Brussels, 18 July 2002.

On 7 July the Russian authorities ordered the closure of the Znamenskoye camps and the forced transfer of the refugees to temporary camps in Grozny.

According to reports from several human rights organisations, as well as the rare independent news published by the Western media, the Grozny region is one of the most dangerous for Chechen civilians due to the presence of numerous Russian military and paramilitary forces, as well as of the famous "death squads". The abduction of civilians, traffic in hostages and corpses, rape, round-ups, torture and summary execution are normal practice.

The OECD and the Member States of the EU, which were informed of the decision taken by Moscow, chose not to intervene in defence of the security of the refugees and the other displaced persons.

Question to the Commission by Olivier Dupuis:

“Does the Commission have any information about the number of refugees moved by the Russian authorities to the Grozny region, about their current situation and the type of protection and guarantees by which they are covered? More generally, is the Commission satisfied by the "humanitarian" policy of Moscow in Chechnya, as well as by the working conditions of the humanitarian organisations operating in Chechnya? Finally, does the Commission intend to ask the UN Commission of Inquiry in Znamenskoye to examine the question of the forced transfer of the refugees, and to ask the Russian authorities to put an end to the forced repatriation of the displaced persons of Chechen and Russian nationality still present in the region?”

From a press release of the Transnational Radical Party.