Lawmaker appeals to Putin, accuses Ziazikov

An aide to a member of the Ingush legislature and three students at the Ingush State University were detained by officers of the Malgobek District Division of Internal Affairs (DDIA) for ?sticking bills of a provocative content" on June 11 and released in the evening on June 12.

This is what the DDIA told Caucasian Knot?s correspondent on June 14.

?Osman and Islam Merzhoevs and two girls were detained by police officers in the morning on June 11 and delivered to the DDIA,? a DDIA source said. ?The mentioned citizens were going about the city on a VAZ-2107 vehicle and sticking bills with texts of a provocative content in the streets. We let the girls go the same night, while we had to keep the young men for some while until the circumstances of the case were clarified.? Officers of the Malgobek DDIA withdrew some printed matter from the detainees, in which Musa Ozdoev, a member of the Ingush legislature, addressed the Russian president, the interlocutor said. In this address, Ozdoev subjects the current republican leadership to severe criticism. Besides, photocopies of some articles from Novaia Gazeta newspaper were found in the vehicle telling about an exacerbation of the situation in the republic. In doing so, as the students themselves confessed, they do not see any violation of the law in their actions. ?We just wanted the people to know what is going on in the republic currently,? they say.

Below is the open letter of Musa Ozdoev, a member of the Republic of Ingushetia People?s Assembly, to the President of the Russian Federation.

"Dear Mr. President!

I bring it to your notice that an absolutely inadmissible and highly explosive socio-political situation has presently taken shape in the Republic of Ingushetia.

The election of Murat Ziazikov as president of the Republic of Ingushetia, in which I took the most first-hand part, was at first viewed by the people of Ingushetia as a positive and encouraging factor. Murat Ziazikov who had not actually been known in the republic before was in fact elected thanks to your support and your authority as a strong, fair and wise leader of the great nation. I can say with confidence that the people of Ingushetia would never have voted for Ziazikov otherwise.

However, the very first steps Murat Ziazikov took as president of Ingushetia, especially his staff appointments, brought doubts as to his ability to manage the troublesome and neglected region such as Ingushetia. In particular, a substantial part of the newly-appointed top executives are people who were once dismissed for corruption and embezzlement.

The professionalism of these officials was clearly manifested during the summer flood in 2002 when most Ingush residents who really suffered were not able to get compensations for their lost homes and are still going round offices of high-ranking bureaucrats seeking justice. Meanwhile, the families and friends of some individual members of the Ingush government have built two-storied mansions (in addition to what they already had) using the funds allocated by the Russian government. In all his speeches, Murat Ziazikov claims that residents of Ingushetia received over three thousand new houses thanks to the federal assistance. However, the evaluation we conducted shows that no more than 400 houses were built in reality, over 100 of them in Nazran and the districts of Nazran and Malgobek where the flood had not caused any damage at all. That is, most funding provided by the Russian government was simply stolen by some individual republican officials. None of them has been held accountable to date. An audit by any more or less objective commission will confirm these facts.

Enumerating all drawbacks attending the activity of Murat Ziazikov as president of the Republic of Ingushetia can take long: decline in oil extraction, corruption, absolute irresponsibility of officials to the republican population, increase in especially grave crimes (such as murders, robberies, abductions and others), embezzlement of funding provided as part of the Russia's South federal target program (the glassworks, Kavdolomit facility) and so on.

The socio-political situation in the Republic of Ingushetia became especially aggravated after the federal and republican parliamentary elections on December 7, 2003. What was going on that day can actually hardly be called elections, as several days before they were conducted all chairs of electoral commissions and district and community heads of administration had received lists of those whom Murat Ziazikov had ?appointed? members of the Russian Duma and the Ingush People?s Assembly beforehand. Practically all of them, with the exception of the two or three most odious figures, were ?made? members of parliament by territorial electoral commissions and the republican electoral commission. Of course, such actions of the republican authorities caused mass indignation in the republic. The republican prosecutor?s office and Supreme Court were flooded by an inflow of complaints and statements about committed violations. However, these agencies, intended to protect and safeguard the legitimate rights of the citizenry, took no notice of them.

The disappointment of residents of the republic affected the voting process in the recent presidential election. In spite of the officially declared 97%, voters? attendance was in reality no higher than 5-10%. All the rest was ?massaged? by electoral commissions. It could not have been otherwise though, since Rashid Ziazikov, the Ingush president?s brother, headed the election headquarters, while Mr. Dudarov, chief of staff for the Ingush president, was the authorized delegate. These two had been the key figures in the falsification of the previous election campaign.

All this stepped up protest sentiments in the society, which is manifested in meetings that have occurred more frequently lately. When police were dispersing last meeting, a student one, four students got to hospital and another fifteen students were detained. Meanwhile, the fighting was provoked by police officers themselves.

I ask you to take into account that all violations going on in the republic are committed under the cover of your name, because every time the occasion arises Murat Ziazikov refers to your trust and support. We, in turn, are sure that the actual state of affairs in the Republic of Ingushetia is just not brought to your notice. I can assure that every fact mentioned in this statement can be confirmed by documents and witnesses.

Because the socio-political situation in the Republic of Ingushetia is almost critical, I ask you to set up a commission for an objective evaluation of the processes going on in the republic.

Musa Ozdoev, member of the People?s Assembly of the Republic of Ingushetia?