From: MSN Nicknamepsychoteddybear24  (Original Message)    Sent: 2/1/2008 7:48 AM
Chechnya Weekly - Volume IX, Issue 4‏
January 31, 2008
 
IN THIS ISSUE:
* Ingush Authorities Put Website Owner on Wanted List
* Police and Protesters Clash Again in Nazran
* Nazran Designated a "Counter-Terrorist Operation Zone"
* Russian Forces "Accidentally" Shell Chechen Village
* Briefs
* The War of Words between Zakaev and Umarov
By Mairbek Vatchagaev
* Karachaevo-Cherkessiaia: A Small War with Big Repercussions
By Fatima Tlisova
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Ingush Authorities Put Website Owner on Wanted List
On January 30, just four days after heavily-armed police in Ingushetia clashed with demonstrators attempting to hold a protest demonstration in Nazran against Murat Zyazikov, the republic's president (see below), one of the protest's organizers, Magomed Yevloev, founder and owner of the independent Ingushetiya.ru website, confirmed that the Ingush authorities are seeking to arrest him. "Zyazikov wants to isolate me and thinks that by isolating me he will be able to close the Ingushetiya.ru site and end the protest mood of the people of Ingushetia, who are discontented with corruption and the situation in the republic," Newsru.com quoted him as telling REN TV by telephone. Yevloev also said that police in Moscow had searched his apartment there on January 30 and that Ingushetia's Interior Ministry had sent a "convoy" to the Russian capital to bring him back to Nazran.
Ingushetiya.ru reported on January 30 that the investigations department of the federal Investigative Committee's branch for Ingushetia is acting on behalf of Zyazikov, who, according to the website, is demanding that it "do whatever it can to contrive a reason to arrest" Yevloev and Maksharip Aushev, the well-known Ingush businessman who co-organized the January 26 protest. Aushev had been taken into custody by police on January 21 but was released just a few hours later after protesters went to the streets to demand his release (Chechnya Weekly, January 24). According to Newsru.com, Aushev and Yevloev are now being sought by the authorities as "suspects in mass riots."
In addition to being the proprietor of Ingushetiya.ru and a co-organizer of the January 26 protest in Nazran, Yevloev is a lawyer who organized the "I Didn't Vote" campaign in Ingushetia, which has collected statements from more than 90,000 of the republic's inhabitants—54 percent of its eligible voters—declaring that they did not vote in State Duma elections last December 2 (Eurasia Daily Monitor, January 11). The republican authorities claimed that more than 99 percent of the republic's eligible voters went to the polls on December 2 (Chechnya Weekly, December 6, 2007).
Reuters on January 31 quoted Yevloev as saying that Ingushetiya.ru was closed. He accused the authorities of hacking into the site to try and silence opposition. "This is the action of the Ingush authorities," he told Reuters. "They want to silence us and all the people of Ingushetia, but they will not succeed."
Police and Protesters Clash Again In Nazran
OMON riot police on January 26 forcibly dispersed protesters who gathered in Nazran to protest the policies and actions of the administration of Ingushetia's president, Murat Zyazikov. Kommersant reported on January 28 that while the demonstration's organizers officially billed it as being "in support of President Putin," its real aim was to demand once again Zyazikov's resignation. A similar protest, held in Nazran last November 24, was also broken up by riot police (Chechnya Weekly, November 29, 2007).
The independent Ingushetiya.ru website and other media reported that while thousands of demonstrators tried to get to Nazran's central square, the demonstration's planned site, the area was surrounded by heavily armed riot police and armored vehicles and thus only several hundred manage to get near the square. Protesters reportedly threw stones and Molotov cocktails at the riot police, who in turn beat protesters and fired over their heads, wounding one protester. At that point, the protest's organizers decided to call it off and reschedule it for February 23, the anniversary of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin's mass deportation of the Chechens and Ingush in 1944. "We understood that we couldn't force our way onto the square without a clash, that blood might be shed, so we decided to call off the demonstration," one of the protest's organizers, Ingushetiya.ru proprietor Mamgomed Yevloev, told Kommersant.
