Danish Support Committee for Chechnya Copenhagen http://www.tjetjenien.dk

PRESS RELEASE

"Kadyrovites" visiting Denmark

Only a week ago the Folketing (Danish Parliament) widely agreed during a debate on Chechnya that the so-called "elected" president in Chechnya, Ahmed Kadyrov, who was installed by Russia, continues to be regarded as a 100% puppet.

Therefore we note with great astonishment that two prominent representatives of this government of Moscow puppets are going to be officially received by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in connection with their current visit to Denmark, according to our informations.

Both the OSCE and the Council of Europe have sharply condemned the so-called "election" of Kadyrov, and our own foreign minister, Per Stig Møller, has described the representatives of the Kadyrov government as "quisling people" as late as 2001 during a Folketing session.

As is known, the Danish Foreign Ministry has so far rejected to meet officially with all other representatives of the Chechen people, among them Ahmed Zakayev, who represents Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov, whose election by the Chechen people was approved by the OSCE in 1997.

The Danish Support Committee for Chechnya and Chechens living in Denmark express their sharp protest against the hypocrisy of the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We also express our strong astonishment about the fact that official Denmark in this way gives its rubber stamp to a Russian puppet regime, from which both the OSCE and the Council of Europe have distanced themselves. Neither did the US State Department want to receive Kadyrov or his representatives during Putin's most recent visit.

We are additionally considering to report one of the visiting Kadyrov people to the police for war crimes committed in Chechnya.

Copenhagen, 22 April 2002

Thomas Bindesbøll Larsen, Chairman, Danish Support Committee for Chechnya phone +45 4580 0435, cell-phone +45 2664 2400

Usman Ferzauli, 1. Deputy Foreign Minister of the Chechen Republic phone +45 24 63 08 60

Carl Erik Foverskov, Secretary of the Danish Support Committee for Chechnya phone +45 29 25 54 02

[Translation by N.S.]