President Vladimir Putin rejected any dialogue with Chechen separatists, blamed for at least 335 deaths in last week’s school hostage siege, as hundreds of thousands rallied against terrorism across Russia on Tuesday.‘‘Why don’t you meet Osama bin Laden, invite him to Brussels or to the White House and engage in talks, ask him what he wants and give it to him so he leaves you in peace?’’ Putin said in a meeting with foreign journalists. ‘‘You find it possible to set some limitations in your dealings with these bastards, so why should we talk to people who are child-killers?’’ he said, ruling out a public inquiry into the retaking of the school in Beslan.In Moscow, thousands gathered at an rally near Red Square, streaming across a bridge with Russian and Soviet flags held high, as police patrolled with dogs. ‘‘Children are our future, defend them,’’ one banner read. ‘‘Russia’s heart is in Beslan today,’’ said another. ‘‘They’re international groups without God, without Allah, without hearts,’’ said Alevina Yevdokima, an actress, just before the rally opened with a minute’s silence. ‘‘It’s a plague. I’ve been crying for four days.’’Elsewhere, hundreds of thousands protested across Russia. Opposition politicians said the Moscow rally was intended to parry criticism of the Kremlin’s handling of the crisis and Putin’s failure to ensure security for ordinary Russians. Pressure on the media to toe the line increased on Monday with the sacking of the editor of the respected daily Izvestia, which splashed harrowing pictures in its Saturday edition. Beslan buried more of the 335 people — half of them children — killed during a chaotic operation to free them from captors demanding independence for Chechnya. The ruins of School No. 1, where more than 1,000 hostages were held for 53 hours, have become a memorial where processions stop and lay flowers on their way to a new cemetery for victims.Heavy rain on Monday and overnight turned the new cemetery into a sea of mud, with family members slipping as they trudged across the field to bury their dead. Every few metres (yards) a new grave was being dug or filled with a coffin. ‘‘The whole town is crying, wailing for the pain that can never ease,’’ said Masha, neighbour of four-year-old Rada Solkazanova and her mother Larisa, buried together on Tuesday. — Reuters
