Nartan conflict recalls the need for land reform

On November 9, a press conference was held at the Human Rights Centre (HRC) of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (KBR) on problems in the sphere of land relations; activists associate the attack on Adam Medaliev and the arson of his car with these problems.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on November 7, three masked men beat Adam Medaliev up right at his land plot in the village of Nartan; and at night on November 8, unidentified persons burned down Adam's car parked near his house in Nalchik.

The land conflict in the village of Nartan, where Adam Medaliev was beaten up, has drawn attention to the problem of many KBR villages – big tenants own all the farmland; and local residents have no room for their own farming. Ignoring the issue, which has already led to a series of acute conflicts, threatens the republic with a social explosion, participants of the press conference have stressed.

"The essence of this problem is that best arable lands occurred in the hands of a narrow circle of owners: former or current officials and their entourage; while ordinary citizens cannot get a land plot to feed their families. What happened to Adam Medaliev is directly linked to the land issue," said Valery Khatazhukov, the head of the HRC.

Nartan is not the only dwelling settlement with a land conflict; almost every KBR village has a similar situation, said Zhantemir Gubachikov, the head of the Public Committee "For Peace and National Accord in the KBR". "The situation in the republic is extremely tense; protest actions flare up in one village or another. The reason is that the land reform was not carried out in the KBR," Mr Gubachikov believes.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on November 9, 2018 at 11:44 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.