|
Russia says no need to discuss Chechnya at UN human rights session Moscow, Interfax, 23 February: Russia does not believe that there are any grounds for discussing Chechnya at the 60th session of the UN Commission on Human Rights, which will take place in March in Geneva. "We hope that there will not be any attempts at the forthcoming session to raise the Chechen issue again and that this question will be closed once and for all," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Yuriy Fedotov told Interfax. He recalled that last year there was an attempt to introduce a resolution on Chechnya for consideration by the commission's session. "This attempt failed. The majority of the commission's members voted against it," he said. "This means that the issue is closed," he said. "It is closed in the commission. I hope that the realities of life have brought it to a close, because the situation has changed since then. Positive processes are taking place in Chechnya. Elections have been held and normal life is resuming, albeit with difficulties and problems," Fedotov said.
Chechen asylum seekers end week-long hunger strike in Moldova Chisinau, 24 February: Sixteen foreigners who have applied for political asylum in Moldova have ended their hunger strike after meeting representatives of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and officials from the Moldovan directorate for refugees on Monday [23 February], Basapress was told by Shamkhan Aziyev, one of the member of the group. The foreigners have been on hunger strike since 17 February, protesting against what they describe as a delay by Chisinau authorities in granting them refugee status. Most of them are from Chechnya in the Russian Federation. Aziyev said the hunger strike was suspended until 10 March 2004. If our requests are not met, then the protest will be resumed, Aziyev. A UNHCR representative told Basapress the foreigners will continue to enjoy social assistance, while the financial assistance offered by the UNHCR for six months after submitting applications is to be increased. The asylum seekers were also promised free lunches on a daily basis, the UNHCR said. [Passage omitted: details, see Basapress news agency, Chisinau, in Moldovan 1350 gmt 18 Feb 04.]
23 February 2004
[BBC Monitoring] http://www.chechenpress.com/news/2004/02/20/15.shtml The central market in Nazran was cordoned off at 0900 this morning, 20 February, by members of the Ingush law-enforcement bodies who detained a number of Chechen tradesmen, according to a report of the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society's information centre(Press-release No 654, 20 Feb. 2004). All vehicles with Chechen number plates are being checked. During the operation there was a report that an explosive device had been placed in the market. Eyewitnesses say that there was panic as people tried to break through the cordon of sub- machine gunners to escape from the market. This special operation was evidently linked to a fight between Chechen and Ingush tradesmen in the market yesterday evening. The fight was an extremely bitter one with weapons being used, but there were no reports of any serious casualties. The Chechen refugees believe that the fight could have been provoked by a statement by Ramzan Kadyrov, the head of the bodyguard of his father, Moscow's henchman in Chechnya, Akhmad Kadyrov, about the territorial claims of Chechnya and Ingushetia. He made this statement during a meeting with journalists which was carried on Russian central TV channels. Ramzan Kadyrov was expressing his opinion about the possibility of Sunzhenskiy and Malgobekskiy Districts of Ingushetia joining the Chechen Republic, "because they have always been a part of Chechnya". He spoke of the possibility of the two neighbouring republics merging "to ensure neighbourly relations". The Russian-Chechen Friendship Society's information centre notes that such statements by the puppets are exacerbating the atmosphere of mistrust and hostility between the citizens of these republics, especially bearing in mind the difficult situation regarding the large number of refugees from Chechnya on Ingush territory. There is reason to believe that such provocative statements are being made especially to cause further persecution of Chechen refugees in Ingushetia and to solve in this way the problem of their return to war-torn Chechnya, where the relentless annihilation of the population of the republic is under way. The citizens of Ingushetia are unhappy that well-to-do Chechens are buying up real estate. For example, one hotel in Nazran was the subject of an attack after it had been bought by a Chechen. Windows were smashed and doors broken down. It has now been closed for repairs. The increase in anti-Chechen feeling in Ingushetia is directly linked with the reckless statements of the puppets, who by so doing are deliberately inflaming the atmosphere in this explosive region. 20.02.04
By Jim Heintz The Associated Press Viktor Kazantsev, President Vladimir Putin's representative in southern Russia, said Tuesday that some tent camps for refugees from the Chechen war will remain open for at least several more months, despite plans to close all the camps ahead of the presidential election. The camps, housing some 4,600 people in Ingushetia, have long been an embarrassment to the Kremlin, undermining its attempt to portray Chechnya as stabilizing. Many refugees say they are afraid to go back to Chechnya, where clashes between rebels and Russian soldiers are reported daily and where reports of civilians being seized and beaten by security forces are widespread. Officials this year said that no refugees would be forced to return to Chechnya, but vowed that the camps would be closed by March. But Kazantsev was quoted as saying by Itar-Tass that "two refugee camps in Ingushetia will function for another few months. We need time to accommodate and employ returning residents of the Chechen Republic." Returnees last week complained of poor conditions in temporary accommodations and of delays of six months or more in receiving compensation promised to them for rebuilding war-shattered homes. More than 60,000 Chechen refugees live in Ingushetia, most of them in private accommodations or in so-called "temporary settlements" improvised in derelict factories and collective farms. