CHECHNYA LINKS LIBRARY

The Week in Brief: June 16 - 22, 2003

Summary of the main news related to the conflict in Chechnya. Compiled by Prague Watchdog.

Monday, June 16

Several hundred people demonstrated in Moscow against the war in Chechnya. The demonstration, which was combined with a rock concert, was called "Let's Stop the Chechen War Together" and organized mostly by Russian human rights activists.

Tuesday, June 17

Kidnappings are still continuing in Chechnya, and the number of cases has not declined, head of the Interior Ministry of the Chechen Republic, Alu Alkhanov, told a news conference in Grozny.

Wednesday, June 18

No major events.

Thursday, June 19

The election of the President of the Chechen Republic will take place in October and the election of the Parliament of the Chechen Republic will follow within three months, said Akhmad Kadyrov, head of the Moscow-backed Chechen administration. The exact date will be determined by a decree issued by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kadyrov added.

Ingush President Murat Zyazikov appointed Timur Mogushkov as Premier of the Ingush government, which was dismissed on June 2.

Friday, June 20

A lorry laden with explosives and driven probably by two suicide attackers hit the buildings of law enforcement agencies in Grozny. Up to some three dozen people were injured in the blast.

The Lithuanian authorities blocked the operation of Chechen and Islamist news and propaganda server Kavkaz-center, claiming they need to check the compliance of its content with the Lithuanian legislation, Kavkaz-center reported.

Saturday, June 21

The State Council of the Chechen Republic, which should - according to the Moscow-backed Chechen authorities - fulfil the role of a Chechen parliament until parliamentary election is held in the republic, elected Khussein Isayev as its chairman at its first session held in Grozny. Up until his election Isayev worked as the head of the Chechen section of the Russian Ministry of Property Relations. In the early 1990s he was a member of the Supreme Council of the Chechen-Ingush Soviet Socialist Republic.

The Chechen press published a draft of the agreement on the division of powers between the authorities of the Russian Federation and the Chechen Republic, in which the latter is defined as a democratic social state within the Russian Federation.

Russia's State Duma failed to elect a new human rights commissioner after Oleg Mironov's term of office expired (on May 22).

Sunday, June 22

The Russian Press Ministry shut down TVS, the last nationwide television station not controlled by the Russian government. The ministry stated that TVS cannot continue with broadcasting due to its overall crisis. TVS was replaced by a state-run sports channel.

(T)