AMNESTY IN CHECHNYA.

The political leader of the Chechen resistance, Zelimkhan Yandarbiev, has declared an amnesty for all those who worked for the local Moscow-backed government, except for those guilty of especially serious crimes. The amnesty, timed to coincide with today’s fifth anniversary of Chechnya’s declaration of independence, is intended as a goodwill gesture. Reports of reprisals against Chechens who cooperated with the pro-Moscow government have been denied by the resistance forces. (Interfax, BBC World Service, September 6)

Military Payments Arrears Deepen.