Beslan School Hostage Crisis (2004)

Beslan School Hostage Crisis (2004) Done by: Chan Wei Keith Goh Lim Zhong Hui Wong Qin Jiang

BACKGROUND INFO

The Town: Beslan • A town in North Ossetia • Population of 35,550 (2002 census) • Ethnic groups in the town: • Ossetians (82%) • Russians (13%)

The School • Comintern Street SNO, one of seven schools in Beslan • Had about 60 teachers and over 800 students • Became famous around the world on the fateful day of September 1, 2004

TIMELINE

Day 1 • 1 September 2004 • Referred to as “First September” • Children accompanied by parents and relatives to attend ceremonies hosted by the school • At 09:30 AM, 34 armed men and women stormed the school • 50 people escaped • ~1200 taken hostage

Day 1 • Terrorist Action • The attackers singled out the 15–20 strongest adults that might present a threat • Took them to the cafeteria, where an explosion took place • A security cordon was established around the school • A line of three apartment buildings facing the school gym was evacuated and taken over by special forces

Day 1 • To deter rescue attempts • Improvised explosive devices • Tripwires • Kill 50 hostages for every member killed • Kill 20 hostages for every gunman • Blow up school if government forces attack

Day 1 • Russian government • Would not use force to rescue hostages • Negotiations towards a peaceful resolution • United Nations Security Council • Council members demanded “the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages of the terrorist attack”

Day 2 • Negotiation between Roshal and hostage-takers proven unsuccessful • Refused to allow food, water, medicine to be taken in for the hostages and the removal of dead bodies from school • Russian government downplayed numbers, stating there were 354 hostages and 15-20 militants in school • Angered hostage-takers

Day 2 • Vladmire Putin makes first public comment • Main task: Save the lives and health of those who became hostages • Protests erupted • Signs reading “Putin! Release our children! Meet their demands!” and “Putin! There are at least 800 hostages!” • Demands referred to formal independence to Chechnya

Day 3 • At 13:00, medical workers allowed to remove bodies outside school buildings • Agreed with the attackers • Terrorists open fired at them

Day 3 • Two explosions in gym • Many died outright • Many injured • Demolished part of gym, allowing ~30 to escape alive • Gym roof collapses • Many hostages crushed under rubble

Day 3 • Russian specialist forces stormed building • Militants moved hostages to other parts of school • Used them as human shields • Many hostages were being shot by troops • Blew holes in school walls for more hostages to escape • Russian forces claimed they had most of the school under control • At 18:50, fighting ends • All terrorists and hostages killed

The Event • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4YKxBFUlMI&feature=related • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfvcESPR-tg&feature=related

Reasons behind Attack • Territorial Terrorism (Chechnya) • The Chechens originate from Muslims and have lived in the Caucasus region for centuries, consistently resisting Soviet Control • In WWII, Josef Stalin, accused the Chechens of co-operating with the Nazis, forcibly deporting the whole population to Kazakhstan • Thousands died and the survivors could only return to their homeland after Stalin died in 1953

An Ongoing Conflict… • In 1991 (fall of SU), Chechnya with 14 other republics declared themselves independent of Russia • Surprisingly, Moscow granted all 14 independence, save Chechnya. • In 1994, Boris Yeltsin sent Russian troops to take back control • A war ensued till 1996, in which 80,000 died • Chechnya was then granted only partial independence

In a Nutshell..

Why Attack the School?

Comparison between these terrorist attacks and others

Learning points Problems identified • Allegations of incompetence and rights violations • Disinformation and suppression of information • Government response

Learning points Allegations of incompetence and rights violations • Police roadblocks on the way to Beslan were removed shortly before the terrorist attack and many blamed rampant corruption allowing militants to simply bribe their way through the checkpoints • Storming of school was ruthless • Claims cited the use of heavy weapons such as tanks and Shmelflamethrowers • 80% of hostages were killed by indiscriminate Russian fire • Authorities failed to organize the siege properly, failing to keep the scene secure from entry by civilians • Emergency services were not prepared during 52 hours of the crisis • Government unable to identify whose child was alive or dead

Learning points • Disinformation andsuppression of information • 83% of polled Russians believed that the government was hiding at least a part of the truth about the Beslan events from them • Widespread media censorship of event • Was not broadcast live by the three major state-owned Russian television networks • Main state owned broadcasters did not interrupt their regular programming following the school seizure • After explosions and gunfire started on the third day, NTV Russia (the main television channel owned by Gazprom) started to broadcast a World War II soap opera

Learning points • Government Response • Government stated that tanks and other heavy weaponry were used only after surviving hostages escaped from the school, contradicting eye-witnesses • Eye-witness: Hostages were seriously wounded and could not possibly escape while others were human shields • National commission in Moscow: "instead of calling for self-criticism in the wake of the disaster, the commission recommended the Russian government to crack down harder."

Bibliography • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beslan • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beslan_school_hostage_crisis#Motives_and_demands • http://incogman.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/beslan-montage.jpg • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beslan_school_hostage_crisis#Day_one

Beslan School Hostage Crisis (2004)