Chechnya: Image and Reality

Those who have been following the reports of gay men fleeing Chechnya in the face of a Chechen government-backed campaign of intimidation may have wondered exactly why Novaya Gazeta has decided to publish these accounts right now. While homophobia is widespread in Russia, and given a certain degree of official toleration, the fact (vigorously denied by the authorities) of its being official state policy within Chechnya is acquiring a much higher profile than its prevalence elsewhere in the Federation.

The stories and narratives emanating from the Republic are certainly disturbing: “They want to exterminate us,” says Ruslan, a gay man forced to leave his wife and children

Human rights organisations like HRW and Caucasian Knot have been quick to take up the stories and investigate them further. In spite of official denials, it does appear that some kind of campaign of intimidation has been started against those whose sexuality deviates from the locally accepted norms. But perhaps it’s as well to reflect that the reports first appeared in Novaya Gazeta, a paper that has a strong tradition of human rights reporting – Anna Politkovskaya was a journalist on the publication – but one that also (like nearly all other mainstream Russian media) has some links to the Russian state and its intelligence services.

Few will question that the LGBT community in Chechnya – as elsewhere in the Russian Federation – do not have an easy time, and that indeed their personal security and their lives may be in danger. But a question-mark does hang over the timing of the reports, and the inevitable danger that they may be used to further bolster the negative image of Chechnya and Chechens that has been built up over the years in the minds of Russians – and Westerners – by Russian press and media. 

Prague Watchdog closing

Prague Watchdog, the Prague-based North Caucasus human rights NGO and monitoring service, is closing down after 10 years of operation. In May this year, for reasons that are unknown to the site’s co-ordinator, the delivery of new Russian-language material stopped and has not been resumed. Andrei Babitsky, who was fulfilling the role of chief commissioning editor, appears no longer to be in charge of PW’s publishing, though he continues to be active as an editor and commentator at other Russian-language media outlets, including Radio Liberty’s Russian service.  

According to PW’s present coordinating editor, the site will continue to be accessible even though it is not updated, and its considerable volume of North-Caucasus-related information and resources will continue to be available to the general public.

Medieval masters

LJ blogger kutuzov has a comment on the political background to Natalya Estemirova's murder (my tr.):

In the aftermath of Natalya Estemirova's murder,  the figure of Ramzan Kadyrov has repeatedly come to the surface. He has, for example, been accused of the killing.

I don't believe it, because, like any other human rights defender, she presented no danger to Ramzan at all. Kadyrov's position is as solid as a granite rock. The human rights defenders are powerless to move him, he can hurl abuse at them, give them a reprimand (as he did to Natalya Estemirova), but why would he kill  them?

Ramzan kills his enemies, and the rights defenders are not his enemies, any more than the journalists are. Let them write their commentaries, complain to Strasbourg, to him it's  like water off a duck's back.

But for some of Ramzan's subordinates even our human rights defenders can be enemies. That is easy to explain. Their position is not so secure, and Kadyrov, like the typical oriental despot he is, can always remove them from office and put them behind bars. Just like that, to be on the safe side, because they looked at him in the wrong way, didn't sit or stand up when they were supposed to. And especially because they might have done things in the past that people like Estemirova might be able to dig up.  A few years ago there was Anna Politkovskaya.

Stalin used to put the crooks and corrupt party officials in prison. Mussolini dealt with the Mafia. So Ramzan's various henchmen and local operatives have reason to be afraid, and they could also have a motive for the killing.

Another point is that in the case of Estemirova the responsibility still lies with Ramzan. He didn't kill her himself, he didn't order her killing, but he did nothing to prevent the ordering, the kidnapping and the murder.

He has not shrugged off this responsibility and has promised to conduct his own investigation.  Let us just hope he conducts it rather more swiftly than our third-rate investigators, who don't even know the basics of their craft. 

Clearly, Ramzan Kadyrov's position in the system of Russian government is an abnormal one for the 21st century. It is a classic form of vassaldom, of the medieval kind. 

