03 June 2008, 22:39
Residents of Chechnya are indignant with removal of deportation victims' memorial to the garbage dump
In Chechnya, the conflict continues, caused by the intention of the authorities to remove the Memorial erected in 1992 in the Chechen capital in memory of the victims of 1944 deportation to a city suburb. People are revolted with the fact that the place allocated for the new memorial is now a garbage dump.
A number of human rights and nongovernmental organizations are preparing an appeal to the Republic's leaders. "We want to address our leaders and ask them to give up the idea to dismantle the monument, and we plan to start gathering signatures under this appeal," said Shakhman Akbulatov, head of the office of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" in Chechnya, in his conversation with the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.
Human rights activists assert that the explanations that the memorial "does not match" the city restoration plan are far-fetched and have nothing to do with reality. They resolutely stand against removal of the memorial.
Many residents of the Republic are also negative to the authorities' intention to dismantle the monument, viewing it to be a mockery over the victims' memory. However, people fear to protest openly.
Author: Muslim Ibragimov, CK correspondent
