| 11 September
2003 Russian rights envoy slams violations in Chechen refugees` resettlement Interfax, Moscow, 11 September: Head of the Presidential Human Rights Commission Ella Pamfilova has criticized migration services which are resettling refugees from Ingushetia to Chechnya. "The resettlement work is very bad. Too many services are involved, and it is hard to find an official in charge," Pamfilova said at a news conference at the Interfax main office on Thursday [11 September]. She said refugees in tent camps are put under pressure, intimidated and supplied with false information. The commission's staff are drafting a memo, which will indicate all departmental violations and specific names of officials who have abused refugees, Pamfilova said. Abductions remain the worst crime problem in Chechnya, Pamfilova said. "Responsibility for anonymous mopping-up operations and abductions should be tightened. A database of missing citizens should be made, as very few of them come back," she noted. Pamfilova failed to answer the question of how many people are missing in Chechnya. "Different departments give different data, and I do not want to assume the responsibility for giving figures," she said. The commission is analysing the information, she noted. "But I can give you other figures. More than 5,600 people were killed by mines in Chechnya in 2002 alone. These figures are also dreadful," Pamfilova said. Interfax |