Ramzan has sworn a feudal oath to his masters and overlords in the Kremlin - he will remain loyal to them, put his armed forces at their disposal when they wage their wars (as in South Ossetia and Georgia last year), but the the overlord - Putin, and now Medvedev -  will not interfere in the vassal's internal affairs.

But there is no alternative to this situation, nor can there be one. It's the old system of the Russian governor-general - only worse, and there are no more Yermolovs or even Paskeviches, they have all died out.

They tried with Dudayev/Yandarbiyev, with Maskhadov/Basayev. It's enough.

So Ramzan is the best way to control Chechnya.

If we are going to be realistic we just have to accept this, and not construct fantastical theories - something I myself am guilty of doing at times.

Zubajraev case: torture and ill-treatment

Jeremy Putley has forwarded the following messages from Russian human rights worker Oksana Chelysheva:

Case RUS 190209
Torture and other forms of ill-treatment/ Fear for safety

The International Secretariat of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in the Russian Federation.

Brief description of the situation

The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society (RCFS), a member of OMCT SOS-Torture Network, about the torture and other forms of ill-treatment suffered by Mr. Zubajr Isaevich Zubajraev, 30-year-old Chechen, currently detained in penitentiary colony ЯР-154/15 (also known as LIU-125 prison hospital) in Volgograd, Southern Russia. 

According to the information received, in August 2007, Mr. Zubajr Isaevich Zubajraev was sentenced to five years in high security prison and sent to prison colony IAR- 154/25 in Frolovo, Volgograd region, where he was tortured by prison colony officers throughout the period he was held there. The acts of torture included severe beatings, also with full plastic bottles, electroshocks, injection of unknown substances, nailing to the ground and having to stand in the snow with bear feet. He was also placed on several occasions in a punishment cell. 

Following complaints on Mr. Zubajr Isaevich Zubajraev’s situation, he was reportedly admitted to the prison hospital (penitentiary colony ЯР-154/15) in February 2008, where he is still currently being detained. However, according to the same information, instead of receiving adequate medical care and treatment, he was again subjected to torture and other forms of ill-treatment, including beatings, allegedly by the chief of the penitentiary colony and his deputy. Mr. Zubajr Isaevich Zubajraev was also reportedly threatened with psychiatric internment. 

In November 2008, the Volgograd regional prosecutor inspected the prison hospital but reportedly found no fault with the prison authorities. 

According to the same information received, Mr. Zubajr Isaevich Zubajraev’s health is extremely poor and, due to several head injuries, he might be suffering from epilepsy. Moreover, he would have several wounds on his leg that do not heal. 

His family has reportedly recently received threats, including by a Federal Security Service (FSB) officer, for having denounced his conditions on several occasions. OMCT fears for its safety. 

The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned for the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Zubajr Isaevich Zubajraev following the reports of continuous torture and other forms of ill-treatment and lack of adequate medical care. OMCT therefore calls on the authorities to guarantee his safety at all times, as well as to carry out a prompt, effective, thorough, independent and impartial investigation into these reports, in order to bring those responsible before a competent, independent and impartial tribunal and apply penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law. OMCT recalls the absolute prohibition of torture and other forms of ill-treatment and recalls article 11 of the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment stipulating that, “Each State Party shall keep under systematic review interrogation rules, instructions, methods and practices as well as arrangements for the custody and treatment of persons subjected to any form of arrest, detention or imprisonment in any territory under its jurisdiction, with a view to preventing any cases of torture”.

Action requested

Please write to the authorities in Russia urging them to: 

Guarantee, in all circumstances, the physical and psychological integrity of Mr. Zubajr Isaevich Zubajraev as well as of his family;
Guarantee unconditional access to his lawyer and his family, as well as guarantee that Mr. Zubajr Isaevich Zubajraev is examined by independent doctors and receives adequate medical care, in accordance with provisions of the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners;
Carry out a prompt, effective, thorough, independent and impartial investigation into the reports of torture and other forms of ill-treatment, in order to bring those responsible before a competent, independent and impartial tribunal and apply penal, civil and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
Order his immediate release in the absence of valid legal charges that are consistent with international law and standards, or if such charges exist, bring him before an impartial and competent tribunal and guarantee his procedural rights at all times;
Ensure the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.

