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TITLE: Europe Wants Probe Of Chechen Grave |
AUTHOR: Yuri Bagrov |
PUB: The Associated Press |
DATE: March 1, 2001 |
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VLADIKAVKAZ, North Ossetia - A top European human rights official met Wednesday with the head of Chechnya's Kremlin-appointed administration, while a government official said that 20 more bodies had been found over the past day in an abandoned village outside Grozny. Helicopters clattered overhead and snipers were posted on the roofs of nearby buildings as Alvaro Gil-Robles, the Council of Europe's human rights commissioner, met with Akhmad Kadyrov in the Chechen government administration building in Gudermes, the republic's second-largest city. Special forces troops ringed the building, and many employees were ordered to take the day off, said a Chechen government official who spoke on condition of anonymity. Gil-Robles urged authorities to carry out an evenhanded investigation into who was responsible for the deaths of people whose bodies were discovered over the weekend in Dachny, an abandoned village near a federal military base outside Grozny, Interfax reported. Citing unnamed military sources, Interfax reported that 10 more bodies had been found in the area over the past day. But the Chechen government official said that in fact 20 bodies had been uncovered Tuesday, bringing the number of bodies found in Dachny to 36. Military authorities have identified three of the bodies. Originally, military officials suggested that the Dachny corpses had belonged to rebels who had been killed in battle. However, the human rights group Memorial said the three bodies that have been identified are those of civilians who had been arrested by Russian servicemen and never seen since. Gil-Robles called for careful investigation of all civilian complaints of human rights violations, Interfax said. "People won't trust in the authorities until they see the first results of legal cases," he was quoted as saying. However, he added that for the first time, he felt "a sincere desire in Chechnya to be done with illegality," Interfax reported. During the meeting, Kadyrov assured Gil-Robles that military forces will begin withdrawing troops from Chechnya in March and reduce the number of checkpoints on roads, Interfax reported. Russian officials announced the gradual pullout in January. Television reports Wednesday showed Gil-Robles speaking to refugees and reviewing conditions at the Severny refugee camp northeast of Grozny. Meanwhile, in Moscow, the federal minister for Chechnya, Vladimir Yelagin, held a session of the government commission for rebuilding the republic. Yelagin told reporters after the meeting that the commission had decided to set up a special group to monitor the transparency and safe passage of humanitarian aid to Chechnya, Interfax reported. Yelagin said he had discussed the creation of such a group with Gil-Robles on Tuesday and welcomed Gil-Robles' suggestion to include a Council of Europe representative in the group. Yelagin also said the commission had decided to create a system of tracking funds and materials allocated for the reconstruction of Chechnya, Interfax said. A working group including members of various ministries and agencies is to start functioning March 15, the report said. END |