A climax of Russian lie on Chechnya is scheduled for 23 March.

This is the opinion of the Chechen and foreign, as well as Russian human rights groups. According to the representatives of Nazran office of Human Rights center "Memorial" (mainly of the Chechens), as well as their Russian colleagues, the farce in Chechnya scheduled for the second half of March is nothing more but a general fraud of the population of the Chechen Republic Ichkeria, Russian society and so-called "civilized world community", since, as it is pointed out by our interlocutors, all
everyone in Chechnya, many citizens of Russia, and majority of politicians in the West are well aware that under the existing circumstances in Chechnya one cannot speak of "people's will". Why? Because there is no uprightness, and the "elections", as a matter of fact, are elections without choice, voting under the threat of arms and "polling the votes" by means of deception.

However, I have forgotten to explain what is intended to happen in Chechnya on 23 March. I am sorry to say that it is "Referendum on the Project of Constitution of the Chechen Republic" and draft laws "On Presidential Elections in the Chechen Republic" and "On Elections to  the Parliament of the Chechen Republic". There are too many brackets, aren't there? It's something at least that not checkpoints, Chechnya is so rich of today…

And there is something funny and, at the same time, sad. As it has been officially stated, this decision was made on Friday by the "election commission of the Chechen Republic", "having declared valid the signatures collected in Chechnya by the initiative group of the referendum campaign". It is clear that the decision of the "election
commission of the Chechen Republic" is a proposal to the Kremlin previously formulated by the Kremlin. But nobody knows whether the Kremlin agrees to carry out the referendum on 23 March. Maybe, 23 February would be more reasonable?!

T.Nemirovich, SIA Chechenpress
January 11, 2003

http://www.chechenpress.info/english/news/01_2003/11/3.htm