CHECHNYA LINKS LIBRARY

The Week in Brief: July 21 - 27, 2003

Summary of the main news related to the conflict in Chechnya. Compiled by Prague Watchdog.

Monday, July 21

Aslan Maskhadov, President of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, stated in a press release carried by Chechen news agency Chechenpress that he supports the proposal of Chechnya's "conditional independence" under international control, which was worked out by the Foreign Ministry of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria.

Tuesday, July 22

No major events.

Wednesday, July 23

Some 200 Chechen guerrillas have applied for amnesty since the moment it was declared, and about 90 of them have been granted the amnesty already, said Russian Interior Minister Boris Gryzlov.

Thursday, July 24

Chechen businessman Malik Saydullayev officially announced his intention to take part in the election of the President of the Chechen Republic, which the Kremlin will organize on October 5. Saydullayev asked the Chechen Election Committee to register him as a presidential candidate on July 25.

Avkhad Khachukayev of the Chechen State University asked the Chechen Election Committee to register him as a candidate for the President of the Chechen Republic, which the Kremlin will organize on October 5. Khachukayev was a member of the group that formally initiated the holding of the Moscow-organized referendum on the new Chechen constitution this March.

The Russian police stated that in the village of Tolstopaltsevo on the outskirts of Moscow it discovered explosive devices among which there were belts with explosives of the same type that have been recently used by Chechen suicide bombers.

At a meeting with the Moscow-backed leadership of the Chechen Republic, Russian President Vladimir Putin said without elaboration that Akhmad Kadyrov, the Moscow-backed acting president of the Chechen Republic, will join the Russian delegation that will represent Russia at the United Nations for a year.

Friday, July 25

The North Caucasus military district court sentenced Russian Colonel Yuri Budanov to 10 years in prison for the abduction and murder of Chechen girl Elza Kungayeva in late March 2000. Both Budanov's defence lawyer as well as the lawyer of Kungayeva's family said they would appeal against the verdict.

Saturday, July 26

The new constitution of Dagestan, which was adopted on July 10, came into force. The constitution envisages the creation of the post of president, who will replace the State Council, which has so far been the top executive body of the republic.

Sunday, July 27

According to Russian sources, a female suicide bomber attempted to assasinate Akhmad Kadyrov's son Ramzan Kadyrov, who commands one of the units protecting the Moscow-backed acting president of the Chechen Republic. The incident took place near Akhmad Kadyrov's residence in the Tsotsin-Yurt village. Thanks to security guards the woman failed to approach the building; however, the blast killed a woman that was just passing by.

(T)