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From http://www.ocha.ru/ (by the way, excellent source of information on humanitarian aspects of the crisis) Note for the File General Coordination Meeting - Nazran, 03 November 2003 Closure of Tent Camp Alina DHC [Deputy humanitarian coordinator] and UNHCR representative briefed the meeting on the closure of Alina camp. Federal Migration Service issued a decree on 17 November stating that the camp has to be closed on 01 December. The UN discussed the issue with the Ingush Migration Service (MS) and clearly announced that those who want to stay in Ingushetia must offered alternative shelter and the utilities should not be cut off until all the IDPs are moved from the camp. So far, the principle of voluntary return was observed. According to the MS about 30% of the IDPs from camp Alina want to return to Chechnya. Others prefer to stay another 1-4 months in Ingushetia and are offered alternative shelter: the majority of IDPs intends to move to camp Satsita; the minority plan to move to empty rooms in temporary settlements. Currently 24 rooms in temporary settlements are available for IDPs. UNHCR is installing 20 tents in Satsita; MSF Holland made a commitment to install 30 tents; IRC plans to connect the tents to the utilities. UN Agencies/NGOs were reminded to take care of the property they have in the camp in advance to avoid problems after the camp is closed (like it was the case with camp Bella). At the meeting held with the head of the Ingush MS, Mr. Pomeshchenko DHC was assured that access permits to IDP camps are likely to be abolished by 10 December, directly after the federal elections to the Russian State Duma. Meanwhile NGOs are recommended to leave their requests for access permits with the office of Mr.Tomov, MS Deputy Head for signature even when he is not available at the moment. ------ RIA "OREANDA", 08.12.2003, Magas. The Federal Migration Service of Russia has decided to close the Alina camp for refugees from Chechnya. The decision is caused by the fact that less than 1,000 people are in the camp. Seventy-two families plan to return to Chechnya; 103 decided to stay in Ingushetia and move to the neighboring camp of Satsita. The Department of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees controls over the refugees' retuning to be voluntary Groznyy,(Itar-Tass) 9 December: An interdepartmental commission is going to be set up in Chechnya on the problem and investigation of reasons for abducting people since the end of 1999, that is, since the launch of the counter-terrorist operation in the republic. Such a decision was taken today at a conference that took place under the leadership of Chechen President Akhmat Kadyrov. The president himself reported this to ITAR-TASS after the end of the conference, which took place behind closed doors. Kadyrov noted that representatives of all of the republic's power-wielding structures and also representatives from public organizations would make up the commission. The commission will be headed by Movsar Khamidov, the deputy prime minister of the Chechen government. Information on the number of people abducted and those who have disappeared without trace in Chechnya in the last four years is contradictory: various sources put the number at several hundred people to 2,000.
Chechen refugees in Georgia rejected Russian parliament polls 9 December: The muhajirs [migrants] from Chechnya temporarily living in villages of Georgia's Pankisi Gorge did not participate in Sunday's [7 December] elections to the Russian State Duma, PRIMA news agency reports. Aslanbek Abdurazakov, chairman of the Chechen international human rights committee, told journalists that the muhajirs living in Pankisi did not regard themselves as Russian citizens, which was why they had not participated in the elections. At present, the villages of the gorge are home to 4,000 Chechen muhajirs. The Chechens living in Pankisi did not vote in Kadyrov's October pseudo-elections either. Kavkaz-Tsentr sources in Ingushetia report that the muhajirs from Chechnya temporarily living in this republic did not participate in the election farce either. An attempt was made to organize voting in individual camps, but it was totally ignored by the displaced persons. Interfax-AVN, Groznyy, 10 December: The head of the village administration in Alkhan-Kala, Chechnya, has been abducted, head of the Grozneneskiy District administration Shaid Zhamaldayev told Interfax. He said Nurdi Elmurzayev left Alkhan-Kala on Tuesday evening [9 December] in the direction of Groznyy to visit the district administration in Tolstoy-Yurt. According to eye-witnesses, Elmurzayev was abducted between Alkhan-Kala and Oktyabrskoye by unidentified men in camouflage armed with automatic weapons. Elmurzayev's Lada car was later discovered on the roadside near Oktyabrskoye. Measures have been taken to establish Elmurzayev's whereabouts and free him. The village administration heads of Belgatoy and Dargo were abducted on 29 November on their way to a meeting of the leadership of the regional chapter of the One Russia party in Gudermes. They were last seen at a checkpoint in Novolakskoye, Dagestan. Their whereabouts have still not been established. TEXT: Ilya Zhegulev Electoral authorities in Chechnya have compiled the final results of the Sunday elections to the State Duma. As had been expected, United Russia and the individual candidate for the Chechnya constituency Akhmar Zavgayev lead the poll. On his part, Zavgayev's rival Salambek Maigov said the 7 December vote in Chechnya was rigged. Independent human rights groups that monitored the elections registered low turnout and appalling violations. In the early hours of Wednesday unknown gunmen opened fire at a motorcade carrying Gudermes electoral officials from Grozny, where they had just finished processing ballot papers. A policeman was killed in the attack, and three soldiers were wounded. The rebels opened fire at the motorcade from assault-rifles as it was leaving the capital. The latest attack on electoral officials in Grozny as well as the latest terrorist act in central Moscow is seen as a response from the Chechen rebels on the outcome of the Duma elections. By midnight on Tuesday the Chechen election commission drew up the official results of the elections to the State Duma of the 4th convocation held on 7 December. According to chairman of the republican election commission Abdul- Kerim Arsakhanov, 85.99 per cent of eligible voters came to the polls on Sunday. 87.1 per cent took part in the party-list vote, 80.91 per cent of them cast their ballots in favour of United Russia. SPS, the staunch advocate of a peaceful settlement to the Chechen conflict, have taken second place with 5.1 per cent. LDPR and the Motherland bloc, known for their nationalist views, secured less than 1.5 per cent of votes each. Senator Akhmar Zavgayev won the election in the Chechen constituency, having mustered 42.91 per cent of votes, the republican election committee said. Zavgayev's rival, head of the Chechen Teacher's Training Institute Bekkhan Khasbulatov scored 13.59 per cent. 13.23 per cent backed Salambek Maigov, a former aide to Aslan Maskhadov. 1.61 per cent voted against all candidates. On Tuesday evening almost all candidates gathered at the election committee in Grozny to familiarize themselves with the results. However, Maigov's aides are convinced that Sunday's vote in Chechnya cannot be declared valid. According to the members of Maigov's election staff, the actual turnout was extremely low: maximum 30-35 per cent of eligible voters, not over 70 per cent, as the authorities claim, came to the polls on Sunday. Moreover, independent observers registered gross violations during the vote such as ballot stuffing (election officials at many polling stations were noticed casting filled ballots in boxes) and threats to representatives of candidates who monitored the vote. Ironically, even the official reports from Chechnya were quite controversial. On the evening of 7 December, after the polling stations closed, it turned out that Akhmar Zavgayev won the deputy's seat in the Duma having scored as many as 100 per cent of votes. . Commenting on that data Veshnyakov told Gazeta.Ru: "Please, take into account that Chechnya is a special region, where the GAS Vybory system [the electronic ballot processing system] is not installed. All data is being transmitted by phone, hence, there may be a lack of coordination." After Veshnyakov's remarks, the number of votes cast for the Chechen candidate fell from 100 to a more credible 60 per cent. 10 Dec. Gazeta ru 2003 15:27
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