Does Blair's denial of evidence on the number of Iraqi deaths make him the
author of the biggest single lie uttered by a Western political leaders?
George Washington, for example, did not attempt to deny that the cherry tree
had been chopped down!
Blair's attempt to belittle statistical evidence on casualties in Iraq seems
to go further in denial than even the Russian Government.
Russian authorities have never made any attempt to keep a record of the
number of casualties in Chechnya. Just as the US or the UK have made no
attempt to keep a record of the number of deaths they have inflicted on
Iraq. Belligerent governments feel no responsibilities to the populations
that they claim to be liberating or saving from terrorism. But there is a
variation in the response to independent estimates of deaths.
The Memorial Human Rights organisation in Moscow published a survey-based
estimate for Grozny, capital of Chechnya, for the period Dec 94 to March 95
of 25-29 thousand deaths - excluding military and insurgents. The Russian
Government did not query this estimate. But the head of Demographic
Statistics asked the Memorial Centre for its data and made its own estimate
of 30-40 thousand. In the 1990s it appears that Russia was on the way to
achieving an independent statistical service!
This promise does not appear to have been maintained in the second Chechen
war that started in 1999. Government under Putin seems to be combining
the stupidity of the slogan 'war against terrorism' with the secrecy of the
Soviet KGB era. But you can get a fair picture of the scale of the
catastrophic events in Chechnya, and the failure of 'elections' to remedy
the situation, at http://www.mhg.ru/publications/33D4760. I can email you
an English version.
Elections would at least bring some statistical evidence. There would have
to be figures for the numbers entitled to vote and for the number of votes
cost for different candidates. If the procedures followed are supported by
international observers we might be able to see elections as having been a
way forward.
But that is a very big IF!. The UK Governments current tendencies seem to
promise more denials and cover-ups that will preclude properly observed
election procedures and the production of meaningful statistics..
Ray Thomas
35 Passmore, Tinkers Bridge, Milton Keynes MK6 3DY
Email: [log in to unmask]
Tel 01908 679081 Fax 01908 550401
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