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English Language Page On October 6Russian Minister of Internal Affairs, Boris Gryzlov, reported to President Putin that on the eve of the presidential elections in Chechnya 13 bombs had been disarmed. “We received information that some people wanted to commit terrorist attacks, however all of them had been prevented,” said Minister at the meeting of the President with the members of the Government. Izvestia.Ru, Regions.Ru, RIA Novosti On October 6administration head of the Akhmetsky district in Georgia Nukri Alavidze stated that no polling stations had been set up in the Pankissi Gorge and that the Chechen refugees who live there refused to participate in the presidential elections which had been conducted in Chechnya on October 5. kavkaz.memo.ru On October 6Chairman of the Chechnya Election Commission Abdul-Kerim Arsakhanov reported that Akhmat Kadyrov may be considered elected president of Chechnya. According to preliminary results after half of the ballots had been counted, Kadyrov received over 82% of votes. The other six candidates together accounted for a little over 5% of votes. kavkaz.memo.ru On October 6 spokesman of the Information Department of the RF President Igor Botnikov said that about 120 representatives of foreign mass media and nearly 100 Russian journalists had been covering the presidential elections in Chechnya. Leading world mass media representatives had visited nearly all polling stations on the territory of the republic, save for some of them, high in the mountains, where the population is very scares. kavkaz.memo.ru On October 6the press service of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Chechen Republic-Ichkeria circulated a statement which resolutely condemned “the so-called presidential elections.” The statement maintains that the elections were a complete failure because there had been no voters. “Only Russian punitive units and several thousand Russian occupation structures had taken part in this theatrical performance.” “The Chechen nation,” the statement says, “despite intimidation and violence on the part of the Russian special services and Kadyrov’s criminal gangs, refused to play a role in the farce of a will expression. The Chechen people had fenced away the hand of Russian genocide and showed that Chechnya could not be enslaved.” kavkaz.memo.ru On October 6Press Secretary the US State Department, Richard Baucher, said that the presidential elections conducted in Chechnya did not meet international standards. “Unfortunately,” he maintained, “the elections and the political process that had led to them, did not bring about positive democratic results.” According to R. Baucher, “the absence of real contenders of A. Kadyrov and the pro-Kadyrov forces’ control over the mass media makes us draw a conclusion that these elections do not conform to the international standards of free expression of people’s will.” Baucher expressed his doubt that the elections “will be sufficiently legitimate and win confidence of the Chechen people in order to be able to promote the peace settlement process.” “Nevertheless we still believe that the Chechen conflict could be resolved by peaceful means, and we continue to insist that there is no military way to settle it,” stated the US State Department spokesman. kavkaz.memo.ru On October 6, during a news conference of the Chechnya Election Commission in Grozny, the “Al-Djazira” correspondent asked official to comment on Kadyrov’s portrait on the wall of the election precinct room, meaning that under the law all election propaganda materials should be removed on the election day. The Commission Chairman, Arsakhanov replied, “If the posters were lying around -- then it would be a violation, but when it is on the wall… there are lots of different things hanging on the walls.” kavkaz.memo.ru On October 6, the UK Ministry of Foreign Affairs made a statement that London supports the desire of the Kremlin to stop the conflict in Chechnya. However, he reminded that the situation in the republic cannot be resolved only by military means. Bill Rammel, spokesman of the Foreign Office, noted that the presidential elections in the republic would become an important step to continue the political process which had started with the referendum on the constitution. “However, we do have a serious concern regarding the conditions under which the elections had been conducted,” said the UK official. “That is why it is very important for the winner to show his readiness to work on restoring accord. It is essential for a genuinely open political process to emerge and for human rights to be observed.” kavkaz.memo.ru On October 7, the information center of the Council of NGOs of Chechnya reported that the majority of the Chechen refugees who live in tent refugee camps and settlements for temporary location in Ingushetia did not agree to take part in the presidential elections for Chechnya. To take forced migrants to Assinovskaya of the Sunzha district of Chechnya where a polling station was opened for them, special coaches were allocated. However, only the migrants from “Bart” camp in the town of Karabulak displayed some degree of understanding. But not a single person went to vote from refugee camps located on the outskirts of the village Sleptsovskaya of the Sunzha district. kavkaz.memo.ru On October 7Chairman of the Chechen Election Commission Abdul-Kerim Arsakhanov made public the preliminary results of the voting for the presidential candidates: Akhmat Kadyrov — 82.5%, Abdula Bugaev — 5.6%, Shamil Buraev — 3.4%, Khussein Biybulatov — 1.6%, Kudus Saduev — 1.3%, Nikolai Paizullaev and Avkhat Khanchukaev —0.8% each. The total turnout was reported as over 462,000 people. kavkaz.memo.ru On October 7former presidential candidate businessman Malik Saidullaev announced his decision to stop his business activity in Russia. The explanation was the absence of safeguards for business and individual rights. According to him, business in Russia cannot be separated from politics. In order to be engaged in business “one should be welcomed in the Kremlin.” Saidullaev’s decision was also influenced by the situation of him having been deprived of the registration as a candidate running for president of Chechnya. This was done under “a far-fetched pretext, with gross violations of the Russian legislation.” “I was treated in an unfair filthy way in this country. I cannot see any reason to stay here, provocation against me will continue in the future,” he added. He also said that, according to the data he had at his disposal, only 17% of voters had taken part in the voting . At the same time, Saidullaev congratulated A. Kadyrov on his victory in the presidential elections in Chechnya. “Confrontation is counterproductive for the interests of the Chechen people <…> It would be wrong to oppose each other when our people suffer. We have one Motherland. I will support all your initiatives which could increase well-being and prosperity of Chechnya.” kavkaz.memo.ru, Strana.Ru, Newsru.com On October 7the European Commission expressed doubt as to the presidential elections in Chechnya having been fair and free. Diego de Ojera, the Commission spokesman, underscored that one could talk about the success of the elections if a political decision was found which would satisfy the majority of the Chechen people. The OSCE Chairman, future NATO Secretary General Jap de Hoop Shefer stated that the votes had no choice. kavkaz.memo.ru On October 7former special representatives of the Ichkeria President A. Maskhadov in Russia, Salambek Maigov said that the elections would not influence the situation in Chechnya in any way. “It takes the Kremlin’s political will to change anything in Chechnya, said Maigov. “So far, I cannot see any real steps to be made by Moscow to reach a political settlement.” In Maigov’s opinion without peace talks between belligerent parties there can be no grounds to speak about any breakthrough in the situation and establishing normal life in the republic. kavkaz.memo.ru On October 8 Daid al-Barami, head of the representative office of the League of Arab States in Russia, stated that the elections of president of Chechnya had been “legitimate, free and democratic.” Strana.Ru On October 8 Anatoly Popov, head of the Government of Chechnya, accepted Kadyrov’s offer to head the Cabinet of Ministers again. The basic composition of the Government of the republic will not be drastically changed. kavkaz.memo.ru On October 8the European Union noted the fact that the presidential elections in Chechnya had taken place. It stressed some negative aspects of the process and expressed hope that the political settlement in the republic would continue. Such were the contents of a statement circulated by Italy in the capacity of the EU Chair. “The EU has been keenly watching the election process in Chechnya,” the document says. “The EU has already mentioned such negative facts as, inter alia, lack of real pluralism of candidates running for president, absence of independent mass media. Bearing this in mind, the EU expresses serious concern regarding the conditions under which the elections had been conducted.” The statement underscores that, “EU expresses hope that the process of political settlement will continue in Chechnya.” kavkaz.memo.ru Back |
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