Addresses

Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev, President of the Russian Federation, Kremlin, Moscow, Russia, Faxes:+ 7 495 206 5173 / 230 2408, Email: president@gov.ru;
Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation, Yuri Chayka, 125993, Moskva K-31, Ul. B. Dimitrovka, d 15a, Russian Federation, Fax: + 7 (495)692-17-25;
Chairwoman of the Presidential Human Rights Commission of the Russian Federation, Ella Pamfilova, 103132 g. Moskva, Staraya ploshchad, d 8/5,pod 3, Russian Federation, Fax: +7 495 20 64 855;
Vladimir Lukin, Russian Federal Ombudsman for Human Rights, Fax: +7 495 207-74-70;
Minister of Internal Affairs, Rashid Nurgaliev, ul. Zhitnaya, 16, 117049 Moscow, Russian Federation, Telegram: Rossiia, 117049, Moskva, Fax: + 7 495 237 49 25;
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergey Lavrov, Smolenskaya-Sennaya pl, 32/34, 121200 Moscow, Russian Federation, Telegram:  Fax:+ 7 495 230 21 30;
Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations in Geneva Av. de la Paix 15, CH-1211, Geneva 20, Switzerland, e-mail : mission.russian@ties.itu.int, fax: +4122 734 40 44;

Zubair Zubairaev has again reportedly been severely beaten on both 18 and 24 February. On a recent visit to the prison his lawyer saw the marks from the beatings on his face and has stated that Zubair Zubairaev’s health has been gravely affected. Wounds on his legs from previous alleged beatings and incidents of torture are not healing and are festering. He is not receiving adequate medical care. After the most recent incidents he was placed in an isolation cell as punishment for allegedly possessing a painkilling tablet.
In August 2007 Zubair Zubairaev was sentenced to five years in a high security prison and sent to prison colony IAR-154/25 in Frolovo, Volgograd region. According to sources close to Zubair Zubairaev, he was tortured and otherwise ill-treated by prison colony officers throughout the period he was held there. This included the use of electric shocks. The sources reported that he was also repeatedly beaten with plastic bottles filled with water, as well as with truncheons and rifle butts, until he fainted, after which guards revived him in order to continue the beatings. No medical help was provided and the injuries he received were not recorded.
After making several complaints about being tortured and ill-treated, Zubair Zubairaev was transferred to prison colony No 9 in Volgograd. In February 2008 he was admitted to prison hospital LIU-15 in Volgograd; however, the beatings and other ill-treatment from the prison officers continued. Zubair Zubairaev complained again about his treatment to the authorities. This resulted in an inspection of the prison hospital in October 2008 by the Volgograd regional prosecutor, which, however, found no fault with the prison authorities.
Officials at the prison, as well as an official from the Volgograd Public Prosecutor’s office, are said to have verbally threatened Zubair Zubairaev that if he does not stop complaining about his treatment in detention, his prison sentence will be extended or he might "accidentally" die in prison. They also made threats against his family, saying "something might happen" to his sisters.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Amnesty International regularly receives reports of torture or other ill-treatment in places of detention across the Russian Federation, including in prison colonies, and of the frequent failure of the authorities to investigate effectively such allegations and to bring those suspected of violations to justice. In February 2007, the UN Committee against Torture expressed its concern regarding the inadequate health care provided to people in pre-trial detention centres and prison colonies.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in Russian, English or your own language:
- calling on prison authorities to ensure immediately that Zubair Zubairaev is not subjected to torture or other ill-treatment, including psychological;
- calling for an immediate, thorough, independent and impartial investigation into the allegations of torture or other ill-treatment and threats against Zubair Zubairaev and his family, with the results made public and those found responsible brought to justice;
- expressing concern at reports that Zubair Zubairaev is still not receiving the medical treatment he needs;
- urging that Zubair Zuibairaev is examined by independent doctors and receives all necessary medical care, in accordance with provisions set out in the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners.

