Refugee camp Bart dismantled in IngushetiaTimur Aliyev, North Caucasus - The refugee camp Bart, located near the Ingushetian town of Karabulak, was totally dismantled on March 1, the deadline for eliminating of all Chechen refugee camps in Ingushetia as set by the Moscow-backed Chechen government in mid-January.
"The last twelve tents were dismantled today," said Akmed Tomov, deputy head of the Ingushetian Migration Service, and added that 68 lorries were allocated to transport the refugees' belongings.
According to Tomov, during the past few months approximately 100-110 refugees left each day. "Now it's Satsita's and Sputnik's turn," he said, referring to the last two remaining tent camps.
"For those who want to stay in Ingushetia permanently, we provide them with accommodation in Nazran. However, the bulk of them head for Chechnya and only 15-20 percent remain here," Tomov noted.
Migration officials refuse to admit to the allegations that they had pressured the refugees to leave. "They’re going voluntarily; we received no specific plans or deadlines for dismantling the camps. And as soon as all the people leave, the camps will be shut down," said Ivan Pomeshchenko, head of the Moscow Work Group for the Liquidation of Tent Camps in Ingushetia.
Nevertheless, human rights defenders insist that some form of pressure had been applied. "Authorities promised the people money and even began paying them compensation for the houses that were destroyed in Chechnya," said Ruslan Badalov, chairman of the Chechen National Salvation Committee.
Zarema Khaskhanova, an ex-Bart resident, does not believe that her family will have a better life in Chechnya. "They promised us accommodation in a temporary accommodation center in Volnaya Street in the Oktyabrsky district of Grozny. I don't know what awaits us there, but it’s not possible to stay here any longer. Kadyrov is said to have persuaded international organizations to transfer the distribution of relief aid to Chechnya, which means that no food will be distributed here in Ingushetia," she said.
Bart was the very first tent camp to be built in Ingushetia for Chechen refugees. According to the Ingushetian Migration Service, by late 1999 there were nearly 6,000 people living there.
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· Last winter in Ingushetia (January 14, 2004)
· Refugee camp Bella dismantled (October 1, 2003)
· Chechen refugee camp Iman in Ingushetia fully dismantled (December 4, 2002)
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