"Memorial": clannish traditions are threats to Dagestan

The Islamic armed underground groupings of Dagestan are a serious danger; and the state should fight them; however even a greater danger is in the clannish lifestyle traditional for the republic, when groups of clans fight for power. This is the topic of the statement made by the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial" in the context of the recent murder in Makhachkala of Adilgerei Magomedtagirov, Minister of Internal Affairs of Dagestan.

In the opinion of the HRC "Memorial", the very fact that the question is asked: "Who killed the MIA boss - irreconcilable opponents of the Russian state or power officials of this state who hope to rule Dagestan tomorrow?" indicates that the current situation in Dagestan is inadmissible.

Human rights activists note that lately underground fighters are at real hunt on senior officers of law enforcement bodies and power agencies of the Republic. On the other hand, during the recent decade and a half blood was also shed in the fight of criminal ethnocracy groupings for the power and influence in the republic: there were bloody "showdowns", customized murders and attempts on politicians and officials.

The statement of the HRC "Memorial" entitled "Threat to peace and stability in Dagestan" further asserts that the second version of the murder is supported by certain circumstances of the attempt, and the firearm used by the gunman, which is used only by elite special-purpose detachments and was never used earlier in criminal episodes.

Human rights activists note that clannish traditions and fight for influence among groupings that give rise to crime within the system are the greatest threat for Dagestan.

"Clans are piercing governmental structures, law enforcement bodies and business circles from top to bottom. A person's position in the society depends in much from his or her affinity to the leaders of this or that clan. This system gives birth to corruption, unprecedented even for Northern Caucasus. It leaves no chance to many citizens of the republic for worthy life and sows interethnic enmity in the multinational republic. Politically motivated murders are an inevitable consequence of such state of affairs," the statement further runs.