HRC "Memorial": violations of human rights in Northern Caucasus continue

Northern Caucasus remains one of the poorest Russian regions from the viewpoint of respect of human rights. This is the conclusion of the report entitled "Situation in Northern Caucasus. Autumn 2007 - Spring 2008" of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial", prepared for the regular round of EU-Russia consultations on human rights that took place on April 16 in Ljubljana.

At the same time, the human rights activists note that the situation in different Republics and Territories of Northern Caucasus is noticeably different, and emphasize that the continuing armed opposition here is telling extremely negatively on the situation with human rights in Northern Caucasus.

The report runs that armed opponents of the Russian Federation have created the underground "implanted" into a number of the Republics of Northern Caucasus and are actively using the tactics of attacks from ambushes, and blowing up mines and fougasses, frequently operating in dwelling settlements or in adjacent territories. Recently, militants have started to escape open collisions, restricting themselves by shelling from ambushes and attempts on power agents and officials.

The report pays detailed attention to the situation in three Republics of Northern Caucasus - Ingushetia, Chechnya and Dagestan.

Human rights activists treat the events in Ingushetia as "a bright illustration how inefficient under crisis the system of the so-called 'controlled democracy' is, under which the power bodies are formed not as a result of the nation's declaration of will, the opposition is deprived of legal chances to affect the situation, and human rights are trampled on."

The human rights activists conclude that the statements of power officials of Russia that the territory of Ingushetia is operated by the militants forced out from Chechnya have nothing to do with reality, since the overwhelming majority of the militants killed in Ingushetia and the persons arrested here on charges of taking part in illegal armed formations were local residents.

The HRC "Memorial" ascertains that from second half of 2007 the situation in the Republic has catastrophically worsened, and this is the result of both "unprecedented hitherto" activity of the militants, and with rough violations of human rights by the authorities in the course of "counterterrorist operations".

Human rights activists are also criticising the Republic's authorities, who, as the report speaks, not only fail to affect the situation and protect the population from arbitrariness of power agents, but on the contrary, force down civil protest actions and call the journalists, who tell truth about the situation in the Republic, "destabilizing force".

As to the Chechen Republic, human rights activists mark an appreciable stabilization of the situation here. The recent eighteen months have witnessed a radical decrease of the number of illegal detentions and kidnappings, the number of complaints of the residents of the Republic against tortures went down, the report asserts. The number of kidnappings registered by the HRC "Memorial" within the latest six months reduced by an order of magnitude in comparison with the similar period two years ago.

Speaking about Dagestan, human rights activists note that the political situation in this multiethnic republic has its specificities defined by the plurality of actors and assuming coordination of their interests at settling conflicts, which prevents establishment of the tough authoritative power in the Republic.

"However, this 'coordination of interests' is usually performed illegally and results in the fight of clans. The Republic witnesses regular political murders," runs the report.

The living standards in the Republic are among the lowest in the Russian Federation, and the swing of corruption is unprecedented even for the North Caucasian region.

Human rights activist further remark that for fighting against armed groups, essential power forces are concentrated in the Republic in charge of "counterterrorist operations" with rough violations of the Russian legislation and norms of the international law, by subjecting apartment houses to non-selective bombardment, illegally detaining and kidnapping citizens, keeping them illegally in pre-trial custody, applying illegal methods of inquiry and investigation, and committing extrajudicial executions.

By generalizing the information on the situation in Ingushetia, Chechnya and Dagestan, the HRC "Memorial" emphasizes that in the long-term perspective, peace and stability, and, therefore, also the observance of fundamental human rights, are possible here only provided the power bodies in the federation subjects are formed on the basis of real people's will.