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Anniversary rally of 1944 Chechen/Ingush deportation to be held inPrague on February 23 (Prague Watchdog) – On the anniversary date of Stalin’s deportation ofthe Chechen and Ingush people to Central Asia and West Siberia in 1944,a rally will be held in Prague at 17:00 CET at the namesti Miru Squarein support of the Peace Plan for Chechnya. This event, organized by the SOS Chechnya Committee, joins a series ofrallies that will be held in other European cities on February 23. Another objective of the event is to draw attention of the generalpublic and Czech politicians to this Plan put forward by IchkerianForeign Minister Ilyas Akhmadov in March 2003, which now has the supportof more than 17,000 people, including nearly 150 members of the EuropeanParliament. The organizers also want to express their dissatisfaction with theattitude of Czech authorities who, in their treatment of Chechenrefugees, continue to ignore the ongoing genocide in Chechnya. The Peace Plan will be read at the rally, which will also featurespeeches by representatives of civic and nongovernmental organizations;and the public will have a chance to add their signatures to the document for a peaceful resolution of the Russian – Chechen conflict. The Chechen Times
The Chechen Times 20.02.2004 Dutch deportation… A wonderful present from the Dutch immigration service to Chechen refugees in Europe for February 23 – the Day of Memory of all victims of the Stalin deportation Three weeks ago Chechen refugee Islam D. Ws taken with no notification from the center for asylum seeks by Dutch police and put into a deportation prison. There, in order to prevent his deportation to Moscow, he tried to cut his veins. We have failed to find out further information. For three weeks Islam’s friends and activists of the Chechnya – The Netherlands group tried to get a meeting with him. The official who answered all telephone calls – was always the same, he introduced himself as Arthur (he declined to give his last name). He said that in line with prison rules, Islam must ask for a meeting himself, it was impossible from outside. However, he always agreed to pass over a message with phone numbers to Islam urging him to get in touch, with the question – “What is going on with you?” The official also provided the prison address. In total, three letters and eight messages were passed over to Islam. One day about 90 Chechens from all around the Netherlands gathered in front of the prison demanding to allow them to meet Islam – but in vain. Islam made no phone call, wrote no messages, did not ask for a meeting. Over three weeks about 18 phone calls were made. People asked what was going on, why a normal healthy person did not want to get in touch with his relatives. Mysterious Arthur replied he knew nothing, saying he had passed all the messages over to Islam. According to a lawyer, Islam looked “OK!” Last time the lawyer said that the next court hearing in his case was due to take place on February 20. On February 19 Islam did made a short phone call to his relatives. From the Moscow Sheremetyevo airport. Below is what he managed to say: “They kept me in a call without windows (in the deportation prison) with lights up all the time. All 20 days I was handcuffed. When they took me somewhere, a belt was attached to me. My beard grew long, they did not allow me to shave. I received no letters, no messages or phone numbers. I did not know you were worried about me, came to see me. A court hearing on my case was scheduled for February 20. Today they (prison guards) seized me and dragged me into the plane. I was unable to resist. On board a Dutch official told me he would give me some money and find taxi for me to get to people I knew. I am easy to notice with such beard. They did not allow me to shave. The official gave me 20 euro, passed me over to Russians and left. On the border they (Russians) taunted me for several hours. I am unable to tell about it. I have no money, I do not know what to do, where to go, I am afraid to get outside.” Islam was expected to make another phone call, but so far we have had no further information about him.
Brussels, 20 February 2004. Demonstrations in commemoration of the deportation of the Chechen people carried out on the orders of Stalin on 23 February 1944 will take place in over 20 cities in Europe and America: in Europe in Albi (France), Brussels, Copenhagen, Dublin, Ekaterinburg (Russia), Lyon, Moscow (if the authorities lift the ban), Paris, Prague, Rome, Saint-Etienne, Saint Petersburg, Strasbourg, Toulouse, Vienna, Vilnius, and Warsaw. Two demonstrations will take place on Saturday 21 February, one in Bourges (France), and the other in Paris, while one will take place on Sunday 22 February in Berlin. Four demonstration-conferences will take place in the United States, in Portland, Berkeley UC, Boston and New York. For further information on the demonstrations, consult the party website: www.radicalparty.org Olivier Dupuis reaches the 33nd day of his hunger strike. Message of support from the "Forum Asie-Democratie" and from its President Vo Van Ai: "The Forum Asie Démocratie gives its firm backing to the MEP Olivier Dupuis of the Transnational Radical Party, who has been on hunger strike since 18 January 2004 in order "to be close to the hundreds of thousands of Chechens abandoned to a tragic fate, the victims since 1994 of what amounts to nothing less than genocide", on the occasion of the celebration on 23 February of the 60th anniversary of another Chechen genocide, in 1944, when a third of the Chechen people died during the deportations to Central Asia ordered by Stalin. This hunger strike is also an appeal to the juridical obligations of the European Union with regard to the protection of human rights." Statement by Vo Van Ai, Chairman of the Action Committee for Democracy in Vietnam: "The battle that Olivier Dupuis has always fought for the Chechen people is of great importance to us, because too often the countries of Europe forget that they are obliged by their own laws to promote human rights and democracy, and that they possess a whole juridical arsenal not to make themselves the accomplices of dictators and mass murderers." You can support the Peace Plan for the establishment of an interim UN administration in Chechnya by signing the international appeal at Error! Reference source not found. =====
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