| 23 September 2003
Russian servicemen votes make Kadyrov's victory certain in first round CHECHNYA, September 23, Caucasus Times - Considering the fact that 40.000(*) Russian militaries deployed in the republic are about to participate in presidential elections in Chechnya the results seem to be quite predictable, making Kadyrov a winner in the first round, Murald Nashkhoyev, a deputy chairman of public organization "Independent consultative council" said in his interview with the Caucasus Times correspondent Wednesday. Mr. Nashkhoyev says total 580.000 bulletins are being printed in Kabardino-Balkariya while only 545.000 of eligible voters will go to the polls in Chechnya. Therefore, voting fraud is quite possible, the authorities will try to manipulate the results, Murald Nashkhoyev suggests. Therefore, he predicts Kadyrov' victory in the first round, citing Russian electoral commission head Alexander Vishniyakov who was quoted as saying, the Russian servicemen would go to the polls in presidential elections in the republic as eligible voters. Ruslan Adayev,
Caucasus Times, Chechnya
September 23rd 2003 · Prague Watchdog Camp "Bella" refugees go on hunger strike Timur Aliyev, North Caucasus - A group of Chechen refugees living in one of the tents in the Bella camp in Ingushetia went on a hunger strikeSeptember 19; and three days later, eighteen people from neighboringtents joined in the protest. This fast is to prevent the Bella camp from being dismantled. “By goingon a hunger strike, we are trying to draw the attention of Russian andinternational communities to our problem,” said Nurdi Mazhayev, one ofthe organizers. The protestors declared that their action is open-ended. “We willcontinue until they leave us in peace,” stated Mazhayev.
Wednesday, 24 September 2003 UNHCR concerned about rising pressure on Chechens at Ingush camp More than 11,000 displaced Chechens in Ingushetia live in tented campslike this one in Sunzhenski district. © UNHCR/T.Makeeva GENEVA, Sept 23 (UNHCR) – Pressure is increasing on some 1,000 displacedChechens to leave Ingushetia's Bella camp amid recent measures that haveleft them at times without basic utilities or infrastructure. Since last Wednesday, gas, electricity and water supplies at Bella camphave been cut off for varying periods before being restored. After a relatively quiet weekend, technicians from the gas servicereturned yesterday to remove a section of the gas pipe despite strongprotests by the women at the camp, where gas is essential for cookingand heating. Electricity was cut again, and some witnesses said they sawlatrines being removed from the camp by local officials. Aid agencies, including UNHCR, have been denied access to the camp forvarying periods, prompting the refugee agency to lodge officialcomplaints in Moscow and Geneva on Friday. A UNHCR staff member wasallowed to enter the camp yesterday, but several other agencies were notpermitted to go in. A military checkpoint was also erected at the entrance to the camp lastWednesday – the same day that gas and electricity supplies were first cut. This is not the first time the residents of Bella camp have beensubjected to such uncertainty and harassment. In August, 200 displacedChechens were evicted from the camp, then forcibly removed from theirtemporary settlement, and placed in decrepit buildings near the camp,all within a few days. Bella camp was also one of the sites wheremilitary troops stationed themselves late last year, reportedly toprevent terrorist attacks on the camp. Some 25 Chechen families at Bella camp have already requested UNHCRassistance to relocate to Satsita camp, where the refugee agency hasprovided tents. "UNHCR does not in principle oppose plans to relocate some or all of thedisplaced Chechens from Bella camp to other locations in Ingushetia,"said the agency's spokesman, Ron Redmond, in Geneva Tuesday. "However,the possibilities for appropriate alternative accommodation elsewhere inIngushetia have not been fully and clearly elaborated." The Russian government has given repeated assurances that Chechens willnot be coerced – directly or indirectly – into returning against theirwill. Repatriation can only be considered voluntary if the displacedpersons are fully informed about conditions for return and if they havea genuine alternative to allow them to remain in Ingushetia. Latest estimates
put the total number of displaced Chechens inIngushetia at around 77,000.
More than 11,000 of them are accommodatedin five tented camps, while
the rest are living in temporary settlementsor private accommodation.
24 September 2003 HR activists call Chechnya elections `farce`, refuse to send observers Russian human rights activists will not send observers to the October 5 presidential elections in Chechnya. "Nowthat three viable candidates [Malik Saidullayev, Aslambek Aslakhanovand Khusein Dzhabrailov] have been excluded from the presidential race,there is no point in sending observers to Chechnya. We will keep an eyeon the situation, but will not send monitors," Moscow Helsinki Grouphead Lyudmila Alexeyeva told a news conference in Moscow on Wednesday. Alexeyeva promised to visit Chechnya on election day, butnot as an observer. "I will poll the population and speak to people,"she said. Alexeyeva noted that the Moscow Helsinki Group has decidedagainst inviting foreign observers to the elections. "We have decidednot to invite foreigners not only because their participation willlegitimatize the elections, but because we would not like to beresponsible for their security. Foreigners are abducted in Chechnyamore often than other people," she said. Commenting on the upcoming presidential vote, she said"these are not elections. This is a farce." Seven candidates are stillcompeting for the presidency in Chechnya. They are Chechen StateUniversity teacher Avkat Khanchukayev, poet Nikolai Paizulayev,Grozneftegaz deputy general director Kutuz Saduyev, Chechnya'sadministration chief Akhmad Kadyrov, unemployed citizen Abdula Bugayev,former head of the Achkhoi-Martan district administration ShamilBurayev, and adviser to the director of the center for safe nuclearpower plants Khusein Biibulatov. [http://gazeta.ru/]
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