Ingush President visits refugee camp in KarabulakTimur Aliyev, North Caucasus – Ingush President Murat Zyazikov today carried out an inspection visit to Chechen refugee villages in Ingushetia.
The Ingush President visited tent camp Bart, located near the town of Karabulak, where he showed interest in the life of its inhabitants. President Zyazikov assured the people that “the repatriation to Chechnya will be taking place solely on a voluntary basis”.
“If conditions for normal life are created in Chechnya, if schools operate, then refugees will start returning,” Zyazikov said. The Ingush President asked refugees to make up their mind on where “they want to move: either to a private sector or to temporary accommodation centres in Chechnya.”
“While federal troops are deployed in Chechnya, we won’t return there,” a refugee women said.
Together with President Zyazikov, they were Deputy to the Russian Presidential Envoy to the Southern Federal District Aleksander Korobeinikov and Russian Presidential Special Representative for Human Rights in the Chechen Republic Abdul-Khakim Sultygov who took part in the meeting as well.
“The heart of the matter rules out the possibility of forcible resettlement of Chechens from Ingushetia,” Sultygov said at the meeting with the inhabitants of the Bart camp.
Sultigov said that a sufficient number of temporary accommodation centres has been prepared in Chechnya and that their capacity suffices for all who want to move from Ingushetia.
According to the Danish Refugee Council, Bart is the largest tent refugee camp in Ingushetia. Some 4,000 people live there.
(T) RELATED ARTICLES:
· President of Ingushetia visits Chechen refugees in Karabulak, gives them assurances (PW; 12-11-2002)
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