The bandits did not want to die. To all appearances, they hoped for the Budennovsk situation re-enacted, he said to newsmen with a reference to a hospital seizure in European Russia's south, 1995. A sizeable part of bandits escaped that time.
Mr. Aushev, active in negotiations to release the school hostages, is sure the terrorists had prepared a retreat corridor. "As they talked to me, they said other gangs were ready to come to the rescue if necessary." At nighttime, the bandits were leaving the premises to reconnoitre in the vicinity, he added.
When a reporter asked him whether some of the bandits could have escaped, Aushev said some could have hidden in a panicky crowd.
As they talked to him, the terrorists said they had learned the "Nord-Ost" lesson, Ruslan Aushev went on. He was referring to a heinous terror act in Moscow, October 2002, when a full house and cast were taken hostage during a sensational musical at a theatre in Dubrovka Street. Commandos used a strong sleeping gas to seize the terrorists that time. While in Beslan, the men broke all school windows for draughts to sweep the house.
"The terrorists were much tougher than in the 'Nord-Ost' tragedy. They shot several hostages every time the light or a phone went off by accident," said Mr. Aushev.
He is not sure whether the terrorists had concealed munitions and explosives on the school premises beforehand. "They appeared in Beslan in two cars and a lorry, so I assume they had everything they needed with them."
The ex-president offered to his audience the demands the bandits had been making. One of them-the chieftain, to all appearances-gave him a list handwritten on a school notebook sheet. "I remember them all. That was to stop the war, pull out the troops from Chechnya. The Chechen Republic was to join the Commonwealth of Independent States, retaining the Russian rouble for its currency, and to join hands with federal forces to bring the Caucasus into order.
"I passed the demands to the HQ, which was to forward them to Moscow. It was up to the Russian top to decide whether to comply."
There were people of varying ethnicity among the Beslan terrorists. "I saw a mere seven, some of them masked. It is hard to tell one's ethnic background from the face. But then, what does it matter? We all know terrorism to have no ethnicity or nationality. There may be bandits in whatever nation," stressed Ruslan Aushev.
All the bandits were speaking a fluent Russian, he added.
The chieftain, who was referring to himself as Emir, said to Aushev his gang was owning up the two passenger aircraft blasts of August 24 and a blast of August 31 close to the Rizhskaya metro station in Moscow.
Mr. Aushev confirmed his telephone talk during the Beslan suspense with Ahmad Zakayev. The Chechen rebel emissary was expected to contact some of the bandit leaders and coax them into releasing the hostages.
"Were any attempts made to involve the bandits' relations or friends in the talks?" was a question.
"Such attempts were made at the start-but the terrorists said they were not to repeat, or two hostages would be shot for every phone call," came the reply.
After two blasts came in the school gym, the hostage rescue HQ tried to contact the man who had introduced himself as the gang "press secretary", and so resume negotiations. "We tried to get them on the phone, and explain no school storm was underway. The terrorists did not believe us-they said the premises were under attack," added Ruslan Aushev.
