Persoverzicht Tsjetsjenië - september 2006

• 2006-10-04
• Europa in de wereld

4 september 2006

- Violence in Kondopoga (Karelia): (i) Violence against natives of the Caucasus turned life in the Karelian town upside-down over the weekend. The angry mobs, which left the town of 37,000 pockmarked with storefront fires and shattered glass, stemmed from a fight Wednesday evening outside the Chaika restaurant in which two ethnic Russians were killed. The violence appeared to have been galvanized, in part, by a local web site, Kcity.ru, which posted an appeal to town residents Friday to meet at the town square Saturday afternoon to protest against the knifing of the ethnic Russians. (ii) Chechen Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov, concerned about the situation in Kondopoga, has reproached the local authorities for inactivity in what Kadyrov called “ethnically motivated conflict with a clearly anti-Chechen and anti-Caucasus bias," (All media)

- Alkhanov wants Chechnya to be renamed: Chechen President have instructed Chechen Information and Press Minister Movsar Ibragimov to consider new name for Chechnya. He instructed him to meet with experts and to discuss this idea with representatives of public organizations and to possibly raise this issue. The name "Chechnya" has a negative colour, it evokes negative feelings and has no legal grounds, he said. (Interfax)

5 september 2006

- Kondopoga: (i)Three Chechen suspects participating in the fight were arrested in Kondopola. (ii) The Bureau of the World Russian People's Council made a statement which says that racially or religiously motivated crimes against Russians and Orthodox believers are the biggest danger to stability in this country. (iii) Members of Russia's Public Chamber, all-Russia’s Islamic organization Al-Khak, and the Our Russia movement expressed concern by the large-scale flow of nationalists to Karelia in the wake of riots in the republic. (iv) Chechen officials, the Public Chamber and the youth group Nashi dispatched emissaries Monday to Kondopoga, as authorities grappled with the reverberations of a brawl last week that left two Slavs dead. (All media)

- Kadyrov against renaming Chechen Republic: Chechen Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov opposes the idea of renaming the Chechen Republic. According to Kadyrov, this would be inexpedient economically, since millions of rubbles would be required. This money should be put into the republic's social sector. (Interfax)

- Arabs will invest in Chechnya: Another round of the Russian-Arab Business Council took place in St. Petersburg yesterday. The Russian delegation included President’s aid Mr Shuvalov and three Presidential representatives in the North-Western, Volga and South federal districts. Chechnya was represented by Alu Alkhanov. Arab countries possible investments into Chechnya and Northern Caucasus, including the opening of an Islamic Development bank was discussed. (Kommersant)

7 september 2006

- Situation in Karelia: (i) Members of official delegation of Chechnya and Karelian Authorities discussed the situation in Kondopoga, where ethnic rioting took please. (ii) Ultranationalists from Moscow and St. Petersburg are streaming into Petrozavodsk, the capital of Krelia to try to spark enthnic riots. Mayor Viktor Maslyakov said that ultranationalists sought to turn Patrozavodsk into a ‘show’ for the whole country. (iii) Meanwhile, some Duma deputies suggested to initiate parliamentary investigations of the events in Karelia. (All media)

8 september 2006

- Terrorist-led group spotted in Chechnya: The presence of militants from the group led by Dagestani terrorist Rappani Khalilov was spotted in a mountainous area in eastern Chechnya. It is reported that a militant group led by one Khaladov is hiding at a base set up to the west of the community of Zandak in the Nozhai-Yurt district. According to Chechnya’s military commander the bandits are currently regrouping forces and replenishing its material basis to continue resistance to the federal forces and law enforcement bodies. (Interfax)

12 september 2006

- Military helicopter crashes in Vladikavkaz: According to the latest reports, 12 servicemen, including generals and senior officers, were killed and another four injured in a crash of a military Mi-8 helicopter yesterday outside Vladikavkaz. The servicemen on board the helicopter were heading on an inspection tour in the main base of the united group of forces in the Northern Caucasus in Khankala (Chechnya). Investigators do not exclude that bad weather might have caused the crash. (Gazeta, Interfax, Kommersant, RG, VN)

13 september 2006

- Six charged in connection with Kondopoga riot: The prosecutor’s office of the Republic of Karelia yesterday brought charges of violent misconduct involving the use of arms and murder against four ethnic Chechens involved in disturbances in Kondopoga on the night of 30 August. Earlier, two other people were charged with misconduct. Commenting on the recent visit of a group of parliamentarians led by Duma vice-speaker Vladimir Pekhtin to Kondopoga, the head of the Duma’s Security Committee Vladimir Vasilyev expressed the view that the unrest had resulted from insufficient attention by the local authorities to existing problems. Duma speaker Boris Gryzlov described the events as “a deliberate provocation of ethnic clashes”. (Gazeta, Interfax, NG, Novye Izvestia, RG, VN)

