Ramzan
Kadyrov Issues Threats to Memorial
On July 3, 2010 in an interview to TV channel “
In today’s
In the first half of 2009 the authorities of
the
A year has passed. We observe similar
tendencies. Public statements announcing human rights defenders “the enemies of
the people, enemies of the law, enemies of the state” can have new tragic
consequences.
We would also like to note that in this
interview Ramzan Kadyrov vividly demonstrates the discrimination of women in
This statement of Kadyrov, as well as his words
about Memorial and human rights defenders are conducive to inciting hatred and
the practice of illegal violence in
The full text of the interview with Ramzan
Kadyrov in Russian can be found at Memorial website (Memorial
comments in footnotes). The translation of passages regarding Memorial
and discrimination of women is attached.
03.07.10. TV channel “
Correspondent: We have questions, which are being
asked by the people and which have generally been accumulated. Your opponents
say that you take the responsibility for making difficult political decisions…
R. Kadyrov: Are you talking about those venal journalists
who for money write anything and human rights defenders, who get their kopejk
from the West and say what it needs? And opponents… whom do you mean?
Correspondent: those whom you have just mentioned…
R. Kadyrov: ….they are not my opponents, I consider them
traitors, betrayers. They have sold the idea of motherland, the idea of the
nation. If they speak of me like that… If they told me: Ramzan, here you are
mistaken…yes, it happens that I am mistaken, but I am not doing it
intentionally. This is not me… or be it a policeman or an official. He is
working, he is building and in the process he is making mistakes. People adopt
laws, you understand? There are lawyers who bypass these laws. There was one
statement on TV, as an example lets take Khuchiev[1]
and the prefect of Staropromyslovsky district. So they invited people who are accomplices of
terrorists, of Wahhabis.[2] They invited people who
helped their children and said: “You are accomplices, because you are bringing
food to your children, money and cartridges. You work with us in the administrations,
in healthcare institutions. You take money from us and give it to them, you use
our services- take pensions, subsidies for unemployment. And you send this
money to the forest, and because of that we have terrorist acts here”. They
were told that they would be deprived of all benefits- oh, and here the human
rights organizations have started to raise the alarm. Khuchiev said this, said that…
Instigate a criminal case! What? Is Orlov a greater patriot of my republic than
myself? He is more concerned about my republic? I have lost everything. My dear
persons have been killed. Be it Orlov, be it woman or man from Memorial in Gudermes,
or someone else… what have they done for the republic??? They are getting big
salaries from the West and in order to report on their activities they write all
kinds of nonsense and filth in the Internet. That is why they are not my
opponents. They are the enemies of the people, enemies of the law, enemies of
the state.
Correspondent: In the city there were incidents
when girls without headscarves were shot at with paintballs. There were gossips that this was done with
your consent[3].
R. Kadyrov: Even if
it were done with my consent, I would not be ashamed. I
looked into this issue.
Who was shot at? Naked woman, who swallowed some kind of medicine?
In fact, it turned out that these painted women, had been several times warned.
After such an incident, she should have disappeared from Earth, closed herself
in her house and never come out, because she had behaved in such an
inappropriate way that that such thing happened to her. She should have been
ashamed to speak about it at home. How would she look in the face of her
brother? “I was half naked, my belly was open, a skirt two fingers long, a
transparent T-shirt…” But I haven’t seen those who were shot at. People talk
about it.
Correspondent: upon your consent?
R. Kadyrov: How can I allow to shoot at people
with paint?
Correspondent: And you do not know who is doing
it?
R. Kadyrov: I don’t know, but when I find them-
I will express my appreciation!
July 8, 2010
[1] The city mayor
(head of administration) of
[2] On Aril 7,
2010 the Chechen TV channel “Vajnakh” broadcast a reportage about a meeting of
republican authorities with people, whose children had allegedly joined the
fighters. In this reportage, Mulsim Khuchiev, the city mayor of
Human Rights Center
Memorial expressed indignation that the
authorities of Chechnya make statements which indicate that they are prepared
to apply the principle of collective responsibility – i.e.the method of
terrorists- in combat against terror. Memorial sent letters to Prosecutor
General of the
See: http://www.memo.ru/2010/04/12/1204103.htm
Kadyrov’s
statements that the mayor and the prefect “invited accomplices of terrorists”
is not true. The relatives of alleged fighters who were gathered that day had
not been charged with any offences by security services. Criminal cases would
have been instigated against them if there were grounds to suspect that they
“bring their children food, money, cartridges”, which has not happened. It is
also untrue that any of these people worked for administration or any other
state agencies.
[3] Memorial reported that since early June 2010
unidentified people in cars with darkened windows drove in the center of Grozny
and shot at girls from paintball rifles (so called markers), who
walked in the streets with their heads uncovered. See http://www.memo.ru/2010/06/10/1006101.htm
There
are grounds to suspect that personnel of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of
the