Still, Kommersant reported that the protesters then split into two groups, one of which headed for the Nazran police headquarters while the other headed to the Assa Hotel and the offices of the government newspaper Serdalo, both of which were set ablaze. According to police officials and Serdalo's chief editor, Khusein Shadiev, the protesters threw Molotov cocktails at both buildings. Shadiev said the protesters – who, he said, numbered around 200—were not "peaceful demonstrators" but "real [rebel] fighters," and that neither the military nor the police had tried to "prevent these outrages." According to Kommersant, the newspaper's offices were seriously damaged by the fire but the hotel escaped serious damage because the fire there was extinguished quickly. No one was hurt at either location. Kommersant quoted Svetlana Gorbakova, an aide to the head of the investigations department of the federal Investigative Committee's branch for Ingushetia, as saying that police found more than 100 unused Molotov cocktails in a garage near the newspaper's offices.
Magomed Yevloev, for his part, said the opposition was not responsible for the arson attacks or other acts of violence in Nazran on January 26. "The opposition has nothing to do with the mass riots that took place in the city," he told Kommersant. "Provocateurs acting in the interests of the authorities fought with the police and burned the buildings."
Police reported that 43 people were arrested in connection with the January 26 demonstration and violence in Nazran. Among those detained were two human rights activists—Memorial staff members Ekaterina Sokiryanskaya and Timur Akiev, who were held for 10 hours and interrogated as witnesses to “mass riots” —and 10 journalists, including correspondents for Ekho Moskvy radio, Novaya Gazeta and Radio Liberty. Kommersant reported that Mustafa Kurkiev, a correspondent for the newspaper Zhizn, was severely beaten by police after they detained him along with Said-Khussein Tsarnaev, a photojournalist for RIA Novosti. Kommersant quoted sources in the Zyazikov administration as saying the journalists had been "detained for resisting the authorities."
Human Rights Watch condemned the detention of the journalists in Nazran. “Ingush authorities are trying to silence dissent by stopping journalists from doing their jobs,” said Holly Cartner, Europe and Central Asia director at Human Rights Watch. She said it was "disgraceful" Kurkiev and Tsarnaev were "detained and ill-treated by police just because they were covering a protest,” adding that with tensions rising, Ingushetia "needs more independent reporting, not less," and that Ingushetia's government "should stop harassing journalists and ensure freedom of expression."
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) also condemned the detention of the journalists and human rights activists in Nazran, stating in a January 29 press release that, according to its interviews, two of the detained journalists had been "badly beaten." "We are appalled by the abusive actions of the Ingush authorities, which effectively prevented news of civil protests from reaching the rest of the world,” the press release quoted CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon as saying. Joel added, “The forceful prevention of journalists from covering important news is the reason why Russia’s North Caucasus has become a virtual black hole for information.”
Ingushetia's two main Internet providers blocked access to Ingushetiya.ru over several days prior to the January 26 protest in Nazran.
Nazran Designated a "Counter-Terrorist Operation Zone"
On January 25, just a day before the riot police clashed with demonstrators in Nazran, the Ingushetia branch of the Federal Security Service (FSB) declared several areas inside the republic a “counter-terrorist operation zone.” Prague Watchdog reported on January 25 that the cities of Nazran and Magas, the village of Barsuki and the environs of the village of Nesterovskaya were included in the "counter-terrorist operation zone."
As Russia Profile reported on January 25, declaring an area a “counter-terrorist operation zone” gives police and FSB agents the legal right to search people and vehicles entering that area or prevent them from entering it, and to enter people’s homes. The FSB said it took the decision to designate the "counter-terrorist operation zone" because it had received information about planned bombings and plans by the “gangster underground” to organize “attacks against administrative buildings” and provoke clashes with police. However, the fact that the planned site for the January 26 demonstration was included in the "counter-terrorist operation zone" suggests the real motive for the move was to foil the protest.
Meanwhile, security forces in Ingushetia's Nazran district killed two local residents during a "counter-terrorist operation" on January 30, Kavkazky Uzel reported. The website quoted a source in the republican prosecutor's office as identifying those killed as Ramzan Nalgiev and Dzhabrail Mutsolgov. According to the source, both were wanted members of "illegal gang formations" who had participated in a series of "sabotage-terrorist acts" in the republic.
