Tuesday, Sep. 16, 2003. Page 4 The Moscow TImes

News in Brief


No Election Observers

MOSCOW (MT) -- The respected Moscow Helsinki human rights group said Monday that it would not send observers to monitor Chechnya's Oct. 5 presidential election.

The group said it would be pointless to do so because the authorities have not created any conditions for people to express their free will.

In August, the group said it planned to send more than 300 observers to monitor the vote and have one or two observers at most polling stations.

"We found that [voters] are being told different things to pressure them into voting for only one person, [Moscow-appointed Chechen administration chief Akhmad] Kadyrov," activist Lev Ponomaryov said by telephone.

"They said that if they don't support him, they will face cruel mopping-up operations. … We don't want to de facto legitimize this election by our presence there."