Since 17 April Kazbich Chechenskii, a Chechen refugee, has been on hunger
strike in the village of Duisi, in the Pankisi region of Georgia. The 43-year-old
writer and commentator has set up a tent in the very centre of the village,
demanding that he and other Chechens who sought refuge from the war in Georgia,
should be allowed to move on to other countries. This hunger strike is a final
attempt to draw attention to the growing suffering of several thousand people,
who have been forced to leave their homes and now have nowhere to go.
Chechenskii's hunger strike is neither a protest, nor an authorised demonstration
with a megaphone. It is the only way in which the protesters can express the extent
of their desperation. Four thousand people, who fled Chechnya and are seeking
asylum in Georgia, are now on the verge of starvation. It was agreed in December
2002 that the amount of humanitarian aid, provided by the international humanitarian
organisations for each family would be: 27 kilos of flour, 1.5 litres of sunflower
oil and 3.6 kilos of beans, to last for two months. It appears that the "hunger
strike" in the village began long before now.
According to the Chechen Human Rights Centre, practically all humanitarian support
for the refugees ceased in April. The Centre alleges that insignificant humanitarian
aid, sent to the village, went missing en route and never reached its destination.
Russia, which claims Chechnya as her own, is not taking any responsibility for
"her own" citizens. Russia has not provided any food or other assistance.
The refugees have no medical assistance: local hospitals are completely unequipped
and have no medicines. Naturally, the refugees cannot afford to travel to Tbilisi.
Many of them are chronically ill, and struggled to survive the winter. Relying
on the hospitality of friends, relatives and other Georgians who have taken pity
on them,
they are made to feel like outcasts, not wanted by either Russia or Georgia.
At a press conference in Tbilisi on 25 March 2003 the unofficial head of the Chechen
republic, Khizri Aldamov read out a letter from the Committee of Chechen Refugees,
located in Pankisi region. The letter told of cases of illegal detentions, improper
behaviour towards people, and looting in the course of a sweep-up in the region.
The refugees complain that "the activities of the Georgian security forces are
no different from the barbaric tactics employed by the Russian occupying forces
in Chechnya".
The "anti-terrorist" operations carried out in the village of Birkiani on 10 and
11 April may have been Georgia's response to this letter. The Pareulidze family,
whose home was searched several times over the two days, told of armed Georgian
special forces, who picked out people living in the house, then, without any explanation
and without arresting anybody, left again.
At the same press conference in Tbilisi at the end of March Buais Anzorov, leader
of the Committee of Chechen Refugees, reported that a 25-year old refugee, Hussein
Yusupov, and 40-year-old Adam Talatov had both disappeared without trace after
being arrested by Georgian police.
The main justification for the searches and arrests of refugees is "membership
of terrorist organisations and gangs", which in the context of a general anti-terror
campaign, does not have to be based on convincing evidence. There is very low
degree of justice here. There is further anxiety around the case of 13 Chechens,
arrested on the Georgia-Russia border in August last year. Russia is asking for
them to be handed over, accusing them of terrorism and other serious crimes. Five
of them have already been extradited, and a decision on the extradition of a further
three is expected on Friday. Two of the people arrested turned out to be Georgian
citizens and Russia has received an official refusal by Tbilisi to hand them over.
The precarious situation of Chechen refugees in Georgia may deteriorate even further
in response to world events. Moscow's disapproval of the military agreement between
Georgia and the USA may force Tbilisi to reach some compromise with Russia, for
example in resolving the painful question of the Chechen refugees. They may become
pawns in the great political game being played out by states in conflict.
What will become of them, desperate to find shelter no matter where, yet kicked
under the carpet by Moscow's military policies, the inhumanity of Georgia's security
forces, and the apathy of the whole world?