CHECHNYA LINKS LIBRARY

The Month in Brief - March 2006

March 2

Vakhid Murdashev, one of the aides of Aslan Maskhadov who were detained during the operation against the President of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria on March 8, 2005, was moved by unknown people from Chernokozovo to another prison, stated Murdashev's defence lawyer, adding that it took place shortly after Murdashev talked with Council of Europe Commissioner Alvaro-Gil Robles during his February 25 visit to the prison.

March 3

The third round of EU-Russia human rights consultations took place in Vienna.

The Russian-Chechen Friendship Society (ORChD) was notified of the termination of the criminal case on their alleged tax evasion. ORChD and human rights defenders had considered the accusation as part of pressure on one of the few independent Russian sources of information on Chechnya.

March 4

Ramzan Kadyrov, First Deputy Prime Minister of the Moscow-backed Chechen government, became Prime Minister after the local parliament unanimously voted on his nomination as Premier and then the Moscow-backed President Alu Alkhanov signed a relevant decree.

March 6

Odess Baysultanov, who was in charge of the affairs of the Moscow-backed Chechen President and government, replaced Ramzan Kadyrov as First Vice-Premier.

March 7

The Danish Refugee Council (DRC) resumed its humanitarian operations in Chechnya, which were suspended a month ago following a ban by the Moscow-backed Chechen officials.

March 10

The Moscow-backed Chechen Premier Ramzan Kadyrov told journalists in Gudermes that about three thousand policemen, mostly former guerrillas, had started a round-up operation against Chechen guerrilla leaders in southern Chechnya and that over 7,000 guerrillas had laid down arms since 1999.

Khamzat Ibragimov, head of the Chechen Academy of Science, died after an illness, according to a report by the Russian-Chechen Information Agency.

March 12

RFE/RL reporter Andrei Babitsky was questioned by representatives of the Russian Prosecutor General's Office about his connections to Chechen guerrilla commander Shamil Basayev, whom he interviewed in 2005, and to Chechen guerrilla commander Dokku Umarov and the exiled Chechen resistance leader Akhmad Zakayev.

March 14

Salavdi Reshidov replaced Visradi Anasov as Agriculture Minister in the Moscow-backed Chechen government, reportedly for health reasons.

March 15

The Daymohk website posted a private video clip showing the Moscow-backed Chechen Premier Ramzan Kadyrov with two half-clothed girls, thus discrediting him.

March 16

The Moscow-backed Chechen parliament rejected this year's draft budget, which was prepared by the cabinet of the then Premier Sergei Abramov, and claimed that it has to be boosted from the current 19 billion roubles.

March 20

Ramzan Kadyrov, the Moscow-backed Chechen Premier, called for the creation of a free economic zone in Chechnya.

March 21

The Moscow-backed Chechen parliament asked the federal government for the right to keep Chechen oil profits in the republic instead of transferring them to Moscow for redistribution. The deputies' requirement includes a majority stake in Chechen oil company Grozneftegaz (now Chechnya holds 49 per cent of shares, while Russian state-run company Rosneft controls 51 per cent), and a transfer of the oil extraction licence from Rosneft to Grozneftegaz.

March 22

Chechen Labour and Social Development Minister Magomed Vakhayev proposed to amend the republic's constitution, namely to remove of the age threshold for a presidency (now 30 years) and bring some passages into harmony with the federal laws.

Ruslan Aliyev, the head of Dagestan’s Botlikhsky district, was fatally shot in Makhachkala.

March 27

Pediatrician Leonid Roshal said that the strange disease in Chechnya's Shelkovsky district might have been caused by unknown poisonous substance, not stress.

March 28

The Interior Ministry of the Chechen Republic announced that Sultan Gelishkanov, former head of the State Security Department of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, voluntarily surrendered.

The problem of disappearances of people in Chechnya cannot be solved by local authorities, stated Chechen ombudsman Nurdi Nukhazhiyev, adding that a special commission has to be created on the federal level.

March 30

Dukvakha Abdurakhmanov, speaker of the Moscow-backed Chechen parliament, stated that all federal troops, except border guards, could be withdrawn from Chechnya because they had been replaced by Chechen forces and are not necessary there any more.

Compiled by Prague Watchdog. Along with these monthly summaries, we also publish weekly summaries, distributing them on Mondays to the subscribers of our free weekly newsletter.

(T/B)