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Police break up Chechen women`s rally - Russian radio Several hundred Chechen women are staging mass protests in Groznyy. They are the mothers of those who have been abducted and gone missing. They blocked the roads leading to the Chechen government building yesterday [6 December]. The women, some 600 in all, demand that all the abducted people be released and the war be stopped. The NGO Council of Chechnya (an organization of Chechen human rights activists) said that the deputy prime minister of Chechnya, Movsar Khamidov, who came out to meet the women, had suggested they come to Gudermes to discuss their problems. However, when the participants in the protest arrived there, they were met by officers of power-wielding agencies who fired shots in the air and near women's feet and broke up the rally. After that, the women returned to Groznyy. MOSCOW (AP) -- About 500 Chechens protested Saturday in Grozny, accusing authorities of detaining three people without reason and demanding their immediate release. Two local administrators from the southern Vedeno district disappeared on Nov. 29 while heading to a political conference for the pro-Kremlin United Russia party, protesters said. The men's car broke down en route, and while they were fixing it, they were allegedly seized by members of Chechen President Akhmad Kadyrov's security force, protesters said. It was not clear how they could know what happened. Chechen officials have said they do not know where the men are. The protesters also called for the release of Khusai Baitimayev, 44, who was allegedly seized by soldiers in the village Belgatoi in the Nozhai-Yurt region on Nov. 11. His wife, Rosa, said he was seized along with eight other men, but they were all later released. Only her husband remains missing. Low turnout reported for Duma elections in Chechnya Timur Aliyev, Grozny - Voter turnout in the elections of Chechnya's deputy to the State Duma of the Russion Federation was quite low, as our Prague Watchdog correspondent learned from monitors working stationed at polling booths on behalf of the candidates and parties. Roughly 200 voters, about 10 percent, came to our booth, so I really don't know where the [official turnout of ] 70 percent came from ," said Ruslan Khadashev, who worked at Precinct 369 on behalf of Salambek Maigov, one of the candidates. "There were no voting violations, but voters were few," said Zhalaudi Rasayev, who represented candidate Alaudi Musayev at Precinct 384. Meanwhile, the chairman of the Chechen Election Commission Abdul-Kerim Arsakhanov announced that according to preliminary figures, 70 percent of eligible Chechen voters took part in the elections. The secret of the "successful voting numbers" was privately revealed to our PW correspondent by one of the local election commission members, saying that the powers-that-be ordered them to "ensure a turnout of 85 percent." And in addition, stated the commission member, who preferred to remain anonymous, one of the candidates, Akhmar Zavgayev, Chechnya's deputy to Russia's upper chamber, was to become to be the winner among individual candidates and United Russia (Yedinaya Rossiya) among parties. "We filled in about fifty percent of ballots in support of them in advance and during the day were gradually throwing them into ballot boxes," he said. By YURI BAGROV NAZRAN, Russia (AP) - Local election officials reported 70 per cent turnout in Chechnya for Russia's parliamentary vote Sunday, but most polling stations in the war-shattered republic appeared to be practically empty. Many Chechens said they would not vote because they don't believe that either Russian politicians or local ones can bring law and order. Lines of voters snaked out of polling stations in Tsentoroi, the hometown of Chechnya's Kremlin-backed leader. But local residents seemed less than enthusiastic. "I came to vote not because I wanted to, but because I am afraid not to," Mokhadi, who would not give his full name, told an Associated Press reporter. In the regional capital Grozny, polling stations stood empty, much as they did during the October vote for the Chechen president, when official results said Kremlin-backed Akhmad Kadyrov won by a huge margin. Just as they did then, officials at individual polling districts said the polling places were nearly deserted because it was lunchtime, and that reporters should come back later. In October, official turnout was an exceptional 90 per cent while observers spoke of "ghost towns." "The performance was acted out flawlessly that time. It is this time too, and they will act wonderfully next spring as well when . . . Chechnya will vote almost 100 per cent for a second term for the incumbent president, no matter what," said Rezaudi, a 42-year-old Grozny resident, referring to the March election in which Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to win a second term. Rezaudi said he does not intend to vote. Some 70 per cent of eligible voters in Chechnya had participated in the elections by 6 p.m., Chechnya's Election Commission chairman Abdul-Kerim Arsakhanov was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency. The press service of Russia's Central Election Commission in Moscow said that the figure was closer to 40 per cent. In the Soglasiye refugee camp in the neighbouring republic of Ingushetia, Chechen refugees expressed disgust and frustration. "Nothing will depend on my vote . . . If they were interested in our vote, they would have opened polling stations here," says Vakhid Bersanov, 52, who has been living in the camp of 1,300 refugees for three years. "Refugees need homes, not elections . . . Elections in Chechnya are conducted at gunpoint," former Grozny resident Khasan Abuyev said while trudging down a muddy path. Samsudy Murtasayev arranged a bus to take voters from Ingushetia to the Chechen village of Assinovskaya to cast their ballots. Only 20 people decided to go; and when the bus, decorated with a big Russian flag, arrived in Assinovskaya, "no one there was aware of us", Murtasayev complained. There are more than 585,000 eligible voters in Chechnya and seven candidates for the Chechen district seat. Following a Friday
