Nukhazhiev accuses European politicians and human rights defenders of jaundice to Chechnya

The delegation of the UK Parliament, headed by Lord Judd, former PACE Rapporteur on Chechnya, finished its visit to the Chechen Republic. The meeting of the delegation with Ombudsman in Chechnya Nurdi Nukhazhiev was on the brink of cancellation, since the latter wanted to refuse to meet the British MPs in protest against the attitude of the UK Parliament to Iraq and Afghanistan.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the Lord Judd's delegation came to Chechnya on February 15 with the aim to get acquainted with the situation in the republic, including observance of human rights.

The ITAR-TASS reports with reference to Nukhazhiev that the Chechen mentality, traditional hospitality and the respectable age of Lord Judd did not allow them to refuse from meeting the visitors.

During the meeting, the Ombudsman expressed his discontent with some international organizations, which "make use of double standards" in relation to such concepts as human rights.

"The events of the last two decades have demonstrated that the demand to respect human rights often transformed into an instrument for achieving one's political and economic aims. A classic example is the war in the former Yugoslavia, which was accompanied by roughest violations of human rights," said Nukhazhiev, in whose opinion a similar state of affairs is now observed in Iraq and Afghanistan. He reproached the West of indifference to ordinary people in these countries.

The Ombudsman has also noted that there were cases when in relation to Chechnya human rights were used as a tool to press on Russian, and, in particular, on Chechen authorities. He said: "We face attempts to monopolize the sphere of human rights sphere in Chechnya, and segregate NGOs into 'friends' and 'foes', which is categorically unacceptable".

"What we saw in the republic is, no doubt, a progress; and it could not but tell positively on defence of human rights, including the rights to housing and education. We've come here not to criticize the authorities, but because we are not indifferent to the fate of the Chechen people," the "Polit.Ru" quotes Lord Judd.

In reply to positive references of the British politician about the changes in the life of the republic, Nukhazhiev said that human rights problems were not easy to address, and it took a lot of time. He has stressed the importance of human rights issues for local human rights activists and authorities and added that the input of some international organizations into Chechnya was not as great as it could have been.

According to his version, the attitude of human rights advocates, public figures and politicians from Europe to Russia, and to Chechnya in particular, is prejudiced, and only local officials are really interested in addressing domestic problems.

"I was kidnapped three times and exposed to torture; many problems faced by our citizens are quite familiar to me. Defending Russia's integrity, our first president Ahmat Kadyrov sacrificed his life, as well as more than a thousand law enforcers, one third of heads of administrations and churchmen. But for some reason this fact is forgotten by human rights activists and public figures from Europe," the Chechen Ombudsman said.

Besides, he expressed his bewilderment and discontent with the still outstanding promise of the Commissioner of the Council of Europe for Human Rights, who had intended to help, back in 2004, to organize a laboratory for identification of exhumed bodies. However, so far, nothing has been done. And this is just one example, Mr Nukhazhiev has emphasized.

Today in the morning, the British delegation departed from Airport "Grozny" to Moscow, the "Grozny-Inform" Agency reports.