Putin Submits Bill to Parliament for Amnesty to Chechen Rebels

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, May 16, 2003

Putin Submits Bill to Parliament for Amnesty to Chechen Rebels

Russian President Vladimir Putin submitted on Thursday a bill to the lower house of parliament, asking for an approval to offer an amnesty to Chechen rebels, a Kremlin statement said.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin submitted on Thursday a bill to the lower house of parliament, asking for an approval to offer an amnesty to Chechen rebels, a Kremlin statement said.

In a letter sent to Duma speaker Gennady Seleznyov, Putin described the amnesty as "a humanitarian gesture" and said it "is principally aimed at creating further conditions for peaceful life in the Chechen republic."

According to the bill, the amnesty would be offered to all Chechen rebels who hand in their weapons and stop their rebel activity before August 1, but those who have committed murder, kidnapping and other serious crimes, as well as foreigners, would be deprived of the amnesty right.

It was reported that there were some foreign mercenaries fighting for the Chechen rebels.

Having been heavily hit by the Russian forces in two Chechen wars, the Chechen guerrillas resorted to assassination, suicide bombing and other terrorist attacks to force a concession from the Russian government.

At least 20 people were killed and dozens of others injured on Wednesday in a suicide bomb attack in the Chechen republic.

On Monday, 59 people were killed when suicide bombers drove a truck loaded with explosives into a complex in northern Chechnya.

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