Re: Putin

[Chris Doss <nomorebounces@xxxxxxx>]

See?

The continuing war in Chechnya has also had a damaging effect on the surrounding region. It has led to a significant number of refugees entering Dagestan, complicating the situation there. In addition, attacks by militants from Chechen territory against some of the villages in the Botlih and Novolak district have caused a deterioration in the relationship between the local Chechens and other peoples of Dagestan.

Nevertheless, the Hasavyurt region of Dagestan offers the precedent of an earlier experience in managing inter-ethnic tensions so as to avoid the risk of violent conflict. In the late summer of 1999, extremist groups from Chechnya launched attacks into a number of villages in Dagestan. The immediate result was a worsening of relations between Chechens already resident in Dagestan, and the other local ethnic groups.

Relations were already difficult. Chechens were deported in 1944 from the Auhov (now known as the Novolak) district of Dagestan. After they returned from exile they were not able to come back to their houses, since there were other people living there, mainly Laks (another ethnic group in Dagestan) who were "resettled" there from mountainous areas of the republic. The Chechens were given small plots of land in the neighboring Hasavyurt district, but they continued to press for the return of their original houses.

As a result in 1991 there was an unprecedented decision made in Dagestan to move the Lak people from the district to a new district, created north of the republican capital, Mahachkala and to allow the Chechens to return to their homes. However, partly because of lack of money and poor management, the program that was adopted in 1991 is still only in an early stage of implementation.

Against this background, the incursions of fighters from Chechnya led to a rapid growth of anti-Chechen feeling. The situation was further aggravated by the fact that many local militias had developed in Dagestan. These consisted of people who were officially allowed to carry weapons, but were only under the loose control of official authorities. Provocative leaflets began to circulate in the republic, and there were clashes between militia groups of local Chechens and people of other ethnic backgrounds.

In this explosive situation, an independent group of Dagestan Chechens known as  SOS-Salvation  was able to play a valuable role in reducing the danger of conflict. It relayed information about the situation to federal authorities, who could pressure the regional leadership to avoid escalating tensions. It organized local meetings of elders or religious leaders, feeding into traditional methods of reconciliation, and promoted a public understanding that the Dagestan Chechens should not be held responsible for terrorist attacks launched from within Chechnya itself.

http://www.crimesofwar.org/chechnya-mag/chech-kamenshikov.html