Annan urges Russia to respect law in Chechen fight

8.25am

MEXICO CITY - UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan called on Russia to respect the rule of law while fighting Chechen rebels, after Moscow said on Wednesday it would attack terrorist bases anywhere in the world.

"We need to come up with ways and means of fighting terrorism effectively but we also need to make sure that these approaches do not undermine the rule of law and basic civil rights," Annan told journalists on a visit to Mexico.

Annan was speaking in response to a question about a threat by Russia's top general to attack terrorists anywhere in the world after last week's bloody school siege.

"As for launching pre-emptive strikes on terrorist bases, we will carry out all measures to liquidate terrorist bases in any region of the world," said General Yuri Baluevsky, chief of Russia's general staff.

Annan, in Mexico to attend a conference on democracy in Latin America, said nations needed to co-operate rather than act unilaterally against terrorism.

"I have made it quite clear that I believe, in the fight against terrorism, countries have to work together, pool their efforts, share information," he said.

In 2002, Russian President Vladimir Putin accused neighbouring Georgia of harbouring Chechen rebel bases and said this gave Moscow the right to strike at suspects beyond Russia's borders.

In June, a Qatar court sentenced two Russians to life imprisonment for killing a Chechen rebel leader, Zelimkhan Yandarbiyev, in the Gulf state.

- REUTERS