Reporters see Dagestani authorities' image losses in Kenkhi situation

The national factor is not the determining one in the situation with Ramazan Djalaldinov, an Avar, a resident of the Chechen village of Kenkhi. However, Dagestan authorities have suffered serious image losses in this case, said the participants of the project "Journalists' Games".

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in his video Djalaldinov told Putin that residents of the Avar village of Kenkhi, Sharoi District of Chechnya, cannot receive compensations for their destroyed houses without huge bribes. It was then reported that his house in Kenkhi was burned down at night on May 12; and information was received from Dagestan that some persons tried to kidnap Djalaldinov on May 15.

The sitting of the Press Club "Journalists' Games" on the topic: "Reports on violations of rights of ethnic Dagestanis in Chechnya as an information threat" was held in Makhachkala on May 29.

In situation with Kenkhi, Dagestani authorities have suffered serious image losses, when they preferred the "silent mode" and made two or three general statements, said Magomed Magomedov, an observer of the weekly "Chernovik" (Draft).

Dagestani authorities "could have become a hero, by defended their fellow countryman, being a fair judge and acting as a guarantor of defending and observing Djalaldinov's rights," he said.

Someone is deliberately trying to escalate tensions between the two republics and deepen the Chechens-Avars conflict, said the journalist Albert Esedov.

In the opinion of his colleague Sharapudin Magomedov, the talks about violations of the rights of ethnic Dagestanis, with the example of the situation of Djalaldinov, arise not so much because of ethnic intolerance in Chechnya, but because of authorities' policies.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.