Persoverzicht Tsjetsjenië - oktober 2012

• 2012-11-02
• Europa in de wereld

Persoverzicht Tsjetsjenië - oktober 2012

1 oktober 2012

Court bans anti-Islam film as extremist: A Grozny court has declared extremist the film 'Innocence of Muslims'. The decision was taken at an appeal by the Chechen Ministry for National Policy, Press and Information. In line with Russian legislation, a court decision on extremist material is effective on the entire territory of Russia. However, an official at the Russian Prosecutor General's Office called the Grozny court's decision "intermediate", saying that it aims to prevent the distribution of the film. Kommersant (Saturday's issue) clarifies that according to legislation, an appeal to recognize the film as extremist must be submitted by the prosecutor's office. Today, a Moscow district court is scheduled to consider the Prosecutor General's Office appeal for declaring the film extremist. (Gazeta.ru, Kommersant, MT)

8 oktober 2012

Chechnya-Ingush border dispute: The Russian North Caucasus republic of Ingushetia has made another step toward the demarcation of its border with Chechnya. The governmental commission to establish administrative border between Ingushetia and Chechnya has finished its work and submitted draft agreement to the Presidential envoy in the region Mr. Khloponin. Once Chechnya submits its proposals on the issue, a bilateral working group will develop a final variant of the border agreement. ( Kommersant )

9 oktober 2012

Groznymayor dismissed: Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has dismissed Grozny mayor Muslim Khuchiyev over violations of land laws and appointed Islam Kadyrov as acting mayor of Grozny. (Kommersant)

Army units involved in counterterrorist operations in North Caucasus: According to media reports, Armed Forces units are involved in counterterrorist operations in the North Caucasus from the beginning of October. Casualties are reported among military servicemen: at least four contract servicemen were killed and several others were wounded in operations in Dagestan and Ingushetia. (Gazeta.ru, Ekho Moskvy)

12 oktober 2012

Has unemployment really declined?:The Federal Service for Labour and Employment reports the lowest rate of unemployment for the last 10 years, namely 1.02 million people. Experts, however, note that the figure will be much higher if calculated according to the WLO standards, namely 5.4 million. They also warn that along with growing unemployment in the North Caucasus, high unemployment started to spread to Russian industrial centres, such as the regions of Chelyabinsk and Ivanovo. (NG)

22 oktober 2012

North Caucasus: 49 militants killed in September-October: (i) ITAR-TASS news agency refers to a representative of the National Antiterrorism Committee, who said that 49 militants were killed in a large-scale operation across the North Caucasus during September-October. (ii) Kommersant reports that three members of the so-called special battalion have been killed in Makhachkala (capital of Dagestan). The 'special battalion' was set up by militants to perpetrate attacks on law enforcement officers. (iii) Ingush leader Yunus-Bek Yevkurov has called on militants to lay down arms and announced the setting up of a hotline for members of illegal armed groups. (iv) Izvestia reports on proposals to ensure security of tourists in the North Caucasus. (ITAR-TASS, Izvestia, MT (Reuters), NG, Rosbalt)

25 oktober 2012

FSB officer, two militants killed in Kazan:(i) Two suspected militants and a FSB officer were killed in an operation at a residential building on Wednesday in Kazan (capital of the Republic of Tatarstan). According to law enforcement agencies, the militants killed could have been involved in the attacks on Tatarstan's Muftis in July. Police do not rule out that the militants had planned to perpetrate a terrorist attack in Kazan on 25 October (Vedomosti). Observers highlight the problem of the spread of radical Islam from the North Caucasus to other Russian regions. Vedomosti recalls that next year, Kazan will host the Summer Universiade 2013, adding that earlier this year, the Russian Government allocated additional RUR2 billion to ensure security during the event. (ii) Kommersant reports that the suicide bomber who detonated an explosive device at a police checkpoint in North Ossetia on 23 October has been identified as a resident of Ingushetia Adam Ekazhev. (Gazeta.ru, Kommersant, NG, RG, Vedomosti)

Putin hopes to develop good relations with countries in the Caucasus:(i) Meeting with South Ossetia de facto leader Leonid Tibilov yesterday at a residence outside Moscow, President Vladimir Putin expressed Russia's hope to build up good relations with its neighbors in the Caucasus. (ii) Dailies cite candidate for Georgia's PM Bidzina Ivanishvili, who accused Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili of unleashing the war in South Ossetia in August 2008 and expressed hope for restoration of trade ties with Russia. (Kommersant, NG, RG, RIAN)

26 oktober 2012

FSB: major terror attack thwarted in Kazan: The FSB said on Thursday that the two militants who were killed in an operation in Kazan on 24 October had been preparing a major terrorist attack in Kazan on 26 October during a Muslim holiday. (MT)

31 oktober 2012

Muslim cleric, his relatives killed in Dagestan; radical Islam spreading in Tatarstan:(i) Muslim cleric Karimulla Ibragimov, his father and brother were killed by unidentified attackers in the Dagestani town of Derbent on Tuesday. The Moscow Times reports that the crime was the fifth murder of a religious figure in Dagestan this year. (ii) Some of Dagestan's public organizations described as illegitimate an alternative Congress of Peoples of Dagestan held last week in Moscow. Kommersant recalls that delegates of the Congress called for Dagestani leader Magomedsalam Magomedov's resignation. (iii) In a front-page article, Nezavisimaya Gazeta reports on the spread of radical Islam among students of Tatarstan's universities. According to the daily, in Kazan, more than 150 young people are involved in activity of students' groups promoting radical Islam. (ITAR-TASS, Kommersant, MT, NG)