23 June 2008, 13:26
Residents of Chechnya are sceptical on commission for searching missing people
People in Chechnya think that the appeal of the Republic's Ombudsman Nurdi Nukhazhiev to Russian president Medvedev with a request to set up an interdepartmental commission in charge of searching those residents of Chechnya who were kidnapped or regarded to be missing will not bring any serious results. In their opinion, solution of this problem needs involvement of the international organizations called to defend human rights and freedoms.
Aslambek Apaev, expert of the Moscow Helsinki Group for Northern Caucasus, has noted: "Establishment of such commission, even at the federal level, will be fruitless. Medvedev's retinue is composed of 'Putin's team'; all the same, they won't let doing anything, since this war had been triggered by them; thus, they should share responsibility for the atrocities committed here. I agree that a commission for searching the kidnapped and missing residents of the Chechen Republic should be created, but only with participation of independent human rights organizations and international institutes dealing with defence of human rights and freedoms. Only this sort of commission can be efficient."
According to the official data, the number of those who disappeared in the course of "restoration of the constitutional order" and "counterterrorist operation" in Chechnya reaches five thousand persons.
