Persoverzicht Tsjetsjenië - mei 2006

• 2006-05-31
• Europa in de wereld

2 mei 2006

- Chechen PM on cases involving federal troops: In a letter to the Chairman of the Russian Supreme Court, Lebedev, Chechen PM Ramzan Kadyrov has suggested that the Court consider authorising the Grozny military court to hear criminal cases involving federal servicemen. (Interfax)

3 mei 2006

- Chechen PM disbands security service: According to media reports, Chechen PM Ramzan Kadyrov has disbanded an anti-terrorism centre and his security service or the so called Kadyrovtsy. He added that these two structures would be reorganised into “two battalions of Interior Ministry troops, code-named North and South”. (MT, RIAN)

- CPT to prepare report on Chechnya: The media report about a visit to Chechnya of a delegation of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and mention an incident when the delegation was denied entry into the home village of the slain Chechen President Akhmad Kadyrov Tsentoroi. The head of the CPT delegation, Mauro Palma, announced that a report will be prepared for Russian authorities on the situation with the rights of detainees and convicts in Chechnya. (Interfax)

4 mei 2006

- New uniform for Chechen policemen: (i) Novye Izvestia reports that Chechen Interior Minister Ruslan Alkhanov has ordered that Chechen policemen should wear police uniform instead of military camouflage so that civilians could distinguish policemen and militants. Policemen are also prohibited to carry weapons beyond working hours. (ii) Izvestia publishes an interview with Chechen PM Ramzan Kadyrov. (Izvestia, Novye Izvestia)

5 mei 2006

- Jury set to announce verdict in Klebnikov murder case: It is expected that a Moscow jury today will announce a verdict in the trial of two men, ethnic Chechens, accused of murdering Russia Forbes editor Paul Klebnikov at the order of a member of the so called Ichkerian/Chechen government Nukhayev. (Izvestia, MT, RIAN, VN)

- Chechnya to set up constitutional court: The upper house of the Chechen Parliament on Wednesday approved a bill setting up in Chechnya of the Constitutional Assembly and the Constitutional Court. (Novye Izvestia)

18 mei 2006

- Violence in Northern Caucasus: (i) Five servicemen were killed in an attack on an army convoy yesterday in Chechnya. Seven federal servicemen had been killed in Chechnya last month, including three in combat. (ii) Dailies, including many of them in front-page articles, report about an investigation into the attack in Ingushetia, during which Ingushetia’s deputy interior minister Kostoyev and six other people have been killed. Some observers point out that militants have intensified terror activities ahead of the G-8 summit in St. Petersburg. (Gazeta, Interfax, Izvestia, Kommersant, MT, NG, Novye Izvestia, RG, Vedomosti, VN)

19 mei 2006

- Alkhanov denies conflict with Kadyrov: Chechen President Alu Alkhanov has publicly refuted claims that his relations with Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov are tense. "We enjoy normal relations. We are wise enough to prevent any problems. We know what the people of Chechnya want. Both of us realize our responsibilities and will do our best to justify the hopes of the Chechen people," Alkhanov told a Thursday press conference in Grozny. (Interfax)

- Clerics press authorities to ban Da Vinci Code in Chechnya: The Chechen Muslim leadership oppose the screening of The Da Vinci Code and the sale of the book of the same name in Chechnya, fearing it may spark mass protests among Chechens. "We discussed this issue with district imams and received expert conclusion that the book and its screen version are provocative and insulting in character," Chechen mufti Sultan Mirzayev said on Thursday. The clerics decided to ask the Chechen government to prohibit the distribution of Da Vinci Code on videotapes in Chechnya. (All media)

24 mei 2006

- New COE Commissioner on human rights to visit Russia: In his interview to Nezavisimaya Gazeta new Commissioner on Human Rights of the Council of Europe Thomas Hammarberg comments on human rights in Russia, the situation in Chechnya, new NGO legislation, capital punishment, and Russian-speaking minorities in Baltic States and Crimea. Mr. Hammarberg is planning to visit Russia in June to meet Russian regional ombudsmen. (Negavisimaya Gazeta)

- Four Interior Ministry troops killed, three wounded in Chechnya: Four Interior Ministry troops were killed and three others wounded when militants attacked a military post in Chechnya's Vedeno district. The servicemen were attacked outside the village of Ishil-Khatoi overnight. (Interfax)

25 mei 2006

- Ambush in Chechnya: Three Interior Ministry solders were killed by militants in an ambush yesterday, bringing the total fatalities of soldiers and police to 11 this week. (Kommersant, the Moscow Times.)

26 mei 2006

- Chechnya to promote small, medium business: The Chechen government will drastically change its attitude to small and medium business, Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov said on Thursday. Chechnya has about 5,000 small enterprises and some 12,000 farmers and individual proprietors, Kadyrov said. The government will take steps to ensure that new business does not encounter bureaucratic obstacles, he said. According to Kadyrov, Chechen products are not in demand outside the republic because Russian wholesale buyers are unaware of them. (Interfax)

- Militant detained in Chechnya: A militant from Doka Umarov's illegal armed group was detained in Ingushetia, a source in the Chechen Interior Ministry said on Friday. The detainee is likely to have been involved in a number of crimes in the Chechen Urus-Martan district. Moreover, he is suspected of providing food to illegal military groups. Meanwhile, police officers managed to force a resident of the Semashki village to surrender in the Achkhoi-Martan district. The resident was a member of the Saidkhasan Musostoyev's armed group. Furthermore, two soldiers were wounded in the mountains of southern Chechnya, a source in Chechen law enforcement agencies told. A soldier under contract and an engineer were wounded in the explosion of a homemade bomb in the Vedeno district. (Interfax)

29 mei 2006

- Beauty contest in Chechnya: Dailies report about the first Beauty of Chechnya contest which was held on Saturday in Grozny and organised by the Chechen Government and the Akhmad Kadyrov Public Fund. A 15-year-old school student was named the winner of the contest. (Gazeta, Izvestia, Kommersant, MT, VN)

30 mei 2006

- Chechen President delivers first address to parliament: In his first state-of-the-nation address to the Chechen Parliament yesterday, Chechen President Alu Alkhanov emphasized that the Northern Caucasus should abandon its clan-based political system and step up the fight against corruption. Some observers believe that Alkhanov meant the most powerful in Chechnya clan headed by Chechen PM Ramzan Kadyrov. Meanwhile, in an interview with Kommersant-Vlast weekly, speaker of Chechnya’s People’s Assembly Dukvakha Abdurakhmanov said the Chechen Parliament would support the possible nomination of Ramzan Kadyrov for President, adding that the latter is the recognised leader in Chechnya. (Gazeta, Interfax, NG, Novye Izvestia, VN, Gazeta.ru. Kommersant-Vlast)

- Zakayev named Ichkerian ‘foreign minister’: Kommersant reports that one of the Chechen separatist leaders, Akhmed Zakayev who resides in London, has been named foreign minister in the Chechen/Ichkerian government. (Kommersant)

31 mei 2006

- 5,000 more troops to be deployed in Chechnya – daily: Novye Izvestia refers to the commander of Russia’s Interior Troops Nikolai Rogozhkin who spoke about plans to increase the Interior Troops forces in Chechnya by 5,000 servicemen. The plan was slammed by speaker of Chechnya’s People’s Assembly Dukvakha Abdurakhmanov. According to the daily, the total number of federal troops in the Northern Caucasus may be thus increased to 30,000 servicemen. (Novye Izvestia)