Summary of the main news related to the conflict in Chechnya. Compiled by Prague Watchdog.
Monday, March 17
At a meeting with Chechen religious leaders in Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that if the new Chechen constitution and the draft acts on presidential and parliamentary elections are approved in the March 23 referendum, Russia’s State Duma might grant an amnesty to those who were „misled“ in Chechnya.
Tuesday, March 18
Foreign Minister of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria Ilyas Akhmadov proposed a new peace plan for Chechnya, which is based on the replacement of Russian forces in Chechnya with international peacekeepers and subsequent demilitarization and establishment of UN administration in the republic.
Chechen human rights defender Imran Ezhiyev, who was kidnapped in Chechnya on March 15, was released near the Russian military base Khankala. It is not known who kidnapped Ezhiyev, who is the head of the North Caucasus section of the Society of Russian-Chechen Friendship and regional coordinator of the Moscow Helsinki Group.
Wednesday, March 19
The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) announced that it would send a small team of experts on a fact-finding visit to the Russian Federation on the occasion of the constitutional referendum in Chechnya.
Thursday, March 20
Two Russian helicopters Mi-24 went missing during a combat mission in southeast Chechnya.
Friday, March 21
No major events.
Saturday, March 22
No major events.
Sunday, March 23
According the the Chechen Election Committee, nearly 90 per cent of voters in Chechnya, as well as Chechen refugees in Ingushetia, took part in the referendum on the draft of the new Chechen constitution and bills on presidential and parliamentary elections. A crushing majority of them, about 96 per cent, voted for the adoption of the three documents, according to preliminary results, said the republic's election committee. Human rights defenders said that results were falsified. The Chechen resistance movement called the referendum a farce.
The views expressed on this web site are the authors' own, and don't necessarily reflect the views of Prague Watchdog, which aims to present a wide spectrum of opinion and analysis relating to events in the North Caucasus.
