14 March 2008, 11:23
Forced migrants in Chechnya deprived of their status
No temporary residence points for forced migrants (TRP) have remained on the territory of the Chechen Republic. From now on, the TRPs are officially referred to as the "dormitories" and those who live in them - as the "persons who need to improve their living conditions".
This has been relayed to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent by an employee of one of the local non-government organizations. The formal liquidation of TRPs may result in depriving the people residing in them of humanitarian aid.
"...Or they may be evicted from the premises they occupy for various reasons of purely formal character", he says. "Additionally, people residing in the "dormitories" will have to pay for such utilities as water supply, electricity and gas, while many of them simply can not afford it because they have lost everything as a result of war actions".
The republic's Migration Service officials have refused to comment on this. Nor could they answer the question how the loss of their official status may affect the situation of the forced migrants.
Earlier, Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov stated that, by the end of the current year, all the families who had lost their dwelling in the course of war actions would be settled. It is known from certain data that, until recently, 350 families of forced migrants resided in the TRPs located in the city of Grozny alone.
Author: Muslim Ibragimov, CK correspondent
