Mothers of Beslan

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Mothers of Beslan (Russian: Матери Беслана) or Beslan Mothers' Committee (Russian: Комитет матерей Беслана) is a support group of parents whose children were among the more than 365 victims of the 2004 North Ossetian Beslan school hostage crisis.

The group is lead by chairwoman Susanna Dudiyeva and has nearly 200 members. Roughly 30 members of Mothers of Beslan headed by Ella Kesayeva split to form a second group, the more radical Voice of Beslan.

Contents 1 Activities 2 Grabovoy affair 3 See also 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Activities

Mothers of Beslan was created February 25, 2005 in the aftermath of the hostage crisis as a response to what was seen as the incompetence and excessive force used by the security services during the rescue attempt. They are also investigating negligence and corruption of the North Ossetian leadership, notably the former president Alexander Dzasokhov, whose resignation was demanded by the group.

They are highly critical of Russian President Vladimir Putin for allegedly covering up the circumstances of the siege. According to the Mothers of Beslan the terrorists made use of weapons and supplies that had been pre-positioned in the school, suggesting it was an inside job by school employees or town officials. This version of the events strongly contradicts the official narrative. The group met with Putin in Moscow on September 1, 2005.

[edit] Grabovoy affair

In September 2005 some members of Mothers of Beslan, including Dudiyeva, were involved in a debacle with the self-proclaimed healer and miracle-maker Grigory Grabovoy, who had promised he could resurrect their killed children for a large sum of money. The group has since denounced Grabovoy as a fraud and a charlatan ^[1] and his actions as part of a drive to discredit Mothers of Beslan.^[2] Grabovoy was indicted of fraud in April 2006.

[edit] See also

• Voice of Beslan

[edit] References

1. ^ (Russian) "Grabovoy: Mothers of Beslan Appeal", translation, September 12, 2005. Retrieved on August 6, 2006.
2. ^ "Beslan Mothers Accuse Russian Authorities of Discrediting Campaign for Justice", Mosnews, September 23, 2005. Retrieved on August 6, 2006.

[edit] External links

• Mothers of Beslan homepage, Last accessed July 19, 2006.
• Pravda Beslana (Thruth of Beslan)
• Golos Beslana (Voice of Beslan)
• Beslan mothers trust Putin, demand Dzasokhov's head, Eurasia Daily Monitor, February 24, 2005. Last accessed July 18, 2006.
• Mothers of Beslan condemn 'cover-up', The Telegraph, December 29, 2005. Last accessed July 18, 2006.
• Putin meets angry Beslan mothers, BBC News, September 2, 2005. Last accessed July 18, 2006.
• Beslan Mothers Call for Restoring Death Penalty in Russia, MosNews, February 14, 2006. Last accessed July 17, 2006.
• Sectary Grabovoy, who promised to resurrect children of Beslan, has "assisted" the prosecutor's office in affirming the official version of events, Newsru, October 10, 2005. Machine-translated by www.online-translator.com. Last accessed August 5, 2006.
• Mothers of Beslan are in Grabovoy's sect, Izvestia, September 20, 2005. Machine-translated by www.online-translator.com. Last accessed August 5, 2006.