suicide bombing in the nearby Stavropol region that killed 42 people,
security was beefed up, with extra patrols around polling stations in
Chechnya. The region's interior minister, General Alu-Alkhanov, reported
that there had been no serious incidents, according to the ITAR-Tass
news agency. http://www.chechenpress.info/news/12_2003/1_08_12.shtml [BBC Monitoring] translation of small excerpt of Adlan Beno report "Election" farce has totally failed . M.L. Chechens reject Russian parliament polls - rebel web site 7 December: Occupation sources say that allegedly "22 per cent of the voters cast their votes" in Chechnya by 1200 [0900 gmt]. It is also reported that "voting is proceeding in a quiet manner, no incidents have been recorded". Like during the farce with [pro-Moscow Chechen President Akhmat] Kadyrov's "election", propaganda statements are being made that "the highest turnout has been recorded in Itum- Kalinskiy, Vedenskiy and Shatoyevskiy Districts of the republic". For his part, a representative of the military committee of the State Defence Committee - Majlis ul-Shura of the CRI [Chechen Republic of Ichkeria] has told Kavkaz-Tsentr news agency that no real elections are under way on Chechnya's occupied territory. People have completely ignored another farce. The situation for the puppet regime is even more lamentable than during Kadyrov's "election". The so-called "polling stations" are absolutely empty. A Kavkaz-Tsentr correspondent on Sunday [7 December] morning visited some "polling stations" in Dzhokhar's [Groznyy's] Zavodskoy and Avtorkhanovskiy districts, as well as in Argun, Mesker-Yurt, Germenchuk and Shali. The correspondent visited 17 "polling stations" in all, where he counted a total of 58 people who had come "to cast their votes", without taking into account members of the so- called "commissions". Kavkaz-Tsentr sources report that the situation is similar in other parts of the CRI. As for the country's mountainous districts, including the aforementioned Itum-Kalinskiy, Vedenskiy and Shatoyevskiy districts, there is even no pretence of voting there. Local sources from the so-called "electoral commissions" say that all ballot papers were ticked and taken to Dzhokhar back on Friday [5 December]. According to the sources, One Russia won "a landslide victory". In the meantime, reports are coming in from different districts of Chechnya about firing attacks on the so-called "polling stations", which were carried out in the night of 7 December. According to preliminary information, 12 "polling stations" were fired at or burnt in Vedenskiy District and 19 in Nozhay-Yurtovskiy District. Twenty-two "polling stations" came under fire in Gudermesskiy District. Six "stations" were burnt and 11 came under fire in Itum-Kalinskiy and Shatoyevskiy Districts. Sixteen "stations" came under fire in Naurskiy District and 13 in Shelkovskiy District. Last night was fairly quiet in Nadterechnyy District, where only four "polling stations" came under fire. The sources saw
about 20-30 people at a "polling station" in the village of Chulgi-Yurt
(Znamenskoye district centre) and some 50 people in the village of Galne
on Sunday morning. 07 December 2003
12:11 Groznyy, (RIA Novostei) 7 December: Duma elections in Chechnya can be deemed valid, chairman of the republic's electoral commission Abdul- Kerim Arsakhanov has told RIA-Novosti. According to latest reports, 277,505 people, or 38.51 per cent of the electorate, have cast their votes, Arsakhanov said. Chechen election official, United Russia representative, shot dead Groznyy, (Interfax) 8 December: A member of a constituency electoral commission was shot dead tonight in [Chechnya's second city of] Gudermes. Yunus Yakubov, who was a member of a constituency electoral commission with a consultative vote and represented the One Russia [United Russia] party, was gunned down in Gudermes by unidentified armed attackers, Chechen Electoral Commission Chairman Abdul-Kerim Arsakhanov told Interfax in the early hours of Monday [8 December]. According to preliminary information, the incident took place a short distance away from the constituency electoral commission's HQ, when Yakubov went out and walked away. So far, the action that has been promptly taken has not enabled the attackers to be identified and detained. A week ago, another One Russia activist was killed in Chechnya's Vedenskiy District. On 29 November, the heads of administration in the towns of Dargo and Belgatoy, also in Vedenskiy District, disappeared while on their way by car together to a conference of the One Russia regional branch's executive committee in Gudermes. They haven't been found yet, either. http://top.rbc.ru/elections2003/index.shtml?/news/elect_2003/2003/12/0 8/08003933_bod.shtml Central Election Commission to investigate elections in Chechnya The Central Election Commission is going to investigate the situation with elections to the State Duma held in Chechnya, Alexander Veshnyakov, the head of the Central Election Commission, told journalists. According to the latest data, Akhmar Zavgayev mustered 100 percent of votes. He asked not to panic and promised to investigate the situation. Veshnyakov explained that Chechnya was different from other Russian regions, as the GAS-Vybory automated system was not operating there. Election results from Chechnya were reported by telephone.
