| April 26th 2005 ·
Prague Watchdog Arrests of local residents taking place in Shali District Ruslan Isayev CHECHNYA – Since the start, a few days ago, of a special operation by Russian law enforcement agents in the south east of Chechnya the situation in the Shali District has become seriously inflamed. In the villages of Serzhen-Yurt, Avtury and Duba-Yurt arrests of local residents suspected of collaborating with guerrillas take place almost every day. The Chechen resistance responds with attacks on Russian military personnel. Thus yesterday an attack on a group of Russian soldiers was carried out in the environs of the village of Duba-Yurt. As the result of a short battle one serviceman was killed and three were wounded. Also, in the town of Shali, officials of the Presidential Security Service working with Federal forces arrested two local residents who are suspected of belonging to guerrilla units. On the same day a special operation was carried out in the neighbouring village of Serzhen-Yurt. Local resident Idris Isayev’s 23-year-old son was abducted. Unauthorized searches were made in the homes of the Saydulayev, Dudushev and Borshigov families. According to local residents a similar situation can also be observed in the village of Avtura. Translated by David McDuff. Hundreds injured by land-mine blasts in Chechnya over years 26.04.2005, 17.20 MOSCOW, April 26 (Itar-Tass) - Blasts of land-mines and other ammunition left in Chechnya's capital Grozny after combat have injured 656 people and killed 66 since January 2000, a worker of the IMSMA mission of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), Aida Aimarova, said. She told Itar-Tass on Tuesday that according to statistics of UNICEF's anti-mine programme, there are about *40 tonnes of bombs and mines in Chechnya, which is one of the highest figures in the world. Mine explosions injured 717 and killed 114 children in Chechnya in the period from 1994 to 2004, Aimarova said. Chechnya's leaders believe, however, that not ammunition but terrorist acts staged by militants pose a main danger for civilians. Chechen State Council Chief Taus Dzhabrailov said many sapper units systematically carry out mine-clearing operations and check vital facilities, schools and hospitals for explosives. Sappers of the North Caucasus Military District defused almost 300 land mines planted by militants last year alone. Engineering reconnaissance of federal forces check up to 1,000 kilometres of roads and streets every day, the traffic on which begins only after the checks. A spokesman at the regional branch of the Federal Security Service told Itar-Tass that militants use electronic remote control devices. "The militants mask mines and explosive devices as toys, usual video cassettes, players and cigarette packs. Mostly children become victims of such mines," he said. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- *It looks lile typo, there must be some zeroes missing. M.L. http://friendly.narod.ru/2005-2e/indexe.htm PRESS-RELEASE #1263 FROM APRIL 20, 2005 Report from THE CHECHEN REPUBLIK Urus-Martan district. Serviceman of the Chechen enforcement agency died after he had been wounded in a special operation in Grozny On 18 April 2005 a resident of Urus-Martan district center Beslan Betergeriev (born 1975) was buried in the local cemetery after his death caused by a bullet wound that he received on 13 April 2005 in a special operation in Staropromyslovsky district of Grozny. Betergeriev lived in Gvardeyskaya Street in Urus-Martan. Beslan Betergeriev was a serviceman of the Chechen law-enforcement bodies. On 13 April 2005 he took part in a special operation that was carried in Staropromyslovsky district of Grozny in order to detain people involved into activities of the unlawful armed formations. The man received a grave bullet wound at his head in the operation and was taken to the city hospital #9 in Grozny. On 18 April 2005 Betergeriev passed away. (From our correspondent) PRESS-RELEASE #1264 FROM APRIL 21, 2005 Report from MOSCOW Moscow. The conference devoted to the history of the Chechen people is held in Moscow On 19 and 20 April 2005 the all-Russian scientific conference “The Chechen Republic and the Chechen people: their history and present” was held in Moscow in the building of the Academy of Sciences of the Russian Federation. The conference was organized together with the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology. Scholars from different regions of the Russian Federation including republics of the North Caucasus as well as scholars from Armenia and the United States of America participated in the conference. The president of the Chechen Republic Alu Alkhanov attended the opening ceremony of the conference. The academician Alexander Grigor'evich Granberg made a detailed report on problems connected with the reconstruction of the republic. More than twenty reports devoted to the history of the Chechen people were listened to at the plenary meeting. The conference was conducted in three sections: the first section was devoted to the ancient, medieval and new history, the second section was