Russians rally against terrorism
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 Why don't you meet Osama bin Laden, invite him to Brussels or the White House ... and ask him what he wants ... so he leaves you in peace? 
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 VIDEO |
 Thousands of Russians rally against terrorism in Moscow.
 Russian gravediggers have been told to prepare for many more burials.
 How the Chechen conflict has taken an international turn.
 Israel and Russia agree to share intelligence in anti-terror efforts.
 Putin vows to step up war on terrorists after bloody week
 Timeline reconstructs bloody end to hostage standoff.
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RELATED |
• Families begin burying dead
• Doubts cast on Chechnya policy
• Siege prompts Arab horror
• 'We'll shoot until our guns stop'
• Siege jolts world leaders
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MOSCOW, Russia (CNN) -- Tens of thousands of stunned, sad and angry Russians Tuesday staged a somber demonstration in the nation's capital, protesting and mourning the massacre of at least 335 hostages at a school in the country's restive Caucasus region.
Organized by Russia's powerful trade unions, a sea of demonstrators waved signs and listened to speakers outside the Kremlin and just off Red Square. The gathering appeared to some observers to be one of the largest ever held there.
Demonstrators held up signs and waved banners saying "Down with terrorism," "Bring the killers to justice," "Russia will not be brought to her knees" and "Putin we are with you."
The support for Russian President Vladimir Putin, however, is not widespread at all in Beslan, where the massacre happened on Friday.
There, grieving parents want to know why the government let the hostage crisis unravel into an unprecedented terrorist incident.
Authorities have said at least 335 hostages were killed when a standoff between troops and the hostage-takers came to a bloody end, with terrorists setting off bombs in the gymnasium where most of the hostages were held and shooting those who tried to flee.
Scores of children were among the hostages who died in the massacre.
The hostage-taking incident began Wednesday when terrorists seized the school in Beslan, a town in North Ossetia, a small southern republic in the middle of the Caucasus -- long regarded as an ethnic powder keg.
Along with North Ossetia, the Caucasus includes the regions of Ingushetia, Dagestan and Chechnya -- where separatists have been battling Russian troops.
Even though Chechen rebels are believed to be behind the terror, Russian authorities believe the terrorists were part of an international band. Officials have said 10 of the terrorists were from Arab countries.
Meanwhile, Putin is defending his government's decision to storm the school, saying the hostage-holders had begun shooting children out of boredom.
The Russian president also justified the rescue operation, although he conceded that it took time to mobilize it. He said Russian special forces stormed the school knowing they themselves were likely to be killed.
Putin said the Chechen separatists were trying to ignite ethnic tensions in the former Soviet Union and it could have severe repercussions. He said the terrorists' goal was to ignite conflict between two local ethnic groups, the Ingush and the Ossetians.
On Monday, Putin said that mid-level officials in the U.S. government were undermining his country's war on terrorism by contacting Chechen separatists, whom he compared to al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
Asked about Putin's comment, U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said: "There have not been any recent meetings between department officials and Chechen political figures, separatists or political figures.
"The United States has met with people from Chechnya who had differing points of view, including points of view that differ from the Russian government. But we don't meet with terrorists. We don't meet with people who are involved in violence or fomenting violence."
He was speaking to a group of Western foreign policy experts.
A few weeks ago the United States granted asylum to Ilias Akhmadov, the "foreign minister" of the Chechen separatist movement.
While qualifying his remarks by calling President Bush friendly and decent, Putin had pointed remarks for the administration.
He said each time Russia complained to the Bush administration about meetings held between U.S. officials and Chechen separatist representatives, the U.S. response has been "we'll get back to you" or "we reserve the right to talk with anyone we want."
Putin blamed what he called a "Cold War mentality" on the part of some U.S. officials, but likened their demands that Russia negotiate with the Chechen separatists to the United States talking to al Qaeda. (Full story)
These are not "freedom fighters," Putin said. "Would you talk with Osama bin Laden?" he asked.
"Osama bin Laden attacked the United States saying he was doing it because of polices in the Middle East," Putin said. "Do you call him a freedom fighter?"
Also Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon met in Israel with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and agreed to bolster anti-terror activities.
Such work would "enhance bilateral intelligence, operational and humanitarian coordination and cooperation," a news release from the Israeli prime minister's office said.
Sharon said Israelis "understand better than any other what Russia is going through," a reference to the Palestinian terrorist attacks Israel endures.
"Israel knows too well the scenes of security forces and medical personnel carrying wounded people and victims of all ages on their shoulders," Sharon said, according to the news release.
Shows of solidarity with the Russians have spread across the globe.
United States has sent two C-130 cargo planes loaded with medical supplies from Ramstein Air Force base in Germany to Beslan to aid the victims of the siege. Pentagon officials say another flight was scheduled for Tuesday.
The State Department also issued an alert to American citizens traveling or living in Russia, saying that the potential for terrorist actions is high, and citing the recent terror attacks linked to the "ongoing hostilities in Chechnya."
Moscow Correspondent Jill Dougherty and Senior Pentagon Correspondent Jamie McIntyre contributed to this report.
Copyright 2004 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
