14:53 Jan.14, 2003
Refugee camps in Ingushetia to be closed by spring
Camps for displaced persons from Chechnya in Ingushetia can be closed down
only by spring this year, Magomet Markhiyev, Ingush deputy prime minister
for refugee affairs, said on Tuesday.
The shutdown of the camps has nothing to do with the forced expulsion of refugees,
it assumes only their voluntary return to Chechnya or settlement in more
suitable facilities in Ingushetia, he said. "We earlier planned to shut
down the camps before winter but failed to make this happen. Five provisional
settlement centres in Chechnya were not commissioned in time, there was not enough
place for all those wanting to return, and therefore the return of refugees to
Chechnya has slowed down," he said.
According to the Ingush government, there are about 65,000 internally displaced
persons in the republic at the moment. Over 26,000 of these people are residing
in private houses, over 21,000 in compact housing facilities, and 17,000 in five
refugee camps.
Markhiyev said that, despite the shortage of settlements in Chechnya, people still
continue to leave tent camps. "Just yesterday, sixteen families left Ingushetia,"
he said. Refugees can take shelter not only at provisional settlement centres
but also in houses that have remained intact throughout the anti-terrorist operation,
he said. "Winter is passing relatively calmly in the camps. We managed to mend
worn tents or replace them with new ones before the cold came," Markhiyev said.
International organizations, especially the Office of the UN High Commissioner
for Refugees, have contributed much to the settlement of the refugees, he
said.
The Ingush deputy prime minister denied statements by certain human rights advocates
that the refugees are forced to leave the camps and return home. "We did not receive
any complaints about this," he said. Markhiyev also denied allegations that Chechen
guerillas could be among the refugees. "What guerillas could there be? They are
just poor people," he noted.