about the Chechen Republic in the XX century and the third section was connected with the period of the post-Soviet Chechnya. It was the third section that attracted the most attention of the participants. The detailed recommendations were adopted in the end of the conference. They will be delivered to the authorities of the Russian Federation and the Chechen Republic. (From our correspondent) PRESS-RELEASE #1265 FROM APRIL 21, 2005 Report from THE CHECHEN REPUBLIK Grozny. More thorough examination of cars in Grozny On 20 April 2005 in Grozny the road police carried a joint operation together with the law-enforcement agencies in order to examine cars more thoroughly. These measures were reportedly caused by the special operation that was being conducted at that time in order to detain a group of armed people that attacked a unit of the Chechen OMON at night from 19 April to 20 April 2005. (From our correspondent) PRESS-RELEASE #1266 FROM APRIL 21, 2005 Report from THE CHECHEN REPUBLIK Grozny rural district. Abductions in Starye Atagi On 20 April 2005 at about noon a resident of the village of Starye Atagi of the Chechen Grozny rural district Gakaev (aged 23) was abducted. Gakaev was abducted by a group of unidentified armed men who stopped him in one of the streets of the village and forced him into one of their cars threatening him with fire arms. The particulars of the abducted man are being established. The day before the abduction, on 19 April 2005, at about 8 pm the Russian military abducted two more local residents from their houses. They are Ramzan Kuntaev (aged 30) and Rustam Sambiev (aged 27). The latter is the chief of the village police office. The military took both of them to the site where the Russian military unit is stationed at the territory of the former millhouse that is situated not far from the village. Sambiev was released in an hour whereas Kuntaev's fate remains unknown. (From our correspondent) PRESS-RELEASE #1267 FROM APRIL 21, 2005 Report from THE CHECHEN REPUBLIK Achkhoy-Martan district. Residents of Achkhoy-Martan feel concerned about the rise in prices for meat 20 April 2005. The prices for meat have increased from 80 to 100 rubles in the markets of Achkhoy-Martan district center for the last a month and a half. The prices for meat along with the ones for bread and petrol are the main indicator of the state of the Chechen economy. The market traders explain this rise in prices for meat by the increased expenses necessary to raise the cattle in the situation when the spring has come late and they lacked fodder. Local people are afraid that this increase in price won't be the last one. (From our correspondent) Old Atagi, Chechnya: chronicles of atrocities and tyranny Council of Non-Governmental Organizations reported that Russian invaders and Kadyrov’s collaborators have kidnapped 8 people in the village of Old Atagi (Russian name Starye Atagi), Grozny Rural District, over the past few weeks. This figure was reported by the locals. According to the information received, Russian invaders and national traitors were driving around in Russian-made UAZ and Niva jeeps and in Zhiguli cars when they were making unlawful arrests of Chechen citizens. The whereabouts and the fate of the kidnapped victims are still remaining unknown. 1. Early morning of March 19 a local resident Rizvan Oibuyev, 34, was captured and taken away from his own home. Kadyrov’s collaborators and Russian invaders, who were making the arrest, brutally beat his father and his mother when his parents tried to resist the kidnapping of their son. 2. Mr. Aslan Turluyev was kidnapped on March 26. According to the information obtained from his relative, Mr. Turluyev was captured by Russian Organized Crime Unit. Mr. Turluyev’s relatives claim that Aslan underwent brutal tortures and beatings, after which he agreed to sign a paper claiming that he allegedly is a Resistance Fighter… 3. On April 15 in the village of Old Atagi Russian invaders and local collaborators carried out a joint punitive raid and captured Mr. Ruslan Ebayev, a father of two children. According to the reports that we have available, Mr. Ebayev had been living outside of the Republic until recently and he returned to his home country not too long ago. The collaborators also took the car that belonged to Mr. Ebayev. Relatives and friends of the victim claim that Ruslan Ebayev has never participated in any war operations during the first or the second war campaigns in Chechnya. Nor did he belong to any organizations or movements. 4. On April 14 Russian invaders kidnapped Ms. Yupayeva (Apayeva, according to another spelling), 22. The young woman was working as a nurse at the local hospital. There were no apparent reasons for her kidnapping. The invaders took her right from the hospital. 5. In the evening of April 19 the collaborators captured and took away Mr. Ramzan Kuntayev, 30, and Mr. Rustam Sambiyev, 25. The latter turned out to be an officer of the puppet police and was released after interrogations. The fate of Mr. Kuntayev remains unknown. 