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28 February 2007 Hammarberg stunned by positive changes in Chechnya
Council of Europe Commissioner on Human Rights Thomas Hammarberg has said he was stunned by the changes that have occurred in Chechnya and particularly in its capital, Grozny.
Speaking to journalists in Grozny on Tuesday, Hammarberg said he had made a long trip around Grozny and several districts and had seen a lot of positive changes. He said he had been shocked by Grozny's reconstruction, especially the work done in the central part of the city, and that these changes had encouraged him.
Hammarberg said his predecessor, Alvaro Gil-Robles, had also repeatedly pointed out that the Chechen economy should be developed, and that he was pleased to see that those recommendations had been given proper consideration. He praised the Chechen people's desire to revive the republic's economy, create more jobs, and restore facilities destroyed by the war.
Hammarberg said he planned to visit the mountainous Vedeno district to meet with locals.
Interfax
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28 February 2007 Russian police kill two gunmen in Daghestan near Chechnya
Two gunmen were killed in Russia 's southern republic of Daghestan bordering Chechnya , police said.
The gunmen were killed in a private dwelling in a special operation, which left a police officer wounded. Police also confiscated an automatic weapon and a pistol from the scene.
Another two people who left the surrounded house just prior to the operation have also been detained, and police are investigating their possible involvement as well as the role of the house owner, police spokeswoman Anzhela Martirosova said.
Being a neighbor of Chechnya , Daghestan still suffers from a spillover of violence in the troubled republic, which remains disrupted by sporadic bombings and clashes between gunmen and federal troops, even though the active phase of the North Caucasus antiterrorism campaign officially ended in 2001.
A major terrorist attack on Daghestan occurred on Victory Day of May 9 in 2002 when a blast killed 43 people during a military parade.
RIA Novosti
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27 February 2007 Council of Europe human rights commissioner arrives in Chechnya
Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Thomas Hammarberg arrived in Chechnya for a three-day visit on Tuesday.
Hammarberg is to attend on March 1 a conference intended to evaluate the state of human rights in Chechnya and the first results of measures taken by the republic's commissioner for human rights, Chechen ombudsman Nurdi Nukhazhiyev told Interfax.
The official is also expected to meet with acting Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov to discuss the protection of human rights in Chechnya and further cooperation between the republic's authorities and the Council of Europe commissioner for human rights, he said.
Hammarberg will visit the base of an interior troops battalion, the republic's central hospital, a school, and a pre-trial detention center in Grozny.
The Council of Europe commissioner will also meet with local policemen and students of the Chechen State University and visit the republic's mountainous district.
Representatives of various non-governmental organizations from Moscow and other Russian regions have been invited to the human rights conference in Grozny, Nukhazhiyev said.
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Issue 436
