Samara's Chechens, Ingush demand equal rights

A protest meeting was held yesterday, June 10, in front of the regional administration building, initiated by the Chechen-Ingush community of Samara. The organizers of the demonstration say the people were forced to take that step because of mass arbitrary detentions of Chechens practiced solely on an ethnic basis by law enforcement and security agencies in Samara after a terrorist act committed in the Kirovskii marketplace on June 4 this year. The meeting that gathered about four hundred people had not been sanctioned by the authorities, but law enforcement agencies did not take action to disperse it.

Below are the documents adopted by the meeting - a resolution and an open letter to the president of the Russian Federation.

Resolution

"Gathering at the meeting, we, citizens of various ethnicities, have adopted the following decision:

- to consider the meeting a warning;
- to demand that the regional authorities should rigorously observe the laws of this nation and the Constitution;
- to pursue, clearly and rigorously, the line determined by President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia as regards the ethnicity issue;
- to establish control over the operation of law enforcement agencies as regards their observing the constitutional rights of citizens;
- to immediately release those detained on suspicion of committing the terrorist act, including those on whom false exhibits were planted;

Participants in the meeting reserve for themselves the right to go on a no time limit hunger-strike and hold a bigger meeting in front of the regional administration building in Samara."

Open letter to President Vladimir V. Putin of the Russian Federation

"Dear Mr. President!

Your voters and, accordingly, Russian citizens resident in the Samara region who are Chechens by ethnicity address you with an earnest request to protect them from abuse of power.

We want the basic law of the nation, its Constitution, for which we voted and which guarantees our inviolability, security and the right to free life in this country, to apply to us, too. A real "witch-hunt" began after an explosion that had occurred in the city of Samara. Tens of Chechen guys have gone through the law enforcement mincing machine in the next few days, although the entire population of the Samara region know that this was the result of gang wars. We do not want to be responsible for every explosion in the country. Today in Samara, law enforcement agencies, namely, "werewolves in uniforms," are trying to make up for their helplessness in establishing due order with mass arrests and detentions of Chechens, thus pretending energetic operation. Our children aged fourteen and above are currently afraid to spend nights at home, awaiting groundless detention and beating.

Mr. President, we believe the moment has long come when you must use the power that we gave you along with others and protect us from abuse on the part of werewolves in uniforms. We are tired of being rogues in our own country. We want to be equal among equals. We ask you: hear us, give us hope that what fathers and mothers look forward to and what our children dream about will come true.

We are today holding a meeting in protest against abuse of power, not because we believe it a method of fight for our rights, but with hope that you will pay attention to our troubles and problems and make people vested with authority observe and respect the Constitution of the Russian Federation which you as President of the Russian Federation guarantee.

With sincere respect and hope,

Natives of the Chechen Republic resident in the Samara region."