Problems with creating civil society in ChechnyaTimur Aliyev, North Caucasus - On July 3, members of the Chechen intelligentsia and various civil groups gathered in Grozny at a meeting organized by the Cultural Center “Lam” entitled, “Obstacles That Prevent a Civil Society Being Formed in Chechnya.”
According to Edilbek Khasmagomadov, historian and Lam member, there once was a civil society in Chechnya called Mountain Free Society, where all people were equal. But the first imams, beginning with Sheikh Mansur, fought against it because it did not suit the interests of the state.
Kyuri Idrisov, a psychiatrist, is convinced there is no civil society here because the populace does not consider Chechnya their commonwealth.
Nadirsolt Elsunkayev, a political scientist representing the Centre for Humanities, insists that the obstacle to creating a civil society in Chechya is that Russia doesn’t have one.
“After the referendum we became a part of the Russian political landscape and so now Russia influences us. And as Abdurakhman Avtorkhanov once said, the nations of Russia cannot win freedom because none exists in Russia itself.”
According to human rights defender Shakhman Akbulatov, member of the human rights center Memorial, without the rule of law there can be no civil society. And it cannot be created in Chechnya due to several factors: war and destruction are still ongoing; people continue to struggle for survival; society was degraded and has become passive; and the government is not interested in creating a civil society.
“First and foremost,” he added, “it’s necessary to stop the war; and then islands of civil society could be created that would be strenghtened and reinforced by current NGOs.” (H/E,T)
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