However, Kavkazky Uzel correspondent Malik Suleimanov quoted relatives of the two as saying they had nothing to do with "illegal armed formations" or terrorist acts. "I have absolutely no idea why they were killed," a relative of Mutsolgov said. "Dzhabrail mostly lived outside the republic of late, doing business, and came home only last Friday for his older brother's wedding. He could not have had any ties either to militants or to terrorist acts. It's some kind of mistake." The relative said that soldiers had opened fire—without warning—on the car that the two were driving in near a gas station in the village of Surkhakhi and, after firing for 20-30 minutes, removed their bodies from the car, which they then set on fire.
In a separate incident on the evening of January 30, unknown assailants in a VAZ car fired on a police post located at the intersection of the Nazran-Ekazhevo road and the Kavkaz federal highway, also in Ingushetia's Nazran district. The attack wounded two policemen, one of whom later died.
Russian Forces "Accidentally" Shell Chechen Village
The village of Gekhi, located in Chechnya's Urus-Martan district, was shelled by Russian artillery on January 28 after rebels attacked a military unit in a neighboring district. Prague Watchdog reported on January 29 that guerrillas attacked the unit on the outskirts Bamut, located in Achkhoi-Martan district, 25 kilometers away from Gekhi. One soldier was killed and three wounded in the rebel attack. "In order to avoid unnecessary casualties among the troops, the military did not pursue the guerrillas, but called in artillery fire on the supposed path of their retreat," Prague Watchdog reported. "Later, in the middle of the night, artillery shells began to fall on the outskirts of Gekhi." The website quoted Gekhi residents as saying that more than twenty shells exploded in the village, and that several homes on the outskirts of the village suffered substantial damage, including broken windows, window frames and door frames.
Prague Watchdog reported that after the incident, representatives of Chechnya’s military command went to Gekhi and brought with them the soldiers directly responsible for the shelling. "The soldiers were all drunk," the website quoted Gekhi resident Vakha Kavkaliev as saying. "They swore they hadn’t shelled the village deliberately, and that it was all a mistake. They said they’d been given the wrong coordinates," Kavkaliev said that six of his houses and apartment buildings were damaged and that he was going to file a lawsuit against the military and seek compensation for moral and material damage.
Vremya Novostei and other Russian media on January 30 quoted Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov as saying about the incident: "Today is not 1999, there was no reason to use artillery; eight or nine bandits are not grounds for employing artillery … I don't think this is a mistake or carelessness, it's a criminal violation of military discipline … This incident risks seriously undermining the trust of ordinary people in the authorities. The damage to the population has to be restored, the investigation must be pursued to the end and those responsible must be punished."
Meanwhile, a Russian serviceman and a Chechen police officer were killed along with two rebels in a clash near the village of Gordali in Chechnya's Nozhai-Yurt district on January 27, Prague Watchdog reported.
Briefs
-Chechens Unhappy Street Renamed for Russian Paratroopers
According to Prague Watchdog, many residents of Chechnya are less than happy about the Grozny administration's recent decision to change the name of Ninth Line Street in the Chechen capital's Staropromyslovsky district to "84 Pskov Paratroopers Street," in memory of the 84 Russian paratroopers killed in a battle with Chechen rebel fighters in the republic's mountainous Shatoi district in February 2000. "In 1994 the Russian army came to us to ‘restore constitutional order’ and left two years later, having killed and maimed tens of thousands of people," one Chechnya resident, Kharon Dikaev, told the website. "In 1999 they returned and carried out another massacre here, killing, maiming and abducting far more people than in the ‘first war.’ It’s no secret that the forces who handed out the most brutal treatment to the population were precisely the soldiers of the special divisions—the paratroopers, spetsnaz, OMON riot police and so on. And now the naming one of the streets of our capital city in their honor is, I believe, a genuine blasphemy and mockery of our people. This is a most shameful step by the city authorities."