Russian military using special dogs to torture Chechen hostages, rebel web site Kavkaz-Tsentr news agency web site headlined "Killer dogs on the loose" 4 December: A few days ago the Russian media reported that wolves had attacked and bitten eleven people, including children. But were they really wolves? This is what the Chechen Shari'ah news agency has to say: "One of the most popular of the depraved methods of torturing hostages carried out by the Russian occupation forces is one in which the victims are hunted down by dogs which have been caught and kept hungry for weeks by the Russian infidels in special compounds. This is a particularly popular method among the bandit formations of the FSB [Federal Security Service], the GRU [Main Intelligence Department] and certain specialized units of the 58th army stationed in Chechnya and Ingushetia. Some time ago two inhabitants of the village of Sernovodskoye in Sunzhenskiy District were detained and sent to one of these units. Relatives of the hostages frantically began searching for these completely innocent people who had just returned that day in a Niva from a car sale in the village of Redant (Ingushetia) where they had gone to try and sell their car. They managed to release the hostages the next day after paying a ransom through mediation by high-ranking relatives working for the occupation forces. When they were brought home on stretchers a terrible sight awaited the parents and loved ones of the hostages. The arms, legs, thighs and other body parts of these young people had been torn to pieces by these hunger-crazed dogs who had been hunting the hostages down for 24 hours. And there have been hundreds of cases in Chechnya and Ingushetia where hostages have been served up as bait for these crazed dogs. After one of these units in Ingushetia had been transferred to Chechnya's highland regions, these dogs, crazy with hunger for human flesh, were left by the Russians in the hills. On the day of the Holy Ramadan, a pack of these killer dogs was let loose into the Ingush highland villages of Ali-Yurt and Surkhakhi where they attacked people in broad daylight in the town centre. Out of ten people who were bitten in Ali-Yurt, three died, and in Surkhakhi one elderly lady died out of the three who were attacked there. Many of those bitten were children. Literally the day before a pack of these killer dogs had been seen in Ekazhevo on the outskirts of Nazran [Ingushetia]. The people of Ingushetia are terrified, many are afraid to let their children out on to the street, and will only venture out after dark if they are armed. A detachment of volunteers from these villages has split into groups and started hunting for the dogs. All of Ingushetia
and Chechnya is now talking about these killer dogs trained by the Russian
special services for torturing hostages. But the Russian media prefer
to put out cock-and-bull stories, saying it is wolves who have been
attacking people 2003-12-04 00:45:53 http://www.gazeta.ru/2003/11/25/last105068.shtml (tr. by M.L.) 10:18 Wolf have mauled two villages in Ingushetia On Tuesday, it's became known that in the settlement of Ali-Yurt, near the city of Nazran, a tragedy occured. A wolf, late in the evening, had broke into the settlement and began to attack people there, those who at that time were on the street. It's bitten six year old child to death. Seven adults were also seriously bitten by this wolf, but they're alive. They were all delivered into the district hospital, where medical aid was given to them and examining of them on the issue of rabies begun. According to some inhabitants of village, the wolf aimed to grip its victims at the throat and to bite their face. In a few hours later, a call from the nearby village of Surkhakhi came. Local residents there were also bitten by a wolf. Three of them were also hospitalized. An operational- investigation group left to the place of incident and will undertake measures to capture this predator. But investigators must also explain, if all sufferers became victims of the one and the same wolf, or these villages were visited by different animals.
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