Russia's Putin recalls Beslan dead on anniversary

MOSCOW, Sep 1 (Reuters) President Vladimir Putin said today Russia could not forget the ''children who would never go to school again'', recalling hundreds killed when troops stormed a school seized by Chechen rebels three years ago.

Kremlin envoy Dmitry Kozak reassured families of victims a solid investigation was being carried out into the handling of the siege, Russian local media reported. Any officials found negligent would face trial.

Gunmen seized more than 1,000 children and parents attending a ceremony in Beslan to mark the new school year in September 2004. A total of 333 hostages -- half of them children -- died in the siege, which ended with a chaotic rescue attempt. Kozak, presidential envoy to southern Russia, and Boris Gryzlov from the pro-Kremlin United Russia party, sought to quell fears of the Beslan Mothers committee, set up by the dead children's mothers to demand justice for the tragedy in Beslan.

''A huge amount of work has been done, and it is unprecedented...

Actions of every soldier have been analysed,'' Russian news agency Interfax quoted Kozak as saying in Beslan.

For the first day of school in Russia, Putin visited a school in the south Russian city of Astrakhan where he spoke of Beslan, according to film broadcast by Russian state television.

''Even though today is a bright and festive day, we can't forget about the tragedy a few years ago and the children who will never go to school again,'' Putin, who is to step down after a March 2008 presidential election, told young students.

GREAT TRAGEDY Witnesses in Beslan have said they saw Russian forces fire at the school, something Russian officials have denied.

In an open letter to Putin to mark the anniversary, the Beslan Mothers Committee urged him to use his last year year in office to visit Beslan and tell the truth about the massacre.

''The most important truth is that our children were sacrificed for someone's bureaucratic interests. We know this truth. The whole Russian people should know this too,'' said the letter.

''Beslan is not just a great tragedy for Russia, it is also a shameful episode for the Russian authorities.'' ''It is your moral duty, as the president of Russia, to come to Beslan in your last year in office, to go to the children's cemetery, to see at first hand the scale of the tragedy and to tell the truth to all of Russia,'' said the letter.

Beslan is in the turbulent North Caucasus region in southern Russia, near to Chechnya where Russian forces have fought two wars against separatists rebels and from where the violence often spills over into neighbouring regions.

Putin built his power, first as prime minister, then as president, on a campaign to overthrow a Chechen rebel government and restore Kremlin control.

REUTERS SLD PM1740