23:10, 21 July 2009

Mikail Ezhiev calls Natalia Estemirova's murder a provocation

According to Mikail Ezhiev, leader of the NGO "Human Rights Centre of the Chechen Republic", members of local NGOs treat the murder of human rights defender Natalia Estemirova as a provocation. In their opinion, its aim was to kindle a military conflict between Chechnya and Ingushetia.

"There're a lot of opinions, I've contacted many NGO activists. Their opinion is that it was a provocation aimed at kindling a new round of tension between Ingushetia and Chechnya. This is what my colleagues think. I have no particular version of Natalia Estemirova's murder," said Mr Ezhiev.

He has added that many people link Estemirova's murder with the fact that Ramzan Kadyrov took the lead in special actions of revealing and detaining members of illegal armed formations in the Chechen-Ingush border. "Many bureaucrats of the Southern Federal District were not happy of it," Mr Ezhiev has noted and explained that certain forces want colliding two nations: Chechens and Ingushes. "However, it'll never happen," he has emphasized.

Author: Alexander Baklanov

Source: CK correspondent