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22/4/2004
eng.kavkaz.memo.ru Caucasian Knot 22/4/2004 Doctors Without Borders alarmed at attacks on its employees in North Caucasus The association Doctors Without Borders is alarmed at attacks on its employees in the NorthCaucasus, the organization's Dutch department director Kenny Gluck told a press conference on April21. Attacks on employees of Doctors Without Borders is a tragedy of the North Caucasus, according tohim. "We just render medical aid to people, and we don't understand why we become victims," hesaid. The Russian authorities are indifferent to this problem, which contributes to the spread ofkidnappings of the association's employees, Mr Gluck believes. "It is an infrequent occurrence inthe world when aid workers are attacked in hot spots. We haven't had such problems even in theCongo and Sudan," he added. Doctors Without Borders cannot restart humanitarian work in Dagestanfor the time present because of the abductions of its employees, Kenny Gluck announced. Source: Rosbalt News Agency
Chechen refugee disappears INGUSHETIA, Nazran. On 18 April, a 23-year-old woman, Amina Soslambekova, disappeared without tracein Ingushetia. The woman, a native of Katir-Yurt in Chechnya, had been living in the Angushtrefugee camp in Nazran. According to the press office of the Chechen Committee for National Salvation, Soslambekova hadleft her eighteen month old son with her mother Nura, and then gone off to visit her brother, whowas lying in hospital with spinal injuries. These had been obtained after the brother had beendetained by Russian special forces and suffered serious injuries to the spine. At present he is ina coma, still under guard by the FSB. More than a year ago, two other brothers of Amina Soslambekova were killed. Her husband, accused of“Wahhabism”, is at present in one of the North Caucasus prisons. PRIMA News Agency [2004-04-21-Ingush-06] Lawyer Beaten in Moscow 22.04.2004 MosNews Lawyer who defended the family of Chechen girl murdered by a Russian colonel was beaten and robbedin Moscow subway, Russian media reported Thursday. The incident took place on April 16. The lawyer Stanislav Markelov wrote an open letter to the cityinterior directorate and prosecutor of Moscow subway where he told the details of the incident. He wrote that about five young men in dark jackets “blocked the place where I was sitting” and hithim on the head saying that he deserved it, the letter obtained by News.ru agency said. Markelov fainted. He awoke in two hours and discovered the lack of documents and mobile phones.Later, he was taken to a hospital. The physicians told him he had suffered brain concussion.However, subway police told him on April 19 that hospital certificate was false and that he had hadno concussion and should make only a statement on the loss of documents, and not on the assault.Markelov wrote such a statement “being afraid of illegal use of lawyer’s certificate”, his lettersaid. Chechen girl Elza Kungayeva was killed by colonel Yuri Budanov in March 2000. In the end of 2003,after various medical checks, the colonel was found accountable and guilty of murder. He wassentenced to 10 years of jail in a high security prison colony. Markelov also defended the family of Maria Panova who died after the Nord-Ost theater siege inMoscow, in October 2002.
