Rally demanding to demine Chechen territory held in Grozny

In the afternoon on November 23, the Chechen capital hosted a many-thousand-strong protest action, where participants demanded prompt measures to demine the territory of the republic.

The broad-scale action organized by the Council of Trade Unions of Chechnya, parliament of the republic and local Ombudsman's office was held in central Grozny in front of the national theatre and concert hall. The rally was attended by Chechen MPs, activists of NGOs and youth movements and employees of the Ombudsman's office. According to some sources, the overall strength of the event was at least 10,000 persons.

Since morning law enforcers blocked the roads and streets in the district adjacent to the Puitn Avenue and the hall; this is how the safety of the broad-scale action was ensured.

The organizers and participants of the rally tried to urge the federal authorities and ministries to take whatever steps necessary for promptly addressing the problem of demining the Chechen territory.

"President, parliament and government of the Chechen Republic are taking all the steps they can, but the means and efforts of our republic only are not enough to tackle the problem. For further work to this end, we need technical assistance of the Russian Ministry of Defence and Ministry for Emergencies," the speaker of the parliament Dukvakha Abdurakhmanov said addressing the audience.