"Forced-voluntary return" of Chechen refugees from Ingushetia launched?Ruslan Isayev, North Caucasus – Although the new Ingush leadership states that Chechen refugees staying in Ingushetia will not be moved to their country by force, the situation in refugee camps has been markedly aggravating. Units of the 58th Russian army, which had recently been deployed into Ingushetia, and police squads from various Russian regions seem to have launched the ”forced-voluntary” return of Chechen refugees to their homeland by creating unbearable living conditions in Ingushetia.
On May 28, at about 4 o’clock in the morning, three armed men wearing masks and camouflaged uniforms burst into tent No. 3 in the ”Satsita” refugee camp in the periphery of the Ordzhonikidzevskaya settlement. At the moment, there was Musa Khasayevich Khasayev (b. 1943), his wife, their children and the family of their son Yakub Khasayev (b. 1972) in the tent. The attackers threw sleeping Yakub down from the bed. As a result, scared daughter Zalina (b. 1992) fell down from an upper bunk bed, sustaining serious bruises. Having scared young children and ransacked the tent, the masked men left the place.
The whole incident took place in the absence of the district policeman, who works in every camp and is obliged to be present during searches and similar acts. In addition, there was no representative of the camp administration on the spot during the attack. As the refugees claimed, the masked men came in three UAZ cars with number plates covered with mud.
At the same moment, another group of unknown men in camouflaged uniforms burst into the neighbouring tent No. 4, the home of the Amayev family with nine children, and took away Khasanbek Amayev (b. 1958) without giving any reason. He was released at about 10 o’clock in the morning.
The majority of Chechen refugees believe that the incidents in the ”Satsita” camp are the beginning of their ”forced-voluntary” return to Chechnya where they can’t be given even minimal security guarantees.
RELATED ARTICLES:
· Chechen refugees in Ingushetia are afraid of forced repatriation (PW, May 8th 2002)
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