HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH WARNS GOR ON VIOLENCE IN

UNCLAS MOSCOW 001862 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREF PTER KDEM KJUS SOCI RS SUBJECT: HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH WARNS GOR ON VIOLENCE IN INGUSHETIYA ¶1. (SBU) Summary: In a June 25 press conference in Moscow, Human Rights Watch (HRW) warned that if the Russian government continues to use counterinsurgency techniques in Ingushetiya and does not address previous human rights violations, the situation there could deteriorate to the same level that plagued Chechnya during the two Chechen wars waged by the GOR. Ingushetiya's Human Rights Ombudsman Kerim-Sultan Kokurkhayev attended the briefing and vehemently denied that the situation in Ingushetiya was as bad as HRW claimed in its report. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) In a press conference held on June 25, HRW's Moscow branch released its latest report on the situation in Ingushetiya titled "As if they Fell from the Sky." Rachel Denber, the New York-based Deputy Director of HRW's European and Central Asian Division, joined Tanya Lokshina from HRW's Moscow office and Aleksandr Cherkasov of the Moscow-based Human Rights organization Memorial to present the report. It details the worsening situation, characterized by a rising level of violence, abductions and civilian deaths in Ingushetiya in 2007 and early 2008. The report was based on evidence acquired through a series of interviews conducted by HRW staff in December 2007. Cherkasov reported 29 abductions of civilians in 2007, and approximately 40 persons killed by government security officials. Denber, who peppered her presentation with comparisons to human rights abuses by coalition forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, cautioned that Russia's counter-terrorism efforts are unnecessarily worsening the human rights situation in Ingushetiya. Lokshina described the situation there as "similar to Chechnya, if on a smaller scale," and one in which young people are the most affected. She added that the actions of the government's security forces are undermining popular support for the government. ¶3. (SBU) HRW called for reformed counter-terrorism legislation to guarantee that detainees are either promptly charged with an offense or released. HRW also urged the government to improve access for journalists and international monitors. ¶4. (SBU) The press conference ended with a fiery intervention by Ingushetiya Ombudsman Kerim-Sultan Kokurkhayev. Indignant for not having received an official invitation to the event, Kokurkhayev denounced HRW's continued reliance on 2007 figures, contending that the situation had improved and that in 2008 there had been no abductions. Kokurkhayev dismissed the report as "American propaganda" and asserted that Ingushetiya was in fact "no worse off than any of its neighbors." He also pointed out that federal, not local, forces had carried out most, if not all, of the actions detailed in the report and that residents of Ingushetiya were more likely to be abused in temporary detention centers in North Ossetiya to which they were often transported. Comment -------------- ¶5. (SBU) The events of the press conference highlight the explosive nature of events of Ingushetiya and elsewhere in the North Caucasus. HRW contended that the situation is getting worse, while Ingush authorities asserted it is better. The truth is somewhere in between. Kokurkhayev was correct that the overwhelming majority of the report is based on events from 2007; however within the document itself evidence suggests that the situation is not as stable as he alleges. According to statistics from Ingushetiya Interior Minister Musa Medov cited in the report, there were 28 attacks against members of law enforcement from January to March 2008. The rate of attacks in spring 2008 was similar to that of fall 2007, with several occurring per week. The official website of the government of Ingushetiya corroborated Kokurkhayev's assertion that there have been no abductions in Ingushetiya in 2008. Even the opposition there asserted that the kidnappings and abductions stopped after a string of protests organized by family members at the end of ¶2007. While there still is still a high level of violence, as Lokshina pointed out, it is clearly not of the scale seen during the two Chechen wars. RUSSELL