MOSCOW: The limited amnesty offered by Russian authorities to suspected militants has had little success so far.

The State Duma, the lower chamber of the Russian parliament, supported President Vladimir Putin's amnesty initiative by voting 350 to 80 with one abstention to declare amnesty for people who voluntarily quit armed groups, and for servicemen involved in crimes during counter-terrorist operations in the north Caucasus, particularly Chechnya.

The amnesty bill says no criminal cases will be opened against persons who have voluntarily disengaged themselves from militant groups and who surrender weapons and military hardware.

But the amnesty does not cover members of illegal armed groups who have committed grave crimes such as theft or illegal sale of weapons, hostage-taking or terrorist attacks. The amnesty also does not cover foreigners or stateless persons. The bill says the courts would have to decide on pardon for ex-militants now on trial, whereas the police will make decisions concerning people still under investigation.

The law was a follow-up to the Kremlin's move to end more than a decade of separatist resistance in Chechnya and other parts of the restive north Caucasus region.

Telephone lines were opened in Chechen capital Grozny and elsewhere for militants to discuss the terms and place of surrender.

"The results so far have been encouraging and positive," chairman of the Duma's Legislation Committee Pavel Krasheninnikov told IPS. "We hope that all the militants and anti-government forces would embrace the Kremlin innovative policy that aims at uniting the people, and mobilising them in reconstruction efforts in the region."

About 300 former members of criminal armed groups surrendered to authorities and applied for amnesty before the Sept 30 deadline, officials said. The amnesty announced in July this year first gave militants two weeks to surrender, but was then extended.

"More than 150 ex-militants will not be prosecuted and eight have been removed from the wanted list. But criminal action has been started against two, and three have been detained. The decision to drop charges, earlier brought against 17 ex-militants, has been reversed," Chechen Economic and Public Security Council Secretary German Vok said in an official statement.

"The former militants have surrendered three submachine guns, 23 automatic rifles, 21 grenade launchers, 375 explosive devices and three pistols," he said. Not everyone believes that this is enough. Nor has the amnesty brought forth any significant leaders.

Hopes of a surrender by Chechen militant leader Doku Umarov have led to controversy. "Doku Umarov can count on fair documentation of his surrender and fair treatment," Chechnya envoy and deputy prime minister in Moscow Ziyad Sabsabi said, adding that grave charges have been brought against Umarov. Sabsabi said Umarov's surrender would have a positive effect on developments in Chechnya.

But another official said the law does not cover someone like Umarov because he is charged with serious crimes. Umarov "is a highly dangerous criminal stained with blood to his elbows and posing a threat to the region as a whole, so all problems related to him should be resolved accordingly," he said.

Rumours that Umarov may surrender have intensified after his elder brother Akhmad turned himself in to the Chechen law enforcement agency.

The leaders of illegal armed units in Chechnya and outside are meanwhile trying to thwart the amnesty offer, officials say.

"The leaders of illegal armed units are using various methods," acting head of the Chechen department for Crimes Sergey Bogomolov said at a meeting in Grozny. "They are intimidating hesitant militants, accomplices and their families, threatening them with battery and murder."

Senior researcher at the independent Centre for Cultural and Modern Civilisation Studies Dmitry Bondarenko told IPS that the Kremlin has initiated this move "after the most notorious and authoritative rebel figures have been killed".

Bondarenko added: "But as I see it, the risk is that not all the guerrillas will use this chance, hence the government will have to return to military action against them. And some basic questions still remain: how those who use this chance could be fully accepted by both the Chechen and Russian society. And will their rebel past become a stigma for the rest of their lives?"

To encourage complete disarmament of the militant groups, Chechen President Alu Alkhanov has asked President Putin to extend the amnesty until January 2007 in order to give all armed militants "sufficient time to contemplate their decision and make use of a chance to become free, and return to peaceful pursuits for the well-being of their motherland."—Dawn/The IPS News Service