APPEALS TO:
Director of the prison colony IAR-154/15:
Mansvetov Andrei Igorevich
Uchrezhdenie IAR-154/15
400048 Volgograd
Russian Federation
Fax: +7 8442 35 57 00
Salutation: Dear Director

Director of the Federal Service for Execution of Sentences :
Yurii Ivanovich Kalinin
Federal Service for Execution of Sentences
Ul. Zhitnaia, 14
119991 GSP-1, Moscow
Russian Federation
Fax: +7 495 982 1930
Salutation: Dear Director

Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation :
Yurii Yakovlevich Chaika
Office of the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation
Ul. Bolshaia Dmitrovka 15a
125 993 Moscow
Russian Federation
Fax: +7 495 692 1725 (fax may be switched off outside of office hours (four hours ahead of GMT)
Salutation: Dear Prosecutor General

COPIES TO:

Ombudsperson for Human Rights of the Russian Federation :
Vladimir Petrovich Lukin
Miasnitskaia ul. 47
107084 Moscow
Russian Federation
Fax: +7 495 60739 77
Salutation: Dear Ombudsperson

Prosecutor of Volgograd région :
Leonid Leontievich Beliak
Pr.Lenina, 8
400066 Volgograd
Russian Federation
Email: pochtaproc@vlpost.ru
Salutation: Dear Prosecutor

Ambassade de la Fédération de Russie
Avenue De Fré 66,
1180 Bruxelles
Fax : 02.374.26.13
Email : amrusbel@skynet.be

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 14 April.

From: Oksana Chelysheva [mailto:o.chelysheva@gmail.com]
Sent: 20 March 2009 16:11
To: Jeremy Putley
Subject: Fwd: a case in Volgograd

Dear Jeremy,

I am sending the news below for your information. I have known Elena Maglevannaja for three years.
On March 20, 2009, the administration of Volgograd-based detention colony LIU-15 lodged a suit against a human rights defenders and a journalist Elena Maglevannaja. The administration is discontent with Elena’s effort to draw attention to the desperate situation of one of the inmates of this colony, an ethnic Chechen Zubajr Zubajraev. The suit is lodged under article 152 of the Russian Civil Code (honour and business reputation protection). They are accusing Elena of spreading information on Zubajr Zubajraev in order to destroy their good name. I talked to Elena on phone today. She tells that the first court hearing has been scheduled for March 26, Thursday. It will be held in Kirovskiy district court of Volgograd by the judge Asatiani.
Elena Maglevannaja also told about torture that Zubajraev was subjected to during his custody (including nailing his feet to the floor which was proved by photos) and subsequent denial of medical treatment. Maglevannaja also assisted in organizing the visit of a Chechen activist Imran Ejiev who came to Volgograd on behalf of a member of the European Parliament Bart Staes. Numerous signs of ill-treatment and torture were documented during that visit.
Elena Maglevannaja told on phone, “I am going to use the court room as just one possibility to speak up for Zubajr”. In her words, she is going to prove that the staff of the colony beats him up and then accuses him “of smashing his head against the wall”.
On 10 February, in the Moscow-located Independent Press center a press conference was held during which the situation of Zubajraev was raised. Imran Ejiev, Zubajraev’s sister Madina, Lev Ponomarjov (the leader of “For Human Rights” movement). Svetlana Gannushkina participated in that press conference. A few days after it, information came that the Zubajraevs sisters were subjected to threats on the train during their trip back to Grozny.
Zubajr Zubajraev fled Russia with his family during war hostilities. They got asylum in Austria. But in 2007 they family decided to return to Chechnya. Soon after their return, Zubajraev was detained by local force agents. He was missing for some period as his relatives didn’t know anything about his whereabouts.
In August 2007 Zubajraev was sentenced to five years in custody “for assault at a force agent and illegal arms possession”. He was transferred to serve his sentence in Volgograd colony. When he managed to reach his sisters, he told that he was continuously beaten up.
The case of Zubajr Zubajraev was raised by Amnesty International and World Organizations against Torture. However, it has not changed for the better.
Oksana Chelysheva

Euro-Ichkeria

In the pages of the Caucasus Times, a well-known Russian commentator writing under a pseudonym examines the problem of Euro-Ichkeria Against the Emirate (my tr.). The article is simultaneously published by Prague Watchdog.