eng.kavkaz.memo.ru Caucasian Knot
Pressure on Igushetian President mounts Ingushetian parliament Deputy Musa Ozdoev has formally signaled his opposition to President MuratZyazikov by publishing an article detailing the falsification of the results of the voting inIngushetia in the 7 December Russian State Duma elections, ingushetiya.ru reported on 21 April.According to the official returns, the pro-Kremlin Unified Russia garnered 57 percent of theparty-list vote (see "RFE/RL Political Weekly," 8 January 2004). Ozdoev, together with Zyazikov'scousin Musa Zyazikov, who failed in his bid to win election to the Duma from Ingushetia's solesingle-mandate district, has demanded that President Zyazikov admit to the falsification and havethe election outcome annulled. LF
eng.kavkaz.memo.ru Caucasian Knot 22/4/2004
Svetlana Gannushkina, a member of the Board of the Human Rights Center Memorial and the Commissionon Human Rights for the Russian President, comments on the situation with regard to Chechenrefugees in Ingushetia. Svetlana Gannushkina: I am well aware of how authorities are going to solve the problem ofinternally displaced persons. Sure, if this can be called a solution at all. They want to herdChechen refugees in Chechnya, from all over Russia if possible, amalgamate Chechnya and Ingushetiaand make the world just forget about this problem. Kadyrov is next presumed somehow to make orderin the republic by himself. And no one cares how it will be done. In time, maybe, Putin will putanother, more civilized, to put it this way, leader at the head of Chechnya. However, he needsKadyrov presently, because he knows no bounds in methods. And for that matter, myself I amabsolutely sure Kadyrov acts according to the principle that "the ends justify the means." Afterall, we all remember how they had back Khambiev, Ichkeria's Defense Minister. Caucasian Knot: As is known, his relatives were arrested that time... S.G.: Yes, even distant ones. Some of them were tortured and killed as a result. One of thosedetained was a university student. He was taken right from a lecture, although he wasn't guilty ofanything. Women were arrested, too, even those who moved to distant villages in the mountains aftermarriage. Yet, they were found and detained. Just one thing was left for Khambiev in suchcircumstances - surrender. Besides, Kadyrov had proclaimed a jihad against the Russian authoritiesduring the first war. And after that, he is not confused now to proclaim a jihad against Maskhadovand all those with him. He said this jihad was just the truest one, and that sounded absolutelylike an advertisement. By the way, I believe Kadyrov and the Kremlin have somewhat different aims.It's just that they have presently coincided for a while. CK: What do you think Kadyrov plans to do next? S.G.: I think he is going to gain control of entire Chechnya and, if possible, Ingushetia, too.Kadyrov would like the united group of troops to obey Chechen government, and he would like to bein full control of Chechnya's oil that would not be taxed. He says this absolutely openly. And suchaspirations of Chechnya's head of administration are directly connected with the refugees problem.Thus, he called people not going back to Chechnya Wahhabis. He said the Satsita camp in Ingushetiaconsists of Wahhabis, which is absolutely groundless. Just women, children and young people live inthe camp whom their mothers are afraid to let to Chechnya for quite understandable reasons.Moreover, Kadyrov has lately ventured direct incitement of interethnic hostility. CK: You mean his statements concerning Chechnya's territorial grievances against Ingushetia? S.G.: Not only that. Chechnya's head of administration claimed Ingushetia had given shelter torefugees for officials to be able to put something into their pockets, and he is trying to provethat in all possible ways dragging to light all sorts of facts of abuse of power and embezzlement.Unfortunately, they steal everywhere in Russia. However, they steal money in Ingushetia, while it'speople in Chechnya. Meanwhile, all this may now come to Ingushetia, too. So by speaking about someterritorial grievances against the neighbors Kadyrov directly incites a conflict. While no seriousconflict between refugees and local residents has occurred to date, the situation can rapidlyworsen. I am very much concerned about that. As everyone knows, after all, Chechen guerillas,giving up, at once get armed again and start to serve Kadyrov. And no one knows what next jihad,the "truer" one, will be like in this situation. CK: However, Moscow wouldn't like this scenario, would it? S.G.: Sure, Moscow just plans to herd people in Chechnya and forget about the problem. And no onecares what will happen to them next. What should be done in a situation like that is not beingdone, to be sure. Of course, if we were entitled to settle that matter, we would support thepeaceful "Akhmadov plan" that provides for neutral forces to be sent in Chechnya. It's obvious,however, the Russian leadership will never take a step it considers humiliation. What is there tobe discussed at all when the president told me in reply to my statement that our army passed allbounds in Chechnya: well, what's to be done, that's our army. But if this is our army, one shouldwork on it, and international forces could quite be in Chechnya in the meantime. And that would bean acknowledgement of strength, not weakness. Author: Ksenia Ladygina Source: Own correspondent
22.4.2004 |