Danish Refugee Council ASF / Danish People’s Aid North Caucasus Situation Report No. 36 DRC/ASF PROGRAM OF EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE TO THE VICTIMS OF THE ARMED CONFLICT IN CHECHNYA 30 April 2001 Latest deve lopments On April 5, Representative of the Chechen Administration in Moscow, Other News Shamil Beno, announced that by September 2001 the centers of temporary accommodation for Chechnya IDPs, staying in Ingushetia, would be created in Gudermes and Grozny. It is planned that the On March 28, at the session of centers will place approximately 40-50 thousand persons. According the Federal Council, the to the official information, around 60% of IDPs do not have any Minister for Federal Affairs Ethnic and Migration Policies, accommodation left in Chechnya, 6,6% have undestroyed houses, Alexander Blokhin, announced but prefer to stay in Ingushetia, whereas houses of 30% of IDPs are that the total number of partially destroyed. In Shamil Beno’s opinion, the IDPs prefer not to Chechen IDPs would constitute return to Chechnya because of the security situation, adding that a approximately 300-340 part of the IDPs explain their unwillingness to go back by possibility of thousand persons for this year. receiving humanitarian aid in IDPs camps in Ingushetia. He also He stressed that the State must expressed confidence that the humanitarian assistance should be “create conditions for IDPs’ rendered solely on the territory of Chechnya. return to the republic”. For this, the Ministry for Federal Affairs On April 9, the meeting between international NGO representatives has directed 500 million rubles. responsible for security aspects and officers of law-enforcement On April 9, the RF Prime bodies of Northern Ossetia took place in Vladikavkaz. The main Minister, Mikhail Kasyanov, agenda during the meeting was security situation in the North signed a decree, according to Caucasus and risk of criminal incidents against international which the RF EMERCOM and humanitarian missions working in the region. The officers of law- the World Food Program will enforcement bodies dealing with humanitarian agencies were lead negotiations to conclude promised assistance with vehicles and communication equipment. It an Agreement on cooperation was stated that the delegations of international organizations are also for humanitarian operation in planning to visit Chechnya and Ingushetia to consider questions of the North Caucasus. security for their representatives. On April 9, a visiting Russian Governmental official called on On April 12, the former Chairman of the Russian Parliament, Ruslan all Chechen refugees in Khasbulatov, announced about the plan of changing the present Azerbaijan to return home. status of the republic. According to him, “political self-determination of According to him, conditions would be created for the the people of the North Caucasus is historically inevitable” and “the refugees' return by the end of Federal center will soon face the danger of losing the whole North the year and questioned that Caucasus”. He offered to engage a third party in settlement of the Azerbaijan would be able to conflict “to force both rebels and Russian armed forces to agree upon offer better conditions. peace regulation”. On April 16, the Head of the Territorial Department of the On April 12, the Deputy Head of the republican administration, Adam Ministry for Federal Affairs in Deniev, was killed in Chechnya. According to the local law Ingushetia, Magomed Gireyev, enforcement bodies, Deniev was killed after a bomb attack on a stated that, on 22 March, television studio in the settlement Avtury. Mr. Deniev got cranial distribution of hot meals, and trauma and deceased on the way to hospital. The investigation is later on, delivery of bread were under way. stopped in the IDP compact settlements in Ingushetia. The suspension is due to the debt On April 14, the Deputy Prosecutor for the Chechen capital Grozny of the Federal Government to was assassinated by rebels in the second killing of a top pro-Moscow the suppliers of food products, official in the breakaway republic in 48 hours. The gunning down of which presently constitutes a Vladimir Moroz came as Russian President Vladimir Putin traveled to total of 500 million rubles. Chechnya for the first time since his election in March last year. It was the first time a government law officer of Russian origin On April 21, the Russian had been killed in Chechnya since the start of the latest Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs military intervention in October 1999. harshly criticized a resolution by the United Nations' Human On April 20, het United Nations strongly condemned Russia for its Rights Commission that “disproportionate” use of force in separatist Chechnya and called for censured Russia for alleged abuses in Chechnya and “credible criminal investigations'' into alleged war crimes by some blamed the United States for servicemen. The U.N. Commission on Human Rights approved a forcing the body to take