Finnish-Russian Civic Forum

From Helsinki, Finland, news of a recent Finnish-Russian Civic Forum that was held on Suomenlinna - also known as Sveaborg, or Viapori, the inhabited sea fortress built on six islands within the city limits - on July 3-4. Participants included the following:

Lyudmila Alexeyeva- veteran human rights activist, founder and Chairperson of the Moscow Helsinki Group, one of the foremost human rights organisations in Russia. Ms Alekseyeva is Cochairperson of the All-Russian Civic Congress and a Member of the Organising Committee of The Other Russia coalition.

Ivar Amundsen - Director of the Chechnya Peace Forum, based in London. He was friend to both slain journalist Anna Politkovskaya and former KGB officer Alexander Litvinenko. Mr Amundsen is a long-time campaigner for human rights.

Oksana Chelysheva - Deputy Executive Director of the Nizhny Novgorod-based Russian-Chechen Friendship Society, which was refused registration in Russia. The society was then registered in Finland. The organisation is active in protecting the rights of Russia's Chechen minority and promoting interethnic dialogue.

Andrey Dmitriev - Co-coordinator of the anti-Putin opposition's The Other Russia coalition in St Petersburg. He is the former leader of the now banned National Bolshevik Party in St Petersburg. Mr Dmitriev has been active in organising the recent Dissenters' Marches in St Petersburg.

Olga Galkina - Member of the Regional Party Bureau of the liberal opposition party Yabloko's branch in St Petersburg. She is also one of the leaders of Yabloko's youth wing.

Heidi Hautala - Chairperson of the Finnish-Russian Civic Forum. She is a Member of the Finnish Parliament, representing the Greens, and a former Member of the European Parliament. Ms Hautala was the Greens' candidate in the Finnish presidential elections in 2000 and 2006.

Neil Hicks - director of the Human Rights Defenders programme at New York-based Human Rights First. The programme assists human rights advocates under attack for their work. Mr Hicks is involved in campaigns including overseas missions, diplomatic advocacy, public education, and grassroots lobbying.

Mariana Katzarova - Founder and Director of the London-based peace group, RAW in WAR -"Reach All Women in War". RAW supports women human rights defenders in conflict areas. The organisation has recently launched a special Chechnya Project. Ms Katzarova is a former researcher on Russia for Amnesty International.

Andrei Kolomoysky - journalist at the Vyborg-based daily, Vyborgskie Vedomosti, specialising in political and cultural affairs, civic rights, and freedom of speech. In 2005, Mr Kolomoysky received the Danish Cultural Institute's prize, "Free Press in Russia". In Soviet times, he took an active part in St Petersburg's underground press ("samizdat").

Oleg Kozlovsky - Coordinator of the opposition youth movement, Oborona (Defence), in Moscow. Oborona is an active participant in the Dissenters' Marches. Mr Kozlovsky recently resigned from the Union of Rightist Forces (SPS) in protest at the policies of the party leadership.

Olga Kurnosova - Chairperson of the St Petersburg branch of the United Civic Front, led by Mr Garry Kasparov. Ms Kurnosova is also a Cocoordinator of The Other Russia coalition and an active organiser of the Dissenters' Marches in St Petersburg.

Ruslan Kutaev - Coordinator of the All-Russian Civic Congress, an umbrella organisation of Russian opposition movements, in North Caucasus. He is a Member of the Organising Committee of The Other Russia coalition. Mr Kutaev is a former advisor to late Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov.

Dmitry Lanko - Assistant Professor at the Department of European Studies of the School of International Relations at the St Petersburg State University. His expertise in Political Science spans throughout the Baltic region.

Laura Lodenius - Executive Director of the Finnish Peace Association. The organisation is Finland's oldest peace advocacy group in operation. The association unites a dozen peace groups in Finland.

Vladimir Lysenko - Co-chairperson of the liberal Republican Party of Russia (RPR), which was closed down by the authorities. RPR is co-chaired by Mr Vladimir Ryzhkov. Mr Lysenko is a former long-time Deputy in the State Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament. He is President of the Institute of Modern Politics.