- Kadyrov Praises Putin and his Taste in Successor
In an interview with Ekho Moskvy radio on January 30, Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov, who was one of the most ardent backers of President Vladimir Putin remaining in office and even said he should be made president-for-life, praised Putin's presumptive heir, First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. "He is one of the people closest to Putin," Kadyrov said. "He worked with him, they know one another, they speak the same language." Stating that Putin picked the "right person" to continue his policy, Kadyrov predicted that Putin in his new role as prime minister will complete what he set out to do "and we will have the most prosperous nation in the world and, as he said, we will be among the top ten or five or three of the best, and will be leading among nations in all respects." Kadyrov concluded: "This is my conviction; I am sure that if he said it, it will be achieved."
The War of Words Between Zakaev and Umarov
By Mairbek Vatchagaev
During a recent press conference, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that traveling to the Chechen Republic without protection is still not feasible (RIA Novosti, January 23, 2008). This statement stands in sharp contrast with the copious cheerful statements made by the pro-Moscow Chechen leadership. By saying what he said, Minister Lavrov has de facto admitted that eight years after the start of the second Chechen war and six years after the President Putin’s announcement that the Chechen war was over, the republic is still not safe enough for reporters and foreign nationals to move around freely [1].
All travelers to Chechnya must have prior permission from the Russian Foreign Ministry and be accompanied by military/security personnel from special units of the Federal Security Service (FSB) to prevent impromptu contacts with or questions from the public. Interviews are allowed only with officials in Ramzan Kadyrov’s government. The security detail also makes sure that the foreign visitors do not look around and that they see only what they are supposed to see, such as freshly painted and putatively restored buildings and multiple pictures of Putin and Kadyrov.
These rules are yet another confirmation of the views voiced by the many analysts who disagree with those who say that the absence of numerous reports of military actions in Chechnya is essentially proof that the resistance in Chechnya and North Caucasus has been crushed. The effects of the news blackout imposed on Chechnya and the ban on foreign visitors with less than complete loyalty to the Russian government are only skin-deep. The developments unfolding in the very core of the resistance movement demonstrate that things are about to get more intense—not just in Chechnya, but in the entire North Caucasus region.
Against this backdrop, over the last three months, the two sides of the Chechen resistance movement have been engaged in a war of words on the Web. The split between the democratic wing represented by Akhmed Zakaev and the radical faction led by Dokka Umarov has been traumatic, and the unwillingness of either party to compromise is pushing both into mutual accusations of betraying the interests of the Chechen people.
Dokka Umarov, who assumed leadership of Chechen resistance movement after the death of Abdul-Khalim Sadulaev in the summer of 2006, has failed to live up to the standards set by his predecessor. In contrast to those who served before him, he did not enjoy much of a reputation with the neighboring jamaats and was always forced to make concessions to the representatives of ethnic jamaats of the North Caucasus. One of these concessions has led to transformation of their entire movement into an extremely radical and religiously inspired force, which the previous resistance leaders never allowed to happen.
This change has cost Dokka Umarov the allegiance of some resistance fighters, who interpreted this as a betrayal of those who died fighting for Ichkeria, not for the green banner of Islam. Using their Internet resources, the so-called democratic wing, nicknamed “Eurochechens” by the radicals, launched a massive propaganda campaign against all those who they believed were behind the idea of the Caucasus Emirate [2]. According to Akhmed Zakaev, this was the project of Movladi Udugov, his brother Issa, Islam Khalimov and Vice President Supian Abdulaev. To support his argument, Zakaev used the transcripts of Aslan Maskhadov’s past speeches containing criticisms of these individuals. In these addresses, the president described in the most unflattering terms those who moved abroad and began working against him by trying to push him toward a purely Islamic platform.
These quotes became a reliable weapon for those who oppose Islamization of the resistance movement. In an interview with Radio Liberty, Akhmed Zakaev accused his opponents of acting on the FSB’s orders and said he had evidence to prove it [3].
