Political terror - no absolute black and white?

The United Kingdom, in response to the refusal of the Russian Government to extradite former KGB agent Andrei Lugovoi to face charges of murdering Russian exile Alexander Livinenko last November, has expelled four Russian diplomats from the Embassy in London. Russia, incensed by this, has threatened to take 'appropriate measures' in response to this action but has not yet done so.



The dying Litvinenko



Andre Lugovoi


The argument has now blown up - was Britain right to take this action, one which is seen in diplomatic circles as the signal of severe disapproval from one government to another? The simple answer is yes, surely all decent people want to see a murderer brought to justice. But in the world of political intrigue nothing is that clear cut.

The Russians have for a long time been demanding the return of two men, one being Boris Berezovsky, the businessman now living in London who is wanted in Russia on fraud charges. He has also candidly admitted to being anti-Putin and committed to bringing down the Russian leader 'by peaceful means'. The other is former Chechen warlord, Ahmed Zakayev, also resident in London. Zakayev is a suspect in planning the Moscow theatre siege in which many people died. He is also accused of being responsible for the deaths of countless Russian servicemen as part of his resistance campaign in Chechnya.



Boris Berezovsky



Ahmed Zakayev


The British government has refused to extradite either man, in the first case because they claim that the fraud charges are trumped up and that the real focus is Berezovsky's political hostility to Putin thus he is a 'political refugee'. Zakayev too is being treated as a political refugee because the British support the cause of Chechen separatism. To the Russians however, Chechnya is a legitimate part of the Russian Republic and someone killing Russian troops for trying to restore order is a terrorist not a political refugee.

They say, with some justification it has to be said, that their Constitution first of all forbids extradition of Russian citizens and secondly, while that of Britain does not, the British will not co-operate in returning the men THEY want.

So is any Government ever justified in this murky world of political intrigue, espionage and counter espionage in public shows of outrage and indignation manifested by expelling diplomats? Does it help stability and international relations to 'pump up the volume' in this manner. Is it, in fact, rather than a genuine cry of outrage, Gordon Brown flexing his international muscles for the benefit of the media. It does seem that there is no absolute moral black and white in this shady world. Would we not be better off, awful though it sounds, to just accept that one nation's spies will always try and 'eliminate' political threats from its exiled nationals and just put up with it as long as it doesn't affect the likes of you and me? One nation's murderer and terrorist is another nation's hero and saviour of the nation. Just depends where you start from. Sure we should use our secret service to try and protect people who come to us for refuge...but if we fail should it be escalated to a national crisis? Immoral and conscienceless though it sounds, I have my doubts.