Persoverzicht Tsjetsjenië - september 2005

• 2005-10-02
• Europa in de wereld

2 september 2005

- Almost 1,000 cases of AIDS in Chechnya, Ingushetia since 1999: The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that since 1999, 523 people with AIDS have been officially registered in Chechnya, among them 90 women and 29 children. 466 cases are registered in neighbouring Ingushetia, but UN OCHA said that the actual number of people with AIDS may be much higher.

6 september 2005

- New housing rather than repairs needed in Grozny: At a press-conference in the Chechen capital, the Head of the Federal Construction and Public Utility Agency said that construction of completely new housing is more relevant for Grozny than reconstruction of partially damaged buildings. The Chechen PM Sergei Abramov stated that a system of mortgages in being developed for Chechnya’s needs. (Interfax)

9 september 2005

- Chechen attacked in Moscow: According to media reports, a Chechen singer and her 15-year-old son were attacked and beaten in Moscow by four unidentified attackers who shouted anti-Chechen slogans. (Gazeta, Novye Izvestia)

- Kommersant carries an article called “The European Parliament has become thoughtful of Akhmed Zakayev’s status”, by Olesya Khantsevich, which reports about a statement by MEP Charles Tannock who called on the EU to refuse from using “double standards” with regard to Chechen terrorists and called on the UK and Denmark to deprive Chechen separatist emissaries Akhmed Zakayev and Usman Ferzauli of status of political refugees.

12 september 2005

- In an article entitled “Englishmen are looking for a law for Zakayev”, by Maxim Makarychev, today’s Rossiyskaya gazeta deals with the recent statement by Member of the European Parliament Charles Tannock who called on the UK and Denmark to deprive Chechen separatist emissaries Akhmed Zakayev and Usman Ferzaouli of their status of political refugees.

13 september 2005



- Federal parties to participate in Chechnya elections: At a session yesterday in Grozny, representatives of federal parties, including the liberal Yabloko party and the Union of Rightist Forces (SPS), expressed their intent to participate in the parliamentary elections in Chechnya scheduled for 27 November. The session was also attended by Chechen President Alu Alkhanov, Presidential envoy to the Southern Federal District Dmitry Kozak and Deputy Chief of the Presidential Administration Vladislav Surkov. Rodina leader Dmitry Rogozin said that Bislan Gantamirov, the former mayor of Grozny and former Chechen press minister, would head the list of Rodina candidates. Kommersant notes that despite official statements that Chechnya is prepared for the elections in terms of security, unprecedented security measures were undertaken in Grozny in light of the session. (RIAN, Kommersant, RG, NG, Izvestia, Novye Izvestia, MT)

- Blast in Grozny kills two; one killed in Dagestani, Chechen police clash: (i) Two policemen are reported to have been killed and two others injured in a car bombing yesterday in Grozny. (ii) According to media reports, a Dagestani serviceman was killed and a Chechen policeman injured as a result of an accidental shooting between Dagestani and Chechen interior troops on the Dagestani-Chechen administrative border on Sunday. (Interfax, RIAN, Gazeta, Vremya novostei)

14 september 2005

- Policeman killed in Dagestan; 13 injured in attack in Chechnya: (i) A police officer is reported to have been killed in an attack on a police checkpoint yesterday in the Dagestani town of Buinaksk. (ii) According to the latest reports by Chechen police, 13 people were wounded in an attack on the Chechen Interior Ministry yesterday in Grozny. (Interfax, RIAN, Kommersant, Izvestia, Vremya novostei, NG, MT)

- New Chechen prosecutor appointed: Prosecutor General Ustinov has signed an order appointing Valery Kuznetsov as Public Prosecutor General for Chechnya. Kuznetsov will replace Vladimir Kravchenko in this post. (RG)

16 september 2005

- Five servicemen killed in Chechnya: (i) According to Chechen law enforcement agencies, five federal troops were killed and three wounded in clashes with rebels yesterday in Chechnya’s town of Argun. Five militants are reported to have been killed during the operation, one of them has been identified as a deputy to Abdul Khalim Saidulayev, the alleged successor to the late Chechen separatist leader Maskhadov. (ii) Dailies report broadly on a visit by boxer Mike Tyson to Chechnya on the invitation of Chechen 1st Deputy Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov. Tyson is due to attend a boxing tournament in Gudermes. (Interfax, Vremya novostei, Izvestia, Kommersant, Novye Izvestia, Gazeta)

