EU delegation visits Chechen refugee camps in IngushetiaRuslan Isayev, North Caucasus – On April 7 a delegation from the European Union, including the Italian and Greek ambassadors to Russia, visited a refugee camp in the Ingush town of Karabulak.
The EU representatives said they wanted to find out how humanitarian aid was being dispensed to refugees and how their return to Chechnya was being organized. Along with Ingush President Murat Zyazikov, they entered several tents to hold lengthy discussions with the refugees.
People living in the tent camp stated that for the time being they had no intentions of returning. “We want our Chechen officials to guarantee people‘s rights. Without that, very few of us will go back,“ an elderly refugee woman declared, adding that a majority of refugees share this opinion.
Gianfranco Bonetti, the Italian Ambassador to Russia, said that the EU is monitoring the situation and every effort will be made to secure conditions in Chechnya so that everyone could safely return home.
According to Bonetti, the main purpose of the trip was to assess the situation in the Chechen Republic. The delegation left the following day for Chechnya.
(T/J) |