Jukka Mallinen - poet and translator of Russian literature. His most recent translation is Russian journalist Valery Panyushkin's book, "Khodorkovsky: The Prisoner of Silence". Mr Mallinen is Chairperson of the Finnish PEN society and Deputy Chairman of the Finnish-Russian Civic Forum.

Yulia Malysheva - Chairperson of the Popular-Democratic Youth League, affiliated to Mr Mikhail Kasyanov's Popular-Democratic Union of Russia. Ms Malysheva is one of the organisers of the Dissenters' Marches in Moscow.

Alexander Mnatsakanyan - journalist who has worked as a war correspondent for various newspapers in Transdnestria, Abkhazia, and Chechnya. He has covered the conflict in Chechnya since the early 1990s. Mr Mnatsakanyan is responsible for the project on murdered journalists at the Moscow-based Glasnost Defence Fund.

Andrey Nekrasov - Russian documentarist and playwright from St Petersburg, most famous for his two films, "Disbelief" and "Rebellion: The Litvinenko Case". The latter, on the fate of the former KGB officer, Alexander Litvinenko, was screened at the 60th Film Festival in Cannes in May 2007.

Alexander Nikitin - Director of the St Petersburg branch of the Norwegian environmentalist organisation, Bellona. Mr Nikitin is a former submarine officer, who was charged with treason for contributing to Bellona's report on nuclear safety within Russia's Northern Fleet. He is Deputy Chairperson of the Green Russia fraction of Yabloko.

Grigory Pasko - free-lance journalist, specialising in environmentalist issues. As Editor of the newspaper of the Russian Pacific Fleet, "Boyevaya Vakhta", Mr Pasko disclosed the dumping of nuclear waste into the sea, for which he was convicted to three years in prison.

Yevgeny (Zakhar) Prilepin - Editor-in-Chief of the Nizhny Novgorod edition of "Novaya Gazeta". He is the author of several works of literature, including the novel "Sankya", which was shortlisted for Russia's Booker Prize in 2006. Mr Prilepin is a member of the banned National Bolshevik Party.

Aaron Rhodes - Executive Director of the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF), based in Vienna. The IHF monitors compliance with the human rights provisions of the Helsinki Final Act of 1975 and its follow-up documents.

Bart Staes - Belgian Member of the European Parliament, representing The Greens - European Free Alliance fraction. Besides environmental issues, Mr Staes has been active in promoting peace. His interests include Chechnya, Turkey, and the Balkans. He is former Chairman of the European Delegation to the EU-Russian Parliamentary Cooperation Committee.

Mikael Storsjö - Secretary of the Finnish-Russian Civic Forum. He is a vocal advocate of the right of the Chechen people to decide their own fate and an ardent critic of the ruling regime in Russia.

Nils Torvalds - long-time broadcast journalist. He works with the Finnish Broadcasting Company's(YLE) Swedish-language service. He served as YLE's correspondent in Moscow in 1995-1999. Mr Torvalds was recently elected Deputy hairperson of the Swedish People's Party.

Anu Tuukkanen - Country Expert at Amnesty International's Finnish section. She coordinates Amnesty Finland's campaigning on different countries. Russia is one of Amnesty Finland's ten priority regions.

Anastasia Udaltsova - spokesperson for the left-wing youth movement, Vanguard of Red Youth (AKM). The AKM is vocal in its opposition to the
policies of Russia's present government and has been an active participant in the Dissenters' Marches.

Furugzod Usmonov - contributor to the St Petersburg-based opposition newspaper, Delo. He has focused on the problems faced by Russia's ethnic minorities, especially those from Central Asia. Mr Usmonov has extensive knowledge about politics in both Russia and Central Asia.

Ksenia Vakhrusheva - member of the Coordinating Committee of the opposition youth movement, Oborona, in St Petersburg. Oborona is a movement of people who reject the injustices,corruption, and lies of officials.

