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English Language Page Tanya Lokshina, Moscow Helsinki Group Since the start of the second Chechen war, the Republic of Ingushetia accommodated many thousand refugees from neighboring Chechnya. From 2001, both federal and regional Chechen authorities have been implementing a number of strategies (promising to help in Chechnya, or, in contrast, to cease support in Ingushetia being the most benign of them) compelling the refugees to return to the areas of their permanent residence. However, not many of the refugees decided to take this step for safety reasons and for the fear for their families. Despite the appalling living conditions in the tent camps, at least the security situation is incomparably better in Ingushetia. Many IDPs participated in the March Referendum, voted in favor of the new Constitution of Chechnya and the laws on the election of the President and the Parliament of the Chechen Republic with the hope that the creation of a new government would lay the ground for their return home. During my trip to Chechnya and Ingushetia in September 2003, I spoke with a few dozens of Chechen refugees about the forthcoming elections, attitudes to the candidates running for presidency and the course of the pre-election campaign. On 16 September I visited two refugee tent camps, “Bart” and “Bella.” We discussed many things, including the forthcoming elections in about three weeks. No interviewed refugee expressed the will to participate in the vote or put any trust in it. All unanimously said that initially they had intended to go to the elections and cast a vote for one of the three candidates — A. Aslakhanov, Kh. Dzhabrailov or M. Saidullaev. Saidullaev seems to enjoy the largest popularity according to the frequency of mentioning, but any of these candidates would have been accepted. At the moment, after Aslakhanov and Dzhabrailov’s “renunciation” (“they were pressured to pull out from the race,” the people repeated) and Saidullaev’s deprivation of registration, only Kadyrov remained, and the refugees refuse to vote for him. I will illustrate this conclusion by several quotes: “With Saidullaev or the other two [Dzhabrailov, Aslakhanov], we would have returned to the republic. If Kadyrov stays, there will be no good. There is nowhere to come back” (Satsita, 38 y.o.). “I wanted to vote for Malik [Saidullaev] — his hands are not bloodied. But now we will not go to the election. There is no reason.” (Sveta, 41 y.o.). “No refugee will go vote for him [Kadyrov]. For all this time, neither he nor his representatives have ever come to us. They say that after the elections, under Kadyrov`s regime, all the camps will be closed down. And people will have to return on their own. There will be no support. We are being persuaded: return now while you can get some assistance. But it is scary to go home. And especially with Kadyrov — we will return or go vote only under barrel of machine-gun.” Having noticed me scribling, the woman stopped suddenly, “Do not write these words about Kadyrov. They will come and kill me.” Finally she agreed to being cited after my assurance that neither last names nor tent numbers would be disclosed in the article. She also asked not to give her first name, to be on the safe side. So, I will give only her age – 39 years. All the people repeated the same, in the same wording, so it is senseless to give other quotations. They would be just variations on the same theme. And I was speaking with some tens of persons. Indeed, never have I come across such striking unanimity among a number of totally different people. It is worth mentioning that a vast majority of my respondents participated in the March Referendum. And they voted “ pro.” They put trust in the referendum. They believed that it might end the war, stabilize the situation, and then a President would be elected, one or another, but not Kadyrov. They were waiting for something. And now, “Which elections? These are not elections. A fraud. Nobody to elect… Nothing to hope for.” Back |
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