Extradition of Chechens aggravated the situation in PankisiPrague Watchdog correspondent, Duisi, October 7 – The news about the extradition of five Chechens from Georgia to Russia seriously aggravated the situation in Duisi and other villages in the Pankisi Gorge.
In the last few days, a spontaneous meeting has been held near the Duisi hospital. Dozens of refugees gathered under a home-made shelter to express their opinion on the extradition of the Chechens. They are waiting for a reaction of Georgian President Shevarnadze to an appeal communicated to him through the region’s prefect in Tbilisi on Saturday morning.
“We can no longer stay in the territory of Georgia. So far, we only feared Russian bombing of the Pankisi Gorge. Now we are afraid of Georgian authorities. The appeal calls for our immediate deportation from Georgia to third countries: This will be better for both sides,” said Grozny refugee Aslanbek Abdurzakov, a lawyer and a human rights defender.
“Georgian authorities gave us shelter, they welcomed us and now they stab us in the back. We put our confidence in them but we cannot trust them any longer. One day they hand over five people, the following day the remaining eight, and the next thing you know they start taking away our men and under-aged brothers.”
The statements addressed to the Georgian government are sharp. “We have never expected such a betrayal. What law justified Georgia to leave our brothers at the mercy of Russia?”
The refugees claim they can clearly see that Georgia is weak and resorts to sacrificing defenseless Chechens under Russia’s pressure. “Russia requires that Georgia accept its conditions. By agreeing to it, Georgia forces us to take these extreme measures,” thinks 20-year-old Anzhela Ozdamirova.
“This is Shevarnadze’s gift to Putin for their meeting. By such treacherous methods he is trying to save Georgia from Russia’s bombardment.”
According to the majority of refugees, the arrested Chechens committed no illegal actions in the territory of Georgia. Even if some of them protected their fatherland with guns in their hands, they surrendered to Georgian authorities upon crossing borders.
“They killed the mother or raped a sister or maimed children of each of the five arrested men. They are not terrorists, they just sought revenge for their country,” says Khadishat, a 60-year-old refugee woman.
It is for the first time in recent years that Chechens so openly and strongly accuse Georgian authorities in the exacerbation of the situation in Pankisi. “We said nothing when we almost died of hunger, we understood that Georgia is struggling with economical problems, but we will not bear this outrage by military forces and the authorities.” (A refugee’s monthly ration in Pankisi contains 13 kg of flour, 750 grams of butter, 1.75 kg of beans and a pack of tea. People have received no sugar for a year now.).
Women in refuge complain that since the beginning of the “anti-criminal operation”, the attitude of Georgian authorities to Chechens markedly worsened. “The situation is a total mess. When out for checks, Georgian soldiers kick out the doors and hold women and children at gun points. Tanks and armored vehicles move through villages at full speed, almost running over our children on their way to school,” says Fatima, a young woman holding a baby in her arms.
“The fate of our youth worries us the most. My brother was 15 when he came to Georgia. He is 18 now, and has no documents, Russian nor Georgian. Here in Georgia no one really cares about Chechen youngsters. They will have to go back to their home country across the mountains. There, left without documents at the borders, they won’t be able to prove to Georgian frontier guards or soldiers that they are not terrorists. And this means prison and extradition... If Georgia turns in the other eight detainees, none of us is guaranteed safety here,” Fatima said.
The main idea put forward at the meeting in Duisi was the necessity to leave Georgia. “Even if it takes going home on foot; they surrender us, betray us – death in the homeland is better than having to put up with such shame.” The presence of journalists pushed the emotions at the meeting to extreme. “We’d rather be killed and buried all together, than be tormented like this,” shouted women.
According to Dzharap Khangoshvili, the head of the local administration, the stories of refugee women are not far-fetched at all. “Almost all of what they say is true. I had meetings with military officials – we require them to treat refugees in a humane manner; there have also been problems with the police. But the main issue is the extradition of the Chechens to Russia. Local inhabitants fully support them – this is a betrayal,” says Khangoshvili.
“More than two hundred families have recently left Pankisi. They booked busses to get them back to Chechnya. I don’t know what route they took but I do know that they are probably better off in Chechnya now.”
Policemen and soldiers that accompany the journalists offer no comments to the complaints of the refugees. “We have no problems regarding the relationships with local inhabitants and the refugees,” said Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces of the Georgian Interior Ministry Georgi Shervashidze.
In the meantime, a mass protest against the extradition of Chechens to Russia has been going on at the seat of the Prosecutor General in Tbilisi. The mother of one of the eight men held in the Ortachala prison came to Tbilisi from Grozny to prevent the extradition of her son.
She refused to say her name but described her son as a 21-year-old, living in the Akhmetsky region with his wife’s family and having a refugee status. She insists that her son “is not a terrorist or a bandit” and she pleas with Georgian General Prosecution not to hand him over to Russian authorities. “I sent my son to Georgia to save him from Russian turmoil, and now they don’t even let me see him in prison,” the woman says.
On Saturday, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg recommended Georgia not to hurry with the extradition of the detained Chechens and Georgian human rights defenders are calling for the same. In the past two days, Nana Devdariani, Georgia’s state attorney, has held meetings with representatives of France, Denmark, Great Britain and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to negotiate the possibility of these countries providing asylum to the Chechen refugees from the Pankisi Gorge. (P/T) |
