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English Language Page On October 2the border protection department of Georgia made a decision to open additional border check-points on the Russian-Georgian border and to increase the strength of the border guard contingent. This measure is accounted for by possible attempts to cross the border during the presidential elections. Similar measures are being taken by the Russian Federal Border Guard Service. Activities to reinforce the border are coordinated from both sides. At present the situation on the Russian-Georgian border remains stable, no movements of armed formations are reported. kavkaz.memo.ru For the period of October 2–6 restrictions are imposed on truck traffic by the Chechen Ministry of Internal Affairs. These measures are taken to prevent possible terrorist attacks on the eve of and during the presidential elections in Chechnya. Owners of trucks are recommended not to use republican highways during the elections, and traffic police have instructions to thoroughly inspect all trucks. kavkaz.memo.ru On October 2The RF Minister on Chechnya S. Ilyasov stated that the Chechen refugees staying on the Georgian territory will not take part in the presidential elections on October 5 because the “Georgian legislation does not provide for opening polling stations for refugees.” According to Ilyasov, there are about 2,000 Chechen refugees on the territory of Georgia, but not a single Chechen family living in Georgia wanted to return to their Motherland together with the Russian delegation which had been visiting the Pankissi Gorge. kavkaz.memo.ru As of October 2, many candidates running for presidency in Chechnya do not fully use the free TV and radio time they have been granted. The statistics are the following: the Chechen State TV and Grozny TV —free time is used by all candidates, paid time — only by A. Kadyrov. Free radio broadcast time is used 100% only by Sh. Buraev. A. Bugaev and Kh. Biybulatov have used only 40% of the allotted free radio time. K. Saduev has used only 30%. Not a single candidate used paid radio time. kavkaz.memo.ru October 2. In connection with the October 5 presidential elections in Chechnya students of the Chechen schools will have additional holidays. Nearly 90% of the 425 polling stations are located in school buildings. For the sake of security the decision was taken to suspend classes till October 7. All the premises which house polling stations have been heavily guarded 24 hours a day since September 27. The Chechen Ministry of Internal Affairs allocated 16,000 men to ensure security during the elections for president of the republic. kavkaz.memo.ru On October 3in the Baitarki village of the Nozhai-Yurt district combatants from M. Khambiev’s group tried to put a polling station on fire. However, local people managed to put the fire down. kavkaz.memo.ru On October 3vigilance of the local population helped disable an explosive device in the vicinity of Gerzel-Aul village of the Gudermes district. The time-bomb type device was fixed to a propaganda poster about two meters over the ground. kavkaz.memo.ru On October 3the Republican Boxing Federation of Chechnya announced over the local radio that, “Each boy born on October 5 in Chechnya will get a special prize — 10,000 roubles. In case of twins, the prize will double.” kavkaz.memo.ru On October 3, commenting on the refusal of OSCE and PACE to send their observers to the elections in Chechnya, A. Veshnyakov, Chairman of the RF Central Election Commission, stressed that the elections of the head of republic are not a federal scale elections, thus OSCE and PACE “could be understood.” kavkaz.memo.ru On October 4in the Sernovodsk village of the Sunzha district of Chechnya, at polling stations located on the premises of schools N#2 and #4 two bombs were disabled. (The devices were made of plastic containers filled with explosives and equipped with detonators with wire connections and a remote control). Both schools were blocked by Chechen special task police (stationed in Sernovodsk village for the election time). At the school #2, a bomb had been planted behind the school building, and the other one right in front of the school building, in a flower bed. As human rights monitors managed to find out talking to one of the special task policemen, the bomb locations were discovered after the interrogation of Bekhan Nakaev, who had been arrested a day earlier. He said during the interrogation that the bombs had been planted two week before, and he pinpointed the places. “Memorial” Human Rights Center On October 4in Serzhen-Yurt bombs were planted in three polling stations despite the fact that polling station are heavily guarded 24 hours and some of them by APCs and armored infantry vehicles. kavkaz.memo.ru According to the Chechen Ministry of Internal Affairs official spokesman Ruslan Atsaev on October 4, in the evening a man was detained in the Sernovodsk village of the Sunzha district. He was trying to plant a bomb with 5 kg of hexagen near a polling station. Strana.Ru As of October 4 more than 120 representatives of leading foreign mass media outlets were accredited to cover the elections in Chechnya. kavkaz.memo.ru On October 4all polling stations started to be heavily guarded. No truck are allowed on the roads. The police control long distance trains heading for Grozny, and commuter trains from Grozny to Gudermes. The mass media election propaganda is banned, as well as public meeting of candidates with voters. kavkaz.memo.ru On October 4the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights called the forthcoming presidential elections in Chechnya a “masquerade” with continuous human rights violations as a background. Human rights activists underscore that after the March 23 referendum, which had set the stage for the presidential elections, Chechnya began to witness increased crime against civilians, especially cases of kidnapping and taking hostages. kavkaz.memo.ru On October 4an additional polling station was set up for forced migrants living in Ingushetia in the village of Assinovskaya. kavkaz.memo.ru On October 4in Stambul at Eresin Hotel a conference was held to discuss the presidential elections in Chechnya. Over 100 people took part in the work of the conference, including MPs from Turkey, A. Maskhadov’s official representatives, spokesmen from the Human Rights Watch, as well as journalists from Turkish TV agencies, broadcasting companies, newspapers, and Chechen journalists. The conference was organized by the Turkish IHH humanitarian organization. All the speakers unambiguously stated that the October 5 elections were not legitimate. General Representative of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria abroad, Minister of Health of Ichkeria Umar Khanbiev stated in his presentation that despite any manipulations by Moscow in occupied Chechnya Kadyrov would never be “president of Chechnya, but he would for ever remain Moscow’ chief of station.” The Human Rights Watch spokesmen maintained that in Chechnya Russian troops committed military crimes against civilian population. In such a situation the elections are illegal and invalid. kavkaz.memo.ru During the night of October 5the buildings of polling stations #398 and #400 in the Octyabrsky district of the city of Grozny were fired at. The shooting at the building of the vocational school which housed the polling stations started at about 11 a.m. The attackers use automatic assault rifles and grenade launchers. As a result of the shooting, the building was slightly damaged, window panes were smashed. The room of the polling station also suffered. Another target for shooting was a polling station in the town of Alkhan-Kala. kavkaz.memo.ru During the night of October 4–5 some unidentified gunmen fired at two polling stations in the village of Assinovskaya of the Sunzha district of the Chechen Republic using automatic weapons. Nobody was killed or wounded as a result of the shooting. kavkaz.memo.ru Back |
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