|
|
|
|
TITLE: PACE Delegation Completes Chechen Trip |
AUTHOR: |
PUB: Gazeta |
DATE: January 17, 2001 |
|
Summary of Judd's trip to Chechnya On Wednesday the PACE delegation headed by Lord Judd returned from Chechnya to Moscow. The delegation's head Lord Judd said late Wednesday that in Chechnya he had heard a lot about the "difficulties the civilian population is faced with, including disappearances, maltreatment, harassment, extortion." Lord Judd emphasized that even in during war there are values that must be respected, and added that he repeatedly reminded Russian officials of this. Judd said he was glad he had the chance to discuss the real situation in Chechnya with high-place military officials. At the forthcoming January session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Lord Judd is expected to deliver his latest report on the situation in Chechnya. Russia's future status inthe Council of Europe directly depends on the conclusions Lord Judd will draw, based on what changes he has seen since his last visit to the Republic. The Assembly suspended Russia's voting rights last winter in protest against human rights abuses by the Russian military in the breakaway Republic. Lord Judd arrived in Chechnya on Monday. First he visited the Znamenskoye refugee camp in the Nadterechnyi district where he talked with the refugees who have been living in tents for many months. Lord Judd lamented the fact that people are forced to live in tents during the cold winter months in inhumane conditions and was perturbed that the chance for the refugees to return home is not imminent. The Presidential ombudsman for Checnhya Vladimir Kalamanov tried to object to Judd's gloomy estimations. Vladimir Kalamanov assured Lord Judd that many of refugees who live in camps could have returned to their homes in Grozny and other districts of Chechnya a long time ago. Vladimir Kalamanov expressed especial discontent with Chechen refugees stationed in Ingushetia, unwilling to return to Chechnya. Akhmad Kadyrov, the head of the pro-Moscow civil administration inChechnya, who met the to meet the PACE delegation in Znamenskoye, agreed with Vladimir Kalamanov. He said the authorities in neighbouring Ingushetia tend to over-dramatize the situation with refugees in order to secure additional federal budget funds for the republic. Akhmad Kadyrov assured Lord Judd that he has been negotiating a peace settlement with rebel field commanders. But, when the PACE representative called * on to Kadyrov to talk with Maskhadov, Basayev and Khattab, the head of the civil administration said he would not deal with any of them. On Tuesday morning Lord Judd attended the infamous Chernokozovo remand center. Russia's Justice Minister Yuri Chaika and Vladimir Kalamanov's representative in the Naursky district Musa Teziyev accompanied Judd on a tour of the prison and attempted to assure him that there are no longer any human rights violations there. However, women - picketers standing near the prison gate tried to refute Teziyev's assertions. They told Lord Judd that theirhusbands and sons, Chechens suspected of links with rebel formations, had been deported to Russia and disappeared without a trace.** Lord Judd talked to Chernokozovo convicts, as well. They did not complain much. "Prisoners with whom Lord Judd talked in the remand center told him that the conditions in the prison have improved and that detainees are no longer tortured," NTV Channel reported Tuesday. "However, according to prisoners, often their relatives are not allowed to see them." The European guests were told that the Naurskyi district court had been restored and began functioning, and allows suspects to defend their rights. From Chernokozovo Lord Judd flew to Grozny but he did not spend muchtime there. He briefly talked with a group of local residents and headed to the military base in Khankala where he meet with the commander of the unified federal forces' group Valery Baranov. The general showed the delegation land mines (booby traps), seized from rebels and said: "Only look, those rebels are animals. They do not spare anyone, neither the military, nor civilians."Lord Judd frowned as he looked at the devices but noted that, judging from what he had seen, Russian military did not spare civilians much either. He complained to Baranov about soldiers extorting bribes from civilians at the numerous checkpoints in the republic. Baranov objected and claimed the military prosecutors thoroughly investigate each violation committed by soldiers. The PACE delegates showed interest in the links between the military and civil administration, while the Europeans assumed that the civil administration did not have any real influence in the Republic. General Baranov said his subordinates did not interfere in the affairs of the civil administration and added that soon the government of Chechnya and the republic's militia would have allthe power. Later in the day the Council of Europe's group left Chechnya for Yessentouki, where the delegation held talks with the presidential representative in the North Caucasian district Viktor Kazantsev. According to official reports, at the meeting the parties discussed "measures for restoration of socio-economic sphere in Chechnya". Kazantsev emphasized that "PACE should help Russia in fighting religious extremism and terrorism." Lord Judd declined from sharing his impressions from the visit with reporters, but promised he would carefully analyze everything he saw and prepare a report on the situation in Chechnya for the January session of the Parliamentary Assembly. Lord Judd said the report would not, of course, imply that everything is fine in Chechnya, but promised that the delegation'sestimation would be as impartially as possible, and said he hoped it could help improve the life of the Republic's civilian population. END |