Word: humanity
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...days later, the European Court for Human Rights (ECHR) held a hearing on the attack and found Russian forces and their commanders responsible for the "indiscriminate bombing" of civilians. "Using this kind of weapon in a populated area ... without prior evacuation of civilians was impossible to reconcile with the degree of caution expected from a law-enforcement body in a democratic society," the court's findings read. (See pictures of Victory Day in Russia...
...move that has sparked outrage from Human Rights Watch (HRW), the officer in charge, Lieut. General Vladimir Shamanov - who is named in the ECHR's findings - has been chosen to head Russia's paratrooper unit. "A commander in this position should have a firm commitment to upholding international humanitarian law," said Holly Cartner, the HRW director for Europe and Central Asia, in a report released on May 28. "It's hard to understand how an officer with oversight for operations that have resulted in numerous violations of humanitarian law has been considered qualified to assume this role...
...considering the ECHR's ruling on the Katyr-Yurt attack, Shamanov's new role as head of Russia's élite airborne troops flies in the face of that promise, says HRW. "Lt. General Shamanov presided over operations fraught with human rights violations and civilian casualties," HRW states in the report. "He should be investigated, not promoted...
Instead of standing trial, as human-rights groups are demanding, Shamanov will continue to serve as a super-hawk at a time when Russia has been making efforts to assert its place on the world stage though aggressive military actions. Just last week Shamanov said that "airborne troops proved during the five-day war [with Georgia] that they ... remain the backbone of Russia's conventional forces," according to Russian news agency RIA-Novosti. Previously head of the Ministry of Defense's combat training command, Shamanov ordered a change in training last year to prepare Russia's military to fight...
...while Shamanov's human-rights record is the issue making waves internationally, inside Russia it's his hawkishness that is causing problems for the country's leadership. Commenting on his promotion, Shamanov said certain airborne units that were due to be cut under the government's blueprint to build a smaller, more professional fighting force would instead be kept on, and some would even be expanded - a step off the party line that has upset the Kremlin. (Read "Russia's Chechnya Pullout: Compromise Over Victory...