist slogans and ideas. In this sense, the words and acts of authoritative writers, thinkers, teachers and religious leaders are of crucial importance. This is why your position and your initiatives are so significant“, the President wrote.

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The writer Chingiz Aitmatov sent a letter to President Vladimir Putin on September 7, 2004, expressing his deep sympathy and sincere condolences over the tragedy in Beslan. ”Yes, our souls are crying out, yes, our consciousness has been shaken, yes, our history has been mutilated by this landslide of the twenty-first century – this hate-filled act of evil committed by terrorists before the eyes of the whole world, on the screens of the entire planet. What barbarity and violence descended on us on that first day of September 2004…“ Mr Aitmatov wrote.

In Mr Aitmatov’s view, one of the main causes behind the unprecedented spread of international terrorism, the monstrous manifestation of which was the tragedy in Beslan, is the illegal arms trade that has created a situation where ”arms have become as routine a business as shoes and arming oneself has become simpler than gathering wood from the forest“.

In response to this situation Mr Aitmatov said that ”the state and the public in their entirety should take a categorical stand of banning supplies and banning the possession by anyone, no matter who they are, of illegal arms, even if this goes against the ardent desire of the market economy and the various underground businesses that thrive on this trade“.

Mr Aitmatov wrote that this approach and this cooperation should be based on corresponding legislation adopted by every country in the world. ”It would be good if the United Nations, all the leading international organisations and also the world’s media were to support the idea of global legislation on the control and ban of illegal arms in all countries, in all parts of the world. There is no other solution, no alternative“ Mr Aitmatov stressed.