Chechen refugees return, complain of living conditions

[Presenter] The Chechen government has failed to solve refugees' problems. Now, it prefers not to speak about them. The refugees who returned home are living in the conditions as dreadful as in camps in Ingushetia. Temporary accommodation centres allocate 10 sq. m. [110 sq.f] for eight people. There is neither promised houses nor jobs. Our correspondent has the details.

[Correspondent Oleg Safiulin] Ruslan Akhmadov has a peaceful profession. He is a builder. He has never taken part in military operations. He went to Ingushetia with other refugees at the beginning of the second Chechen military campaign. He lived in a refugee camp for a long time and then he was persuaded to come back.

[Akhmadov, captioned as former refugee] The conditions here are horrible. All these children are ill. Their mother is also ill. We need food and everything is very expensive.

[Correspondent] Zoya Talkhigova is doing odd jobs. She lost her husband during the second Chechen campaign.

[Talkhigova, captioned as former refugee] I am thinking how to live today. I do not get any benefit payments for having three orphaned children.

[Correspondent] Ruslan and Zoya live in the temporary accommodation centre, as do other 1,500 refugees. Seven to eight people are sharing one 10-sq.m. room. Humanitarian aid is distributed among them once a month: a limited amount of cereals and tinned food as well as tea, sugar and flour. There are over 20 such centres in Chechnya at the moment. People who returned from refugee camps are living here. They have been promised that they will have heating, electricity, water and decent living conditions. Authorities told everyone that their houses would be restored first of all. Many of these refugees have already been waiting for what was promised to them for two years. Lists of houses that were to be restored under a federal programme were put up at the entrance to the accommodation centre in early 2003. The restoration has been limited to these lists.

[Abubakar Baybatyrov, captioned as head of the compensation committee] The work of our committee fully depends on decisions made by the Russian Interior Ministry and Gosstroy [State Committee for Construction, Architecture and Housing Policy]. They are in no hurry to make these lists, so I would call on them to speed up this process, given the situation in the republic.

[Correspondent] The construction of a village for refugees on the outskirts of Groznyy began a few months ago. When it got to decoration of the cottages, the financing stopped. People living in temporary accommodation centres are willing to move even in these unfinished houses. However, to do so, a special resolution is required from local authorities and Gosstroy's officials, who flatly refuse to give any comments.

[Video shows Chechen refugees in the centre receiving food aid and bad living conditions of the building]

2003-11-28 17:29    

A new henious crime by Chechen separatists

MOSCOW, November 28. (RIA Novosti). Idris Kadyrov, 50, an authorised representative of the candidate to the State Duma deputies Ahmar Zavgayev was killed in the Vedeno district of Chechnya.

A spokesman for the election staff of the candidate in the single- mandate Chechen electoral district says that the tragedy took place on Friday morning in the village of Dyshno-Vedeno.

According to the source, Idris Kadyrov actively participated in the candidate's election campaign.

The election staff spokesman says that this tragedy proves that the militants are using all means to thwart the forthcoming elections to the State Duma and not to allow "the man who is helping to restore peaceful life in the republic and to restore its economy to be elected to the Duma".