CHECHNYA: The pro-Russian Chechen government, whose Grozny headquarters were bombed yesterday in a suicide attack that left at least 46 people dead, is a mere puppet controlled by Moscow, according to rebels battling for independence for the Caucasus republic.
The attack, claimed by a rebel field commander, is the latest and most dramatic demonstration of the hatred separatist fighters feel for Mr Akhmad Kadyrov, head of the administration, and his team.
Mr Kadyrov, a former Muslim cleric appointed by Moscow to the post, was formerly allied with the separatists during a 1994-1996 war with Russia.
Disowned by Chechen rebels, he took office in June 2000 following a massive military campaign renewed by Moscow the previous autumn.
In turn, Mr Kadyrov named Mr Mikhail Babich, a Russian, as his Prime Minister last November, replacing Mr Stanislav Ilyasov.
Before appointing Mr Babich, Mr Kadyrov had regularly complained that his administration was more inclined to obey Moscow's orders directly rather than following his own command.
Neither Mr Kadyrov nor Mr Babich was at government headquarters when the suicide bombers drove two explosive-packed vehicles through a barrier and into the building.
The administrator, in Moscow, hastened to lay the blame for the attack on Mr Aslan Maskhadov, Chechnya's rebel president who won elections in the republic in 1997 but was immediately branded a terrorist by Moscow.
Mr Kadyrov and his government have been denounced by separatists as traitors, and defined on the official rebel web site kavkazcenter.com as an "occupation" government at the service of Moscow.
Dozens of local officials have been killed in the past three years, and Mr Kadyrov has been the target of several attacks.
In another sign of the rebels' escalating attacks on the Grozny government, a bomb attack on a police station in the Chechen capital last October left 22 people dead.
Russia, seeking to wipe out the rebel insurgency and tighten its hold over the breakaway republic, is backing a constitutional referendum to be considered by the Chechen government, as well as a new round of presidential and legislative elections expected at the end of next year.
But in a rare move expressing mounting doubt over the Kremlin's strong-arm tactics, the Russian parliament last week condemned the federal forces' operations in Chechnya, saying the large-scale manoeuvres have "ceased being a useful instrument".
Meanwhile, a Chechen rebel envoy insisted in London that Mr Maskhadov was not linked to yesterday's attack.
"If what happened is the work of suicide bombers, then I can tell you with full authority that the official Chechen armed forces do not follow such tactics," said Mr Akhmed Zakayev, himself viewed as a "terrorist" by Moscow.
Mr Zakayev is currently fighting a Russian extradition request in London, where he travelled after his release earlier this month from a jail in Denmark.
The bombing attack on Russia's main government building in Grozny "once again confirms that the situation in Chechnya is far from stable," Mr Zakayev said.
"That is why Maskhadov is calling for a peaceful resolution [to the conflict] and for political dialogue to resume," Mr Zakayev said.
Russia has refused to negotiate with either Mr Zakayev or Mr Maskhadov, who Russian authorities believe is hiding in southern Chechnya.
Earlier yesterday, the Kavkaz Centre Internet site said an unnamed field commander had called their office to say the "building of the occupants was blown up as a result of an attack by Chechen martyrs".
There was no initial indication as to who the rebel commander who called the rebel Internet site was.
The British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, last night condemned the Grozny attack, saying it showed the need to end all kinds of terrorism.
"These sorts of atrocities can never be justified," he said in a statement, emphasising "the need to bring terrorism of all kinds to an end".
Mr Blair, holidaying with his family in Egypt, said his thoughts were with the victims and their families. - (AFP)