Alexey Volynets - Editor-in-Chief of "Limonka", the newspaper of the banned National Bolshevik Party. The newspaper continues to be published despite an official ban. The name of the newspaper is a play on words on NBP's leader, Eduard Limonov, and is idiomatic Russian for a grenade.

The program of events (pdf) included a discussion of freedom of expression and "dissidentism" in Russia today, an inquiry into why the work of international human rights bodies is seen by the Russian government as interference in Russia's internal affairs, a screening of Andrei Nekrasov's film about the murder of Alexander Litrvinenko. My Friend Sasha, a discussion of whether a government based on the principles of law is really possible in Russia, and an examination of the present crisis in the North Caucasus, led by the Chechnya Peace Forum's Ivar Amundsen.

Caucasian Babel

For weeks now, a French organization calling itself “Association Marcho Doryila” has been advertising a forthcoming “Caravane Babel Caucase” a mobile festival of artists, performers, jugglers, musicians and others that is scheduled to travel from Paris to the Chechen capital Grozny during the months of April and May. According to the organizers, the aim of the project is “to rediscover out history and our roots and our common myths. To know one another and to share in order to respect and enrich ourselves.” Performances are planned not only in Grozny, but also elsewhere in Chechnya, and in neighbouring Daghestan and Ingushetia, with an emphasis on visits to children’s groups and youth organizations.

The well-intentioned venture has sparked a fierce debate within Chechnya and within the Chechen diaspora in Europe, with some Chechens - mostly adherents to the radical agenda of the rebel government of Dokka Umarov - vehemently opposed to the whole scheme, on the grounds that it will merely give support to Ramzan Kadyrov’s presidential regime, which receives at least nominal backing from Moscow. At the Daymohk website, the French philosopher Andre Glucksmann has been strongly criticised for lending his name to the venture, and “open letters” are addressed to him, taking him to task. His reply - in which he reminded his critics that he has been a supporter of an independent Chechnya for many years - has not met with satisfaction.

The most recent attacks on the project concern its formulation - several signatories to an article published on the Kavkazinfo website, which caters to the Chechen refugee community in Poland, have pointed out that the very spelling of the project’s name is wrong. On the French website it appears as “Marcho Dorilya”, while the correct Chechen spelling is “Marsha Dog1yila”. “Marcho” in Chechen means a “shroud” - and so the title, which should have the meaning of “Welcome, Guests” (literally "Come in Freedom") actually reads “Welcome, Shroud”. It’s also inappropriate for the greeting to be uttered by the guests - the hosts are supposed to say it. Whatever one’s views on the main issue, it does seem a pity that the designers of the French site apparently can’t at least see their way to correcting the mistake, which is now replicated in the recently-added Russian-language section.

This is an ongoing debate, and one which promises to play a part in defining Chechnya’s attitude towards the outside world

Shooting in Urdyukhoi

A news report which shows that atrocities by federal forces against civilians in Chechnya continue. The noncombatants in this case were three women gathering wild leeks (cheremsha) near their home village of Urdyukhoi in southern Chechnya.

An interesting but tragic detail not included in the Interfax report, but mentioned in a REGNUM bulletin cited by Lenta.ru, is that two of the women were apparently wearing camouflage jackets.

Military suspected of firing at noncombatants in Chechnya - ombudsman

GROZNY. March 24 (Interfax) - A group of soldiers suspected of firing at noncombatants has been detained in Chechnya, Nurdi Nukhazhiyev, Chechnya’s ombudsman, told Interfax.

“Law enforcement agencies arrested Lieut. Col. Alexei Korgun, the commander of a reconnaissance squad of the Shatoi military commandant’s office, and several of his subordinates,” the ombudsman said.

“Materials gathered by investigators show that Korgun’s group deliberately opened fire at women gathering wild leeks,” he said.

“This happened in the afternoon. The military clearly saw that they were females, and any mistake should be ruled out,” Nukhazhiyev said.

According to earlier reports, one woman was killed and two others wounded.

Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov held a conference in Grozny on Saturday, at which he instructed the Chechen prosecutor’s office, the military prosecutor’s office of the combined forces in the North Caucasus, and the Chechen police “to carry out an investigation into the death and wounding of the women.”