6. During the day of April 20 local resident Mr. Gakayev, 23, was kidnapped in Old Atagi. The young man was stopped by the Russian invaders on one of the streets in the village. The invaders started making physical threats, shoved him into their vehicle, and drove away. 7. Earlier in the village of Old Atagi a local resident Mr. Maayev was kidnapped after he came back from Moscow. Mr. Maayev runs his own business in the Russian capital. He was taken away by unknown assailants the second night after his return home. Several days later Mr. Maayev was released after his relatives paid a huge ransom for him. Kavkaz Center 2005-04-28 North Caucasus: European Commission Eyes Reconstruction Work In North Caucasus By Ahto Lobjakas A European Commission assessment team that visited Chechnya, Ingushetia, and North Ossetia in mid-April has returned with what officials describe as a "broad impression" that EU-backed reconstruction work in the area has now become feasible. That work would go beyond the immediate humanitarian relief the EU has so far provided for the region. Brussels, 27 April 2005 (RFE/RL) -- Building on gradually lessening Russian sensitivities about the conflict in Chechnya, the European Union is on the brink of acquiring a formal role in post-conflict rehabilitation of the region. A team of European Commission experts visited the North Caucasus on 9-16 April and met with the political leaders of Chechnya, Ingushetia, and North Ossetia. Emma Udwin, a spokeswoman at the European Commission, told RFE/RL today that the team is advising EU authorities that while humanitarian assistance must continue, the bloc could "add value" to local efforts at social and economic reconstruction. Udwin said health and education are key sectors where the EU may become involved. "Part of the mission was to hold discussions with the ministries of health and education in each case, and we are looking at how we might be able to, for example, help expand the administrative capacity of those ministries to improve services in those key areas -- that might be one example," Udwin said. The European Commission feels reconstruction work can start before a formal end to the conflict in Chechnya, provided the security situation remains favorable. Udwin said it was too early to specify what precise projects the EU may propose. Speaking privately, an EU source told RFE/RL the European Commission feels reconstruction work can start before a formal end to the conflict in Chechnya, provided the security situation remains favorable. Udwin also appeared to say a formal end to the war is not an absolute precondition for EU involvement in rehabilitation efforts. "It is clear that the assistance, the support we give will be more meaningful if it takes place in the context of a political solution that has the broad consensus of the local population," Udwin said. The anonymous official quoted previously said the EU intends to conduct its reconstruction projects in "close contact" with the Russian authorities, but indicated that the bloc will retain full control over undertakings it finances. The official also indicated that budgeting for projects may start before the next EU budget cycle 2007-13, that is, next year or earlier. http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2005/4/C1D17119-FAA6-47EB-81D5-4E60B7794432.html eng.kavkaz.memo.ru Caucasian Knot 27/4/2005 Daily costs Armed with automatic weapons, about ten unidentified people in camouflage uniforms and masks broke into a private house at 22 Odesskaia St in Grozny's Oktiabrskii district and abducted the master of the house and his son on 26 April, according to preliminary information, the Oktiabrskii District Division of Internal Affairs told Novosti news agency. The police did not give the names of the abducted men. A contract serviceman was wounded in a shooting at a military reconnaissance unit in the forest not far from Avtury, Shali district, at 11.00 pm MSK on 26 April, a source in republican law enforcement agencies told Novosti. The wounded man was admitted to hospital. CHECHEN PRESIDENT DEMANDS CRACK-DOWN ON KIDNAPPERS GROZNY, April 28 (RIA Novosti) - Chechen President Alu Alkanov has demanded tougher measures be taken by corresponding agencies to prevent kidnapping and people's illicit detention. He spent more than four hours conferring last Thursday with the Chechen army and security elite, federal officials and human rights militants. Alkhanov reported that he had set definite tasks to relevant agencies, in particular, to the prosecutor-general's office and expected definite results in half a year. "We have left behind the phase of armed hostilities -people cannot tolerate injustice any more and want to know who is responsible for kidnappings," said the Chechen president. Alu Akhanov believes that the poor detection of crimes connected with kidnapping is partially caused by the absence of fitting contacts between the republican and federal authorities. As 1547 people were kidnapped in the republic from 2000 to 2005, criminal proceedings were instituted over 1,834 cases, of which 56 have been taken to court. Apr 28 2005 6:08PM No progress made
in combating Chechen abductions - official |