Chechnya: news | arguments | facts
23 January 2007 Over 600 militants surrender in amnesty offer
Over 600 militants have surrendered since an amnesty was declared in Russia last year, a law enforcement official said Tuesday.
A partial amnesty for militants and servicemen not involved in major atrocities during Russia's antiterrorism campaign in the North Caucasus was announced by Russian authorities July 15, 2006, following the killing of the region's most sought after terrorist, Shamil Basayev.
Colonel General Arkady Yedelev, a deputy interior minister, told a news conference that 554 of those who had surrendered gave themselves up in the Republic of Chechnya. "That is one of the brightest examples of positive work in the last year," he said.
Yedelev hailed the work of various non-government organizations, public institutions and councils of elders, which had distributed some 300,000 flyers announcing the amnesty around the North Caucasus republics.
The amnesty was initially set to last until August 1, 2006, but the deadline was eventually extended until January 15, 2007. Proposed by President Vladimir Putin, the amnesty was part of the Kremlin's offer of fair treatment for militants who agreed to lay down their arms.
However, it did not extend to those guilty of grave crimes, including hostage-taking and terrorist attacks, or foreigners and stateless persons.
The official also said the number of grave crimes had declined and that terrorists acts had decreased by 50%. "However, the problem still exists, because 101 out of 112 terrorist acts in Russia were perpetrated in the Southern Federal District," he said.
Although the active phase of the North Caucasus antiterrorism campaign officially ended in 2001, periodic bombings and clashes between gunmen and federal troops still disrupt Chechnya and nearby regions, including Dagestan, Ingushetia, Kabardino-Balkaria, and Karachayevo-Circassia.
The commander of Russia's Joint Forces in the North Caucasus, Colonel General Yevgeny Baryayev, earlier said about 700 gunmen continued to operate in Chechnya and neighboring regions.
RIA Novosti
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23 January 2007 Russia diplomats deny Chechen police version in journalist murder
The Russian Foreign Ministry has denied reports it told the U.S. Committee to Protect Journalists that the Prosecutor General's office is probing Chechen police officers in connection with the murder of investigative reporter Anna Politkovskaya.
"The claim of members of the Committee to Protect Journalists is absolutely untrue," the ministry information and press department told Interfax on Tuesday.
"In actual fact Committee members were given the following reply: The Russian Prosecutor General's Office is checking several theories of the murder, including one related to her work as a journalist. The Prosecutor General is monitoring the investigation," a ministry spokesman said.
Interfax
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23 January 2007 Police officer killed in clash with militant group in Chechnya ministry
A special operation continues in the Kurchaloi district of Chechnya to surround a militant group, Russian Deputy Interior Minister Arkady Yedelev told a Tuesday briefing in Rostov-on-Don.
"The operation has not been completed. The body of a dead militant was discovered on the scene of the first attempt at surrounding the militants. Steps are being taken to identify him, and the documents discovered in the dugout are being examined. The terrain in the area of the operation is difficult for a pursuit," he said.
Yedelev said that one police officer was killed and four wounded in the effort. The militants belong to the so-called southeastern front led by Khairulla Elmurzayev.
Interfax
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Issue 428