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees office complained last week that gas, water and electricity had been cut at some of the temporary settlements. But UNHCR spokesman Rupert Colville said Tuesday that those utilities have been restored and no new cuts reported. "UNHCR welcomes these positive developments," he said. Six soldiers and police were killed in attacks in Chechnya over the past day, an official in the Moscow-backed Chechen civilian administration said Tuesday. Four of the deaths came in rebel attacks on federal military outposts, the official said on condition of anonymity. Another soldier was killed in a clash with rebels and a policeman was shot to death in Grozny, the official said. Federal artillery shelled suspected rebel camps in four southern sectors and troops detained at least 150 people on suspicion of aiding rebels, he said. During one security sweep Monday, a rebel shot and wounded two officers of the Federal Security Service in the town of Shali. 24/2/2004 Actions in memory of victims of 1944 deportation take place in Ingushetia Memorial evenings devoted to the 60th anniversary of the deportation of the Ingush people are being held in all towns and regions of the republic these days. On February 23, it was 60 years since the day of the deportation of the Ingush people to Kazakhstan. Then, at the height of the cold winter weather, over 90 thousand Ingushetians and about 400 thousand Chechens were loaded onto freight cars and exiled to Middle Asia, being accused of parricide. The Chechen-Ingush autonomy was liquidated by a special decree of the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Soviet in two weeks after their eviction. According to historians, over 60% of displaced Chechens and Ingushetians died in Kazakhstan steppes from cold and hunger during the years of exile. Most of them froze to death en route not having endured cold in cars not adapted for transportation of people. Offering ceremonies have been taking place almost in each district of the republic since February 21. By a longstanding tradition, the meat of sacrificial animals is distributed among people in need, including displaced persons. Author: Malika Suleymanova Source: Own correspondent 24.2.2004 Moscow, RUSSIA. The Moscow police arrested at least nine people who were taking part in a peaceful daytime demonstration on Lyubyanka Square on 23 February. Some 300,000 people gathered today at noon at the Solovetsky flame on the square in front of the Polytechnical Museum, to remember the Chechen victims of Stalin's genocide and the two subsequent wars in Chechnya. Exactly sixty years ago the deportation of the Chechen people began, on Stalin's orders. Chechens were removed to Siberia and other far-flung parts of the USSR. Human rights groups and pro-democracy organisations decided to mark the anniversary with a peaceful demonstration, which was registered with the prefecture of Moscow's central district by the Moscow branch of the Transnational Democratic Party well in advance. Several days ago the prefecture rang the party to inform them that the demonstration was not permitted. However, the Russian Constitution guarantees citizens the freedom of peaceful movement, demonstration and gatherings, and the laws of the Russian Federation state that it is desirable but not essential that the authorities should agree to such events. Despite the virtual ban on the demonstration by the Moscow authorities, the organisers – the Transnational Radical Party, and the Human Rights Movement - decided to go ahead. Representatives of other democratic organisations – the Russian Movement for the Independence of Chechnya, the Committee for Anti-War Action, and the Democratic Union – also came to Lyubyanka Square. Demonstrators carried banners condemning the continuing war in Chechnya. After an hour and a half, well-equipped members of the Moscow militia announced that the demonstration was banned and asked people to disperse. A line of helmeted policemen carrying truncheons started to press in on the demonstrations. The organisers of the event, Nikolai Khramov and Lev Ponomarev, were arrested, as were Evgenii, Frumkin, Boris Stomakhin, Mikhail Kukobaka, Leonid Positselskii, Dmitrii Zlotnikov, Igor Kozyrev and Olga, who refused to put down their banners. All of the detainees were taken to nearby police stations. According to the police, they are awaiting trial for infringement of the Administrative Code. PRIMA News Agency [2004-02-23-Rus-22] 24/2/2004 Organizers of picket timed to anniversary of deportation of Chechens face fine The leaders of the Russian national organizations For Human Rights and Russian Radicals, Lev Ponomaryov and Nikolai Khramov, have been released from the Kitay-Gorod police station. The two men were detained earlier for organizing an unauthorized picket in the heart of Moscow on February 23 to mark the 60th anniversary of the deportation of the Chechen people. A source with the Moscow city police told Interfax that Ponomaryov and Khramov had been charged with organizing an unsanctioned picket. The two men are to appear in court on Tuesday. If found guilty, Ponomaryov and Khramov will face an administrative fine. The Moscow police source said 11 other people detained for participating in the picket had also been released from the Basmannoye police station. Ponomaryov earlier told Interfax that "over 100 members of various organizations, in particular the For Human Rights movement, the Transnational Radical Party, and the Committee for Antiwar Actions, gathered at the Solovetsky Stone [a memorial to the victims of Soviet-era political reprisals in downtown Moscow] to lay flowers marking the anniversary of the Stalin-ordered deportation of the Chechens." After that, about 50 of those people held a picket which lasted no longer than 25 minutes, he said. Editors note: See also the article "Moscow: no meeting on day in memory of genocide of Chechen people, but placement of flowers". Source: Interfax News Agency |