a hard resolution presented by line. "Russia does not consider the European Union, overriding objections by countries including itself bound by the provisions of Russia and China. the unobjective and biased The public roll-call vote at the 53 -member state forum, holding its resolution" which the UN annual six-week session in Geneva, was 22 countries in favor and 12 commission passed on Friday against, with 19 delegations abstaining. The EU text also strongly at a meeting in Geneva, a Foreign Ministry statement condemned “terrorist activities and attacks...perpetrated by Chechen said. It noted that the resolution fighters” such as hostage-taking and sought the immediate release of was passed only after attempts all hostages. It also called on Russia to establish a national to reach a compromise had independent commission of inquiry, but did not endorse calls by failed and "the Russian human rights organizations including Amnesty International and Federation considers all Human Rights Watch to set up an international commission of inquiry responsibility for the breakdown into abuses. in making a consensus statement to lie with the United On April 21, Chechnya's the Chechen rebel leader, Aslan States." The resolution condemned Russia for "attacks Maskhadov, made a statement saying that the rebel leaders may against civilians," breaches of yield to Russia on some military and economic issues, but will never international law, summary give up the breakaway republic's independence claims. “Our executions and "forced independence is not negotiable, we are an independent state. We disappearances." It also have all the attributes of a state, including a president and a attacked the actions of parliament elected in 1997, whose legitimacy was confirmed by the Chechen rebels, who are entire world,” Maskhadov added. accused of torture, taking hostages and the indiscriminate According to a the Czech Government, Chechen asylum seekers, use of land mines. most of whom do not comply with the asylum requirements as On April 25, the lower Chamber defined in the UN Geneva Convention, will be granted a temporary of the RF Parliament held protection status in the Czech Republic. As opposed to asylum Hearings on Chechnya. On procedures, the temporary protection for the Chechen refugees can April 26, Deputy Director of the be terminated as soon as the situation in Chechnya improves Federal Security Service, also allowing the refugees to travel back home. The newly introduced known as FSB, accompanied provision concerns several hundred refugees, who will be provided by Heads of the North with accommodation, food, medical care and the possibility to work Caucasus regional and study. In the past the same measures were introduced in the departments of FSS met with international aid community in case of refugees from former Yugoslavia, mainly Bosnia-Herzegovina the town of Pyatigorsk, and Kosovo. Stavropol Krai. (see Annex. 4 for summary on the meetings). DRC/ASF Registration Ingushetia DRC/ASF continues maintaining and updating information on the Chechnya IDPs in Ingushetia. Presently, there are three DRC/ASF Information Centers (IC) established on the territory of Nazranovskiy, Malgobekskiy and Sunzhenskiy Districts of Ingushetia. The information collected by the ICs contributes to specify needs of IDPs in humanitarian assistance. Each IC serves around 300 people a day, equivalent to 60-80 families. In total, the number of people served is approximately 1000 persons a day, or 150-250 families. As of 15 April, the total number of the displaced registered with DRC/ASF in Ingushetia constituted 154,211 persons. (see Annex 1, tables 1, 2). During the second half of April, DRC/ASF Information Center started reporting on the growing number of Chechnya IDPs staying in the IDP compact settlements in Ingushetia asking to change information on their temporary accommodation in the computerized database. In the applications the compact-settlement IDPs request to register them as those staying with the Ingush host families. Also, there has been noticed the increasing number of the compact-settlement IDPs acquiring DRC/ASF to resume distribution of food assistance for this category of the displaced. Chechnya According to the latest update of the registration by DRC/ASF of 15 April, the total number of people registered by the agency in Chechnya constitutes 782,834 persons, having as many as 130,526 inner IDPs listed in the DRC/ASF registration database. The information is collected at three IC in Chechnya, placed in Groznenskiy, Gudermesskiy and Shalinskiy Districts of the republic. Five registration teams function inside Chechnya. The area of the teams’ work covers all the districts, except Naurskiy and Shelkovskoy. (see Annex 1, tables 3, 4). Distribution Ingushetia WFP/DRC/ASF Joint Program of Emergency Assistance Based on the supplies provided by WFP, a total of 79.2 MT of food items have been distributed by DRC/ASF from 1 to 30 April in Ingushetia (13,107.45 MT of salt, 43.691 MT of sugar and 24,900 L of oil).