One-Terrorist Show

The Chechen separatist chieftain and Terrorist No. 1 in Russia, Shamil Basayev, has been threatening Russia on TV with new acts of terror of the Beslan magnitude when more than 340 people died. According to Basayev, in fighting for Chechen independence it is admissible to kill civilian population. He made this and other similar statements in an interview that was broadcast – in spite of the protests of Russian authorities – on Britain's "Channel 4" Thursday. The video-recording had been made last January by Basayev's aids at an unknown location. The terrorist was answering questions from a laptop.

The British Foreign Office issued a lengthy statement about the scandalous interview given by the terrorist. Its main point was to emphasize that the decision to broadcast the interview was made by a private TV company and hence beyond the government's scope of authority.

The British government has absolutely and unconditionally condemned Basayev's actions, the official Foreign Office statement says, and this position has been confirmed by its support for Basayev's name to be put on the list of the UN Counter-Terrorism Committee. But the decision to broadcast the interview was entirely up to the TV Company, the statement says, and the government had no say in it.