14 september 2006

- Nine killed in skirmish on Chechen-Ingush border: According to the latest reports, nine people were killed and more than 20 wounded in a shoot-out between Ingush policemen and Chechen riot police (OMON) servicemen yesterday on the Chechen-Ingush administrative border. The deputy commander of Chechen OMON Buvadi Dakhiyev is among those killed [the media report that a total of seven Chechen and two Ingush policemen were killed in the incident]. Ingush President Murat Zyazikov said the exchange of fire had resulted from “a fatal mistake”. Chechen PM Ramzan Kadyrov called the incident a result of “misunderstanding”. Earlier, Ingush police sources said that the exchange of fire followed a refusal by the Chechen officers to present their IDs. Member of the Federation Council from Ingushetia Issa Kostoyev is quoted as calling for the Ingush population to resist raids by Chechen police to Ingushetia. (Gazeta, Interfax, Izvestia, Kommersant, MT, NG, Novye Izvestia, RG, RIAN, VN)

- Chechnya to introduce juries not earlier than 2010 – daily: In a front-page article, Nezavisimaya gazeta reports that juries may be introduced in Chechnya only in the beginning of 2010. (NG)

15 september 2006

- Moscow slams Washington forum on N. Caucasus: The Russian Foreign Ministry has expressed its protest to the USA against a Washington conference on the Northern Caucasus organised by the Jamestown Foundation and the participation in the forum of former Chechen separatist envoy Mairbek Vachagayev. The Ministry said the forum “promotes terrorism and contradicts US international commitments, including provisions of the global counter-terrorism strategy”. (Interfax, RIAN, VN)

- Ramzan Kadyrov’s supporters vs. RT on Chechnya: Dailies, including some of them in front-page articles, report about a roundtable discussion yesterday in Moscow of the situation in Chechnya with the participation of some Duma members and former mayor of Grozny Bislan Gantamirov. The media point to an action of protest staged by a group of Ramzan Kadyrov’s supporters against critical statements against the Chechen PM. (Gazeta, Kommersant, VN)

19 september 2006

- Warlord killed in Chechnya: The media report about the killing in Chechnya of Isa Muskiyev, a so called ‘emir’ of several Chechnya’s districts, and his brother. (Gazeta, Interfax, Kommersant, MT, RG)

20 september 2006

- Duma may debate initiative on Putin’s third term: According to media reports, the Duma Council has put on its agenda in November a legislative proposal made by Chechen parliamentarians that would allow one and the same person to run for president three times in a row. Duma speaker Boris Gryzlov earlier spoke out against the initiative. (Interfax, MT, Novye Izvestia)

22 september 2006

- Five policemen killed in Chechnya; policemen wounded in Ingushetia: (i) According to media reports, five Russian Interior Ministry servicemen were killed in a militant attack yesterday in Grozny. (ii) Five Ingush policemen were wounded in a special operation against suspected militants in Ingushetia. (Gazeta, Interfax, Kommersant, MT, Novye Izvestia, RIAN, VN)

25 september 2006

- Duma approves resolution on amnesty for militants, servicemen: On Friday, the State Duma approved a President-proposed resolution that declares amnesty to participants in hostilities in the Northern Caucasus, both militants who voluntarily laid down arms and servicemen who did not commit serous crimes during the counterterrorist operation. The resolution was published in Saturday’s issue of Rossiyskaya gazeta. The amnesty will remain in effect until 15 January 2007. Some human rights activists, however, expressed doubts that the amnesty would fundamentally change the situation in Chechnya. (Gazeta, Interfax, Izvestia, Kommersant, MT, RG, RIAN, VN)

26 september 2006

- Former ally of Chechen PM put on wanted list: Gazeta reports that the Chechen prosecutor’s office has put on a wanted list Movladi Baysarov, ex-commander of the ‘Highlander’ unit in Chechnya and former close ally of Chechen PM Ramzan Kadyrov. (Gazeta)

29 september 2006

- Protests against removal of Chechen PM’s portraits: Dailies report about protests yesterday in Chechnya against a decision by Chechen PM Ramzan Kadyrov to remove his portraits from city streets. (Kommersant, Novye Izvestia)