Dagestani authorities persuade fire victims to postpone hunger strike

After meeting officials, Mokok villagers agreed to postpone their hunger strike planned for today till October. Their protest is caused by non-payment of compensations to fire victims. The Dagestani leader’s order is ignored, said the villagers.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on August 21, one year after the fire in the Dagestan village of Mokok, about 200 fire victims demanded to pay them their due compensations within a month. The burnt-down village "looks like the Syrian city of Aleppo," local residents sadly say.

According to Magomed Abdullaev, Director of Mokok School, the district leaders "have asked villagers to give time to republic’s authorities to solve the problem."

As noted by the lawyer Magomed Saidov, who is representing the fire victims’ initiative group, officials said that they "had done everything in their power" and said that the hunger strike "would negatively affect the image of Dagestan and the Tsuntin District."

"Officials assert that the case is hampered only because the Dagestan Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) fails to coordinate the victims’ list. The list has only 251 victims out of total 591. The MIA wouldn’t put them on the list on the pretext that they had not been in the village," said Saidov, adding that victims should receive 100,000 roubles per family member to reimburse the lost property.

Mokok villagers have added that children continue attending the school, which is in the state of emergency.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.