From: MSN Nicknamepsychoteddybear24  (Original Message)    Sent: 11/21/2007 7:26 PM
Chechnya Weekly - Volume VIII, Issue 45‏
November 21, 2007

IN THIS ISSUE:
* Zakaev Resigns as ChRI Foreign Minister
* Kadyrov Holds Forth on Wedding Attire, Celebratory Gunfire and Hitler
* Newspaper: At Least 150 Servicemen and Police Killed in Chechnya So Far This Year
* Deputy Prosecutor General: North Caucasian "Terrorists" Have Received $1.5 Million
* Briefs
* "Chechen Reconstruction": The Facade of Normalcy
By Mairbek Vatchagaev
* The War on Terror in the North Caucasus Provokes Public Protests
By Andrei Smirnov
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Zakaev Resigns as ChRI Foreign Minister

The separatist Chechenpress news agency on November 20 quoted the Foreign Ministry of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria (ChRI) as saying that ChRI Foreign Minister Akhmed Zakaev had submitted his resignation to the Chairman of the ChRI Parliament, Zhalauddin Saralyapov. The ChRI parliament's press service confirmed it had received Zakaev’s resignation, Chechenpress reported. Zakaev’s resignation follows the emergence of a split between Dokka Umarov, the ChRI president and Chechen rebel leader, and the ChRI parliament over Umarov’s proclamation last month of a “Caucasus Emirate” (Chechnya Weekly, November 1, 8 and 15; October 25).
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty on November 20 quoted Zakaev as saying by phone from London that he would not be able to continue as ChRI foreign minister until the ChRI parliament forms a new cabinet and appoints a new prime minister. “I think that everything that is happening in the state should have a legitimate foundation; everything should be done in compliance with the law, and in this case, I think that until the parliament forms a new cabinet of ministers, neither I nor the other members of the cabinet can fulfill their duties and professional obligations,” Zakaev told RFE/RL. He said that his resignation “by no means” should be viewed “as a departure from the fight for our independence, our freedom, and for the recognition of our state.”

Chechnya is currently “occupied” but “not conquered,” Zakaev added. “That’s why people today are waiting for an opportunity, but they haven’t accepted this situation by any means. I am absolutely confident that the Chechen people have good reason to think that soon in the future they will gain independence and live in a free, democratic country,” he said.

Meanwhile, Chechenpress on November 20 published an appeal from the ChRI parliament to the Chechen people, which charged that a coup had been plotted against the ChRI government. While the statement did not specifically name the alleged coup plot’s perpetrators, it identified them as “those who for around ten years” challenged the authority of both the separatist parliament and Aslan Maskhadov, the late Chechen president and rebel leader. In a statement earlier this month, the ChRI parliament claimed that a group led by rebel ideologues Movladi Udugov and his brother Isa Umarov was behind the proclamation of a “Caucasian Emirate.” It accused this group of “ideological sabotage” during the period between the two Chechen wars and of “unleashing” the second Chechen war (Chechnya Weekly, November 15).

Kadyrov Holds Forth on Wedding Attire, Celebratory Gunfire and Hitler

Newsru.com on November 16 reported that Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov touched on a variety of issues during a press conference, including the issue of Chechen weddings – at which, he said, it is necessary to wear national costumes and limit celebratory gunfire. “Today I am very troubled by the clothes of our girls,” Kadyrov said. “Our brides at times appear before their mothers-in-law, the relatives of their fiancées, excuse me, practically naked and bare-headed. On the streets they appear in mini-skirts with loose hair. The mentality of our people does not permit this. I would very much like our Chechen girl to look like a true Muslim woman, observing the customs and traditions of our people. … We have already given instructions that national female attire be available at all of our wedding salons. The committee for youth affairs plans to invite well-known couturiers to tailor a common uniform for youth education institutions. Our youth, our girls are the prettiest and I would very much like this beauty to be in everything, including clothes.”

On November 14, Kadyrov told a government meeting that wedding salons in Chechnya must no longer sell or rent European-style wedding dresses and switch to selling “national wedding attire.” He also called on Chechnya’s culture minister to ensure that national dance and musical groups and other artists dress modestly (Chechnya Weekly, November 15).

During his press conference, Kadyrov said he had also given orders to limit celebratory gunfire at weddings. “In these cases weapons will be taken away and (their owners) will be fired from their jobs if they are employees of power departments,” he said. “But it would be incorrect for me to forbid shooting at weddings completely. I am not against our traditions, but it is necessary to limit the shooting. Two or three shots are enough, and not from large-caliber machine-guns.”

Kadyrov also addressed the problem of unemployment in Chechnya during his press conference, calling it a serious problem but insisting there have been improvements. “The level of unemployment at the start of the year was on the order of 70 percent,” he said. “During the year we were able to lower the figure by 20 percent.” Still, Kadyrov conceded that the problem of unemployment is extremely relevant and noted that the Chechen government has developed a program to “stabilize” the employment situation. The rebuilding and launch of the Chiri-Yurt cement factory, which according to Kadyrov can create roughly 10,000 jobs, and the construction of a factory for the Avtovaz automaker are “aimed at the creation of jobs and the development of the republic’s economy and industry,” he said. Kadyrov also emphasized that the republic’s leadership is paying special attention to developing the agricultural industry, which will also create jobs.

Kadyrov also touched on the issue of bringing ethnic Russians who left Chechnya back to the republic. He said that people had been forced to leave their homes because of the activities of such people as Boris Berezovsky and Shamil Basaev. “The people are not to blame for the events that took place in the Chechen Republic, and I understand people who want to return to their own homes,” Kadyrov said. “Believe me: I will personally make every effort so that any inhabitant who was forced to leave the republic because of the events that are well known to everyone can return if they want to.”

Speaking about the issue of security, Kadyrov said that that thanks to the “selfless work of the employees and leadership of the republic’s law-enforcement bodies,” Chechnya has been able to “resist the threat of international terrorism” and move further down the path of revival and economic development.