And with regard to his longtime acquaintance Dokka Umarov, who has failed to stand up to the influence of Udugov and Khalimov, Zakaev has embarked on a path of confrontation that leaves less and less room for mutual recognition and collaboration to form a united front against Russia—especially after Zakaev declared Dokka Umarov to be a traitor to the Chechen people’s interests (Chechen.org, October 30, 2007).
Akhmed Zakaev was joined by several resistance commanders, including Amirs Hairullah and Mansur. He was also supported by Chechen deputies Lyoma (Zhalautdin) Saralyapov and Dokka Amagov, who became spokespeople, of sorts, for the Ichkerian Parliament (most of whose members are based in Europe). Issa Munaev, a popular former commander of the Southeastern Front who used to fight under the command of Aslan Maskhadov and currently lives in Denmark, became another unexpected ally. Amid the growing rift, each side has formed its own governments, each of which is striving for legitimacy in the eyes of the Chechen people as well as the international community. The support of Uvais Akhmadov, the most protocol-minded Chechen jamaat leader, has become another important weapon in Zakaev’s arsenal; Akhmadov accused Umarov’s supporters of working for the FSB and negotiating with it, which he said he could prove with existing audio records.
In turn, the opposing side unleashed a vicious anti-Zakaev campaign based on the claim that the truth belongs to the fighters on the ground and not to those leading a safe and happy life in Europe. The most commonly heard accusation against Zakaev is that he had been hatching designs to organize a government in exile even before Dokka Umarov unveiled his own plans. Umarov’s actions became a sort of a catalyst for the former’s role as a democratic leader of Chechnya.
Unexpected support for Umarov came from Khozh-Akhmed Nukhaev, who for several years has been keeping a very low profile in Chechnya’s mass media. He called Umarov “a real man” and supported his choice of an Islamic development path for Chechnya (Kavkazmonitor.com, January 9, 2008). In an attempt to one-up Akhmed Zakaev, Umarov issued decrees ordering the investigation of the deaths of former Chechnen presidents Aslan Maskhadov and Abdul-Khalim Sadulaev and intimated that the role and responsibility of Chechen representatives abroad has to be examined as well. The Emirate’s supporters also pointed a finger at Zakaev’s connection with Boris Berezovsky, who they believe was one of the organizers of the Chechen war.
In a way, what happened had to happen: two divergent ideas for the future of Chechnya could not remain together long—at some point they had to part ways because their visions of the future Chechen society are radically different and entirely incompatible.
Regardless, Dokka Umarov needs Akhmed Zakaev no matter what happens, given that no one will want to deal with someone who declared war against the entire world and primarily against Europe and the United States. In turn, Akhmed Zakaev needs Dokka Umarov, because without actual military commanders on the ground— not European refugees—he will be seen as nothing but a standalone politician; Zakaev needs Chechen commanders he can represent at the negotiating table. A sample model for the Chechen resistance today is the Irish Republican Army (IRA), which combined the political wing of Sinn Féin with an intransigent military section that staged assaults against the government. This model of mutually complementary factions can also be used in Chechnya.
Since the end of January, both sides have de-escalated their rhetoric somewhat; however, it can hardly be called a truce. In all likelihood, both sides are preparing for the next wave of accusations soon to be unleashed through websites controlled by the parties. In addition, the radicals and their spiritual leaders have not yet realized that their actions lead to a dead end that will lock the Chechen struggle into regional boundaries; a dead end that will cause the decline of the resistance movement, whose ranks include degreed intellectuals who cannot fail to understand that they cannot recreate a perfect model of an Islamic state today using the time of Prophet Muhammad’s life as model. Time and circumstances today dictate different problems that cannot be solved locally, particularly in Russia, where no more than 10-15 percent of the population follows Islam.
Dr. Mairbek Vatchagaev is the author of the book, "Chechnya in the 19th Century Caucasian Wars."
Notes
1. Putin announced the end of war and the beginning of troop withdrawals from Chechnya during his annual address to the Federal Assembly on April 18, 2002.
2. These websites are www.chechenpress.com, www.chechenews.com and www.nmayd.com.
3. A transcript of this interview can be found at http://www.chechenpress.org/events/2007/10/23/05.shtml.

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