KBR activists treat Magas action as unique

The protest action against the change of the Ingush-Chechen border is a unique example of residents' struggle for their rights, while in Kendelen, authorities manage to suppress the parties in conflict, activists from the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic (KBR), who visited Magas, have stated.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on September 26, Ramzan Kadyrov and Yunus-Bek Evkurov signed the agreement on securing the border between Chechnya and Ingushetia. Residents of Ingushetia took to mass actions in protest against the transfer of lands.

On October 9, KBR activists visited Ingushetia and spoke to the rally in Magas. In particular, Valery Khatazhukov, the head of the KBR's Human Rights Centre, noted that the entire Northern Caucasus is closely monitoring the events in Ingushetia.

Mr Khatazhukov noted the high self-organization of the Ingush society, its stubbornness in defending its interests, which, in his opinion, should be an example for other republics of Northern Caucasus.

Ibragim Yaganov, a horse breeder, said that he came to Ingushetia to witness a unique event in modern Russia. He noted that in recent years, people's interests were defined by bureaucrats, not elected by people, but appointed from above. "They treat us as an illiterate crowd, which is not able even to elect its leaders. You were the first to show the whole of Russia that people can manage their lives and defend their interests," Mr Yaganov has stated.

In his opinion, the recent events in the KBR's village of Kendelen are an opposite example, when authorities "put people to their place."

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on October 13, 2018 at 10:51 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.