Borozdinovskaya - II

Duma deputy Ruslan Yamadayev (brother of Sulim) has given an interview to Kommersant (Russian-language; registration required), in which he talks about the results of the official investigation into the recent "sweep" operation at the Chechen village of Borozdinovskaya, near the border with Daghestan, during which one villager was killed and 11 were abducted. Like his brother, though not so openly, Ruslan appears to be trying to throw suspicion on the villagers themselves. An excerpt:

- Has Sulim Yamadayev already given his statements to the investigation?

- Yes, he talked with the investigators. He said that he never was in Borozdinovskaya, even in peacetime he didn't go there. And he didn't give any orders to his subordinates to do something in the village.

- But then, who did enter Borozdinovskaya?

- The provocateurs, who, as I said, are numerous among the soldiers of official structures.

- So you don't exclude that the representatives of some law enforcement agencies of the republic could have entered there?

- This could have been done by some people from various agencies - legal and illegal. They agreed to do this together, and then they presented it: the Vostok battalion did this. I think, soon we will find an answer to all these questions.

- Was it possible for you to find out something about the fate of those 11 abducted inhabitants of the village?

- No.

- Do you assume that they could be connected to the fighters?

- I don't know. That's why they must be found first. But I know that this wish of the residents of Borozdinovskaya, to be moved into Daghestan, appeared not only because of the last events.

- Because of what else?

- These people want to get some land in a good place in Daghestan and compensation - they live very poorly in Chechnya. How many policemen, imams, heads of administration, who were loyal to Russia, have been killed in Chechnya? Was anyone investigated, did anyone scream or hold meetings? But now, why did they raise such a noise? Yes, because they want to destabilize the situation in Chechnya, in Daghestan, in the North Caucasus.

- What is Sulim doing now?

- Sulim is working, everything's OK with him.

- Have any of his subordinates been detained?

- Why detain them? Because of rumors?

- How in your opinion, will these incidents end?

- I think we ourselves will find those who carried out this action in Borozdinovskaya, and they will be punished, for 100%. But those inhabitants, who hold meetings, they want to get their own way, that they would give to them some land in Daghestan. And until they get what they want, they will not calm down.

(via chechnya-sl: tr. by M.L., minor editing)