- Six policemen, warlord killed in Chechnya; blasts in Ingushetia: (i) Chechnya’s 1st Deputy Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov announced the killing by Shamil Basayev’s supporters of a top separatist commander named Avdorkhanov in “a power struggle”. (ii) According to media reports, four policemen were killed and five others injured in a clash with militants on Friday in Chechnya’s Vedeno district. Another two policemen are reported to have been killed in Grozny. (iii) The media report on a series of blasts in Ingushetia on Friday. According to official reports, no one was injured. Electronic media report that two bombs exploded near a district court in Ingushetia’s Sunzha district today. No casualties are reported. (Interfax, RIAN, Kommersant, Vedomosti, Izvestia, Gazeta, Vremya novostei, Novye Izvestia, MT)

20 september 2005

- Lithuanian court upholds closure of Chechen separatist site: The Lithuanian Constitutional Court yesterday upheld the legality of the State Security Department’s order to shut down the Kavkaz Centre web site run by Chechen separatists on Lithuanian territory. (Interfax, Kommersant, Vremya novostei, MT)

- Putin positive on developments in Chechnya: In a letter to his Syrian counterpart Bashar Asad, President Putin pointed to a “breakthrough” in the situation in Chechnya and called the forthcoming parliamentary elections in the republic scheduled for 27 November “an important landmark on the way to further stabilizing the situation” in the region. The letter was handed over to Asad by Chechen President Alu Alkhanov, who is currently on a visit in the Middle East. (RIAN)

22 september 2005

- United Russia candidates at Chechen election: At a conference yesterday in Gudermes, the Chechen branch of the United Russia party approved a list of candidates at the 27 November parliamentary election in the republic. The media point to the exclusion from the list of the head of the Chechen State Council Taus Dzhabrailov. According to Kommersant, Chechnya’s 1st Deputy Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov was behind the creation of the list. (Kommersant, Vremya novostei)

23 september 2005

- Ex-rebel to run at Chechen elections: (i) Chechnya’s 1st Deputy Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov has announced that former Chechen separatist defence minister Magomed Khambiev would run for a Chechen parliament’s seat, adding that up to 1,000 Chechen rebels have laid down weapons. He also stated that he will not run for a seat in the Chechen Parliament, nor he “will seek a post of parliamentary speaker”. He (ii) Kadyrov also claimed that Chechens are subjected to ethnically-motivated persecution in various Russian regions. (Izvestia, NG)

26 september 2005

- Inter-ethnic fight reported in Kabardino-Balkaria: The media report about a mass fistfight between ethnic Kabardins and Balkars and ethnic Chechens in Nalchik (Kabardino-Balkaria) on Friday. Deputy Prosecutor General Nikolai Shepel is reported as having dismissed assertions that there were political or interethnic motives behind the fight. (Kommersant, Izvestia, Gazeta, Interfax)

28 september 2005

- Putin answers Russians’ questions: President Putin’s nearly three-hour-long call-in show yesterday is the focus of media reports. Six out of some 60 questions answered by Putin addressed international issues, whereas 54 concerned domestic topics. (...)

(iii) points to problem of kidnappings in Chechnya: Putin admitted that kidnapping remains one of the most serious problems in Chechnya, emphasizing that the main solution to this issue “lies in a political settlement”, “with the inclusion of the greatest possible number of people”. In this context, he pointed to the importance of the up-coming elections to Chechnya’s Parliament. Putin also called the creation of new workplaces in the Northern Caucasus a priority for the region’s economic development.

29 september 2005

- Council of Europe to build forensic lab in Chechnya: Meeting with a delegation of Council of Europe’s forensic medical experts yesterday in Grozny, Chechen President Alu Alkhanov announced that the Council of Europe is planning to build a forensic laboratory in Chechnya. According to Alkhanov, some 3 million euros will be allocated to build the laboratory and other health care facilities in the republic. He also said that over 2,500 people were currently missing in Chechnya. (RIAN)