News from Chechnya justify suspicions that the actions carried out there by Russian Government bear the features of genocide. The whole nation suffers punishment for acts imputed to individuals.

After a firm response of the international community to the events in Kosovo, it is difficult to accept the passive attitude towards what is going on in Chechnya.

The events are taking place in a Member State of the Council of Europe. Thus the reaction to them on the part of the Council will be the measure of its credibility.

At the same time, we would like to point out that each of the Governments of the Member States of the Council of Europe may lodge an application against the Russian Federation with the European Court of Human Rights.

Teresa Bogucka - journalist, co - founder of the Workers' Defence Committee (KOR) in 1976
Halina Bortnowska-Dąbrowska - journalist
Marek Edelman - physician, last living commander of the Uprising in the Warsaw Ghetto ( 1943)
Janusz Ł. Grzelak - professor of psychology, Warsaw University
Zbigniew Hołda - professor of law , M. Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin and Jagiellonian University in Cracow
Jacek Kurczewski - professor of sociology, Warsaw University
Ewa Łętowska - professor of law, judge of the Supreme Administrative Court, first Polish Commissioner for Civil Rights Protection (1988-1992)
Anna Michalska - professor of law, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań,
Wojciech Maziarski - journalist
Michał Nawrocki - professor of physics, Warsaw University
Marek Antoni Nowicki - former member of the European Commission of Human Rights (1993-1999)
Marek Nowicki -president of the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights
Danuta Przywara -secretary of the Board of the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights
Andrzej Rzepliński - professor of law, Warsaw University
Stefan Starczewski - director, Cultural Foundation
Andrzej Szczypiorski - writer
Warsaw, 25 November 1999