Summary of the main news related to the conflict in Chechnya. Compiled by Prague Watchdog.
Monday, May 13
No major events.
Tuesday, May 14
Colonel Yuri Budanov, the former commander of the 160th tank regiment, who is accused of kidnapping and murder of Chechen girl Elza Kungayeva as well as of abuse of power, was not in control of his actions during his deed, medical experts of the Serbski Institute of Forensic Psychiatry told the Rostov-on-Don military court.
Russian human rights organisation Memorial said that the Order No. 80, issued on March 28 2002 by the commander the combined Russian forces in Chechnya Lieutenant-General General Vladimir Moltenskoi and aimed at higher transparency of Russian mopping-up operations in Chechnya, has not prevented Russian soldiers from committing new abuses.
In the final communiqué of the Ministerial Meeting of the North Atlantic Council in Reykjavik, NATO calls on Russia to find a prompt and lasting political and peaceful resolution to the conflict in Chechnya, and to respect and protect the human and legal rights of the population. At the same time, the document expresses support to Russia's right to protect her territorial integrity, and recognise her responsibility to protect all her citizens against terrorism and criminality.
Wednesday, May 15
The pro-Moscow Chechen government has decided that all Chechen refugees staying in tent camps in neighbouring Ingushetia would be repatriated by this summer, Premier Stanislav Ilyasov said after a meeting with a delegation of UN workers in Grozny.
Sulim Yamadayev, former Brigadier-General of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria and the third of the three Yamadayev brothers who fought against Russians in the first Russian-Chechen war (1994-96), was appointed Chechnya's Deputy Military Commander.
Thursday, May 16
Russian President Vladimir Putin said he had signed an order which extends the powers of the head of Chechnya's pro-Moscow administration, allowing him to independently appoint government members as well as local administration heads. The post of Chechnya's pro-Moscow Prime Minister, however, still has to be agreed with the Russian Presidential Plenipotentiary in the Southern Federal Region, Putin added.
Friday, May 17
No major events.
Saturday, May 18
No major events.
Sunday, May 19
Russian ombudsman Oleg Mironov warned the authorities against hasty repatriation of Chechen refugees from Ingush refugee camps and expressed doubts that the necessary conditions for the returnees would be created by this summer.
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.
