All blood feudists in Chechnya to be reconciled till end of Ramadan, Muftiat asserts

In Chechnya, during the year the commission for reconciliation of blood feudists (blood feud avengers) managed to reconcile 812 families who were in the state of blood feud; and the last three of such families will be reconciled before the end of Ramadan, the Republic's Muftiat states.

The commission for reconciliation of blood feudists to reconcile families at blood feuds was established in Chechnya on August 27, 2010, on the initiative of the Republic's leader Ramzan Kadyrov, who urged all blood foes to forgive each other with the advent of the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

"During this year in our republic, due to the special commission for reconciliation of blood feudists, in total, 812 families, who were in the state of blood feud, were reconciled. And there were cases when the blood feud lasted for more than a dozen years, 30-year-old and 50-year-old unresolved conflicts occurred," a representative of the Muftiat of Chechnya told to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

The people of Chechnya show mixed reactions to the activities of the commission for reconciliation of blood feudists.

The Chechen residents, whose opinions on the activities of the Commission were asked by the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent, considered unacceptable to force hostile parties to reconcile through threats and blackmailing – and, according to the residents, such cases take place. Sooner or later, the conflicts "settled" in such a way can lead to new confrontation and new victims, they believe.

"At our place, the blood foes are being reconcile not so much by persuasion and explanations, as it should be, but by threats and blackmailing. The elders of the offended party, if they refuse to forgive the blood of their murdered relative, are openly said that they will have to forgive, because Kadyrov wants that, and otherwise not the murderer, but the relatives of his victim might have serious problems. I know some of such cases; however, people don't want to talk about it openly," said a local observer, who preferred to remain anonymous.

According to him, several families, after facing such a pressure, just moved from Chechnya.

Badruddin M., a resident of Chechnya, has noted in his comments to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that even the Soviet government failed to terminate the blood feud in Chechnya. "I don't think